Sunrise at Mt. Rainier

Well, another beautiful morning at Mt. Rainier. I went back to Sunrise today. This detailed account of the 5 mile hike is more for the benefit of my recollection than anything else. Feel free to skim the pics and be on your way.

After 3 hours of sleep I was up at 4:20 and on the road by 5am. On the way I stopped to get a breathtaking view of the stars. The pitch black sky turned blue as the sun rose, with the blue shades lightening by the minute. By the time I arrived at the national park, the usually white glaciers of Mt. Rainier were lit in a rich azure and the mountain glowed like a giant sapphire. Of course I only caught glimpses of it while driving and wasn't able to get a pic.




When I arrived at the Sunrise viewpoint I saw the rising sun had painted the mountain an orangish pink. This is its usual color in the morning. As I've described in earlier posts, the mountain often looks like rose quartz from my home in Auburn on a clear morning.


I was lucky enough to spot a blacktail doe grazing along the road so I pulled over and was surprised to see the head of a large buck a few feet in front of me. Darn flash was on.




There were 2 bucks and 1 doe. The larger buck was clearly leading as they made their way down the hillside grazing. The smaller buck followed him and doe held up the rear.



The skies were crystal clear with hardly a breeze. In fact the weather was so fabulous that every shot was a good shot. With a plethera of blog-worthy photos it was difficult to choose which to post.




Below: Taken while standing in what I call "Butterfly Meadow" where I encountered the bear last weekend. I was standing somewhere around here when the bear appeared from behind a tree on the right and sauntered across the trail.

Imagine the short tree on the left side of the trail is a bear. It was about 75 feet away measuring heel to toe, but I didn't measure today so I'm not sure if this the right distance. Today I continued down the trail but was dismayed when it became very rough and all but disappeared inside a dense forest. I kept walking for a while but it was just too strenuous and besides, there was nothing to see but trees so I turned around and hiked the Sunrise Rim trail. Still haven't hiked the Sourdough Trail, maybe next time.

Above: This may not be a very exciting shot but I am thrilled with it because those little guys are lightening fast and don't stay still for long. By far my most difficult shot of the day!

Below: See that wispy little cloud in the upper right corner? That is the ONLY cloud I saw today. It was truly a gem of a day.

'Til next time, happy trails!