Rainier on a Sunny Saturday

Saturday (June 5th- There's always free entrance to National Parks on the first Sat of June!!) Doug, the boys and I headed up to Mt Rainier to do some hiking. (the girls chose to stay home) We were hoping to hike to Camp Muir, but Tyler and I worked in the a.m., so we didn't get a very early start. It was past Noon by the time we hit the Paradise parking lot- and that's about 5 or 6 hours later than we usually begin that hike. Couple our late arrival with much more snow than we anticipated, and this hike that we've done before became a totally new experience.

We only made it to Panorama Point- about 6500 feet. We think we hiked about 3.5 miles, but it was hard to tell. There were no visible trails, the entire hike was in the snow, and some of it that would typically be trails with switchbacks, was a vertical climb. The sun made the snow slushy and a challenge to hike in in some spots. (an earlier start would have been so much better!) Other places, the snow was so deep you'd sink to your knees or hips with each step. Caleb hiked the whole way unassisted. (except for when we'd pull him out of the snow when he'd sink) He did such a great job! Tyler was so patient and helpful with Caleb all day. It was a very enjoyable, sunny, afternoon.

When we reached the top of Panorama Pt., the views were spectacular, and we had the opportunity to slide down the gigantic hill we had just climbed. It was a good time to head back, so we ate, took some pictures, and slid down the hill. Wow! It was really fun. We thought Caleb would be scared, but he wasn't. Doug, Tyler and Caleb, found another great sliding spot further down the trail, and tried it out as well. They loved it.

On our way home, we stopped at this little diner that advertised 24 flavors of soft-serve, and had ice cream. We got home just in time for Doug and I to shower and head to Stake Conference, and Tyler to go out with his friends. Now we're sporting some sunburns (some worse than others), but we have good memories and pictures to document our day.

Mt Rainier Summit from Panorama Point. Looks close, doesn't it?

Mt St Helens. Fun to look at it and remember being at the summit.

Mt. Adams


Doug and I trying to not sink into the snow long enough for a picture. This is the top of the huge hill where we stopped for lunch. We had a blast sliding down!!

Tyler wouldn't cooperate with my photo ops. Totally thought he was funny. But isn't this a nice shot of his hand? See all the people headed down the trail? Yep- they're going back to the parking lot just as we're beginning our trek. Smart on a sunny, slushy day!