June 2024July 2024 August 2024

07/26 - Myrtle Falls - Scenery

On our second day at Mount Rainier, we took a slightly different walk from Paradise and headed to Myrtle Falls. It was different scenery, but full of running water, alpine flowers and rich foliage. There were marmots. We went past the falls and on to the first patch of snow. We were tired, so we used this as our excuse for turning around.

Early on the trail

Postcard

Water

Avalanche lilies


The trail


Two phases of water

Water on a hillside

Melting snow










More flow

Yet more flow

Myrtle Falls

Keywords: marmots, mount rainier

07/25 - Myrtle Falls - Flora and Fauna

Here are some more pictures from our hike to Myrtle Falls and beyond.

Pasque flowers

We're not sure.

Glimpse of a marmot

So many flowers






Another uncooperative marmot




A more cooperative marmot

Flowers and more flowers








Keywords: marmots, mount rainier

07/24 - Mount Rainier

We spent a couple of days at Mount Rainier. We stayed outside the park in Ashford, but we had admission passes from recreation.gov, so it was easy to enter the park with minimal wait time. Parking was another matter. The lots fill quickly up at Paradise which sounds like an allegory, but is simply a fact. In any event, we found a spot and headed up the Skyline Trail.

It was an amazingly beautiful day. The sky was blue. The air was clear. We could see Mount Rainier above us and mountains far in the distance. The trails were busy with mountaineers carrying gear, families with children and so many others like us just admiring the scenery.


It was a very green year.

Early view of the mountain

First snowfield

Along the trail





A waterfall in the distance

That is probably Mount Hood in the distance








The sky changing

Mount Hood again


There were many waterfalls.

The water supply for Paradise

Keywords: mount rainier

07/23 - Mount Rainier - Flora

We seem to have arrived at Mount Rainier for the peak season for alpine blooms. There were a only few glacier lilies but lots of avalanche lilies. The phlox was out along with varieties of paintbrush.

Avalanche lilies


Phlox

Paintbrush

Rock gardens

Some lupines, too






Looks like heather

Pasque flower


Stone steps - thank you National Park Service



Corn lilies yet to bloom



Glacier lilies almost gone

Purple shooting stars

Keywords: mount rainier

07/22 - Mount Rainier - Fauna

At Mount Rainier, it was mainly marmots.

Guess who?



Marmot by the trail



Red tail



Token chipmunk

Back to marmots



In clover



Just another little waterfall - not fauna

Not fauna - just a waterfall

More water

Keywords: marmots, mount rainier

07/01 - Cape Alava - Part 1

It's almost a two hour drive out to Cape Alava, so we don't get there that often. There's also the matter of the tides. We weren't planning on doing the entire loop, but if we had hoped to hike the triangle to Cape Alava and then via Sand Point, we'd want the tides low enough to get comfortably around the headlands. There have been some good low tides lately, so we figured we'd head out and at least get from the trailhead to Cape Alava, and, if we had the energy, to return via Sand Point.

There were a few nice views of the strait along 112, but the road was twisty and not banked well. We passed through Clallam Bay and Sekiu noting the number of rental cottages along the water. We took the Hoko-Ozette road and, once again, managed to get the very last free parking spot. We weren't the only ones taking advantage of the good weather and the low tide.

We crossed the Ozette River near where it flows into Lake Ozette, and headed into the forest. A lot of the trail is boardwalk, and there were lots of ups and downs. Several times, we'd take a series of steps down, cross a wooden bridge, and then take another series of steps back up. We made our way to Alstrom's Meadow. On our way back we met a group of Alstroms pondering their relation. Here the forest thins and the trail follows mostly a boardwalk through a sea of grass.

Then, we entered the coastal forest and began our descent to the beach. It was a long way down. The forest here was subtly different from the earlier inland forest. Then, we began to get glimpses of the ocean.


The Ozette River

The bridge over same

The Ozette River heading into the lake

Forest trail

A candelabrum tree with horizontal and vertical branches

Steps on the trail

One of the bridges

More trail

An omen?

Another bridge

More steps

Pacific dogwood

Towards the meadow

Across Alstrom's Meadow

More boardwalk

A boardwalk closeup

The trail repaired, a story told

More meadow

More boardwalk

Even more trail

Even more steps

Trail through forest

More forest trail

Keywords: cape alava, tides, weather

June 2024July 2024 August 2024