In September, my sister, Rosalie, and I went to Mt. Rainier National Park and up to Paradise. I had never been in on that side before, Rosalie had. The closest I had gotten to the mountain was on Highway 410 when going back to Colorado after a visit here to Washington. I’ve always thought Mt. Rainier was one of the beautifulest mountains, especially when there is a mist around the bottom, and the peak hangs as if in midair. Sometimes a glow from a sunset upon it makes it even more spectacular! Truly the home of the old gods.
I suppose most Washingtonians know a lot about Rainier, where I was surprised about some of the facts. It was established as a national park in 1899. The 5th of 417 national parks. It is the most glaciated park in the continental United States. The alpine, glacier-fed slopes occupy only a third of the park. Over 97 percent is wilderness, legally protected by the 1964 Wilderness Act. The peak is 14, 410 feet, tallest in the Cascade Range. The park encompasses 369.3 square miles.
The mountain is considered to be an active volcano, but sleeps most of the time. Occasionally, letting out steam or a grunt or two. American Indians, being around for 9,000 years, revered the mountain and called it Tahoma. There are five major visitor areas in the park, with 275 miles of trail heads to hike. Wonderful old growth forests, beautiful waterfalls and deep lakes. Rivers of ice 750 feet deep flow down the slopes. Wonderful spring flowers and wildlife. Two million people visit every year.
We spent some time at Paradise. First thing to do, get in line for the bathrooms! We checked out the visitor’s center. People were everywhere. The trails looked inviting, but those days are gone for me. It was a nice warm day and we learned that the Paradise Inn annex was to open in 2019. The only wildlife we saw, coming up or going back, was a lone chipmunk scampering back and forth hoping visitors would drop something good to eat. I’d like to go back sometime and visit the Longmire Historic District. Maybe I could walk some of the flatter trails!
Lakewood, Washington 9/28/2018
