My 4th of July Weekend

Earlier in the week, Wed. or Thurs. I went for a walk with a friend at Flaming Geyser State Park. He took these two photos with my camera.





It was a nice walk.

Friday. July 3rd
I woke up late but still drove up to Mt. Rainier. I got there around noon and it was super crowded. I wasn't expecting my favorite trail (Silver Forest Trail) to be hikeable yet, but it totally was - so of course I went for it. I didn't have my backpack or proper gear with me but I still managed to hike 3 or 4 miles, eating snow to rehydrate, lol. Here are a few pics I snapped that day.





The flowers above look and smell like lilacs. Cool.









See the bee? (above) This could have been an awesome photo if I were a better photographer with a better camera.





Heh, this is a cute look for me dontcha think? (I especially like the big stain on my shirt.) I was determined to avoid a farmers tan but the sunburn on my arms still kills!





Snow. Yum.











Saturday, July 4th
I woke up quite early and headed back to Mt. Rainier (it's an illness, what can I say!) At least I was prepared to hike this time.



(above) This photo was taken inside the National Park at 6:15am. At 6:30 I saw 4 huge bull elk cross the road while I was driving. My camera was on the tripod in the backseat (nearly impossible to retrieve without exiting the car) so I didn't get a picture. You'll have to take my word for it, they were gorgeous creatures and very, very big!

Short vid of 360 mountain views near Sunrise:




I finally took the Sour Dough Ridge Trail (the one I was trying to find when I discovered Silver Forest last year). I made it approx. 1 mile uphill before turning around. I thought it wise since I only slept 3 1/2 hours the night before, I was still nursing my sunburn like a baby, and I had things to do later on. But my goal now is to go back and finish the trail. Uphill is hard.













View of Mt. Adams from the ridge.





(above) Looking ahead. I say again, uphill is hard.



(above) I turned around to see how far I'd come.

View from a cliff on the ridge:


Obviously this trail offers much better views than Silver Forest because of its elevation.

















(above) Nature's grafiti.



And that be it for Mt. Rainier. I went home and took a nap, then headed to my friends' BBQ - very fun. Then saw some fireworks with another friend last night.

Today my sunburn hurts more than ever, I might just take it easy. Tomorrow it's back to work. Now that summer has finally arrived in the mountains I'll probably have pics to post every weekend again :) Catchya next time!