I leave a little bit of my heart at Skyscraper Pass every time I go out there. It’s one of my favorite places at Rainier… so much so that I’ve been known to hike out with a good book and a JetBoil to brew myself a pot of tea, and park myself at the top for 8 hours enjoying the view and talking to people as they pass by. Having to go through Berkeley Park to get there is the icing on the cake. (for photos of Berkeley Park in full wildflower bloom, stay tuned for my Wonderland Photos).
Just once in your lifetime (or several times, in my case) it’s worth it to get up well before dawn and drive out to Sunrise before the sun comes up, just to sit there and watch Rainier light up like a Christmas tree with alpenglow. It’s magical… and the photos don’t come close to describing what it’s really like to watch the color change.
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- Full moon, just before sunrise at Sunrise
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- Alpenglow from Sunrise
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- Alpenglow from Sunrise
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- Alpenglow from just above Sunrise
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- Trail toward Berkeley Park
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- Looking down into Berkeley Park
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- Looking across Berkeley Park
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- Fran at Skyscraper Pass
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- View just doesn’t get better than this.
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- Hellooooo Rainier!!!
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- Looking down from Skyscraper Pass
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- My hangout spot at Skyscraper pass
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- Glacier, anyone?
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- Probably a whitebark pine… and 100s of years old
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- Sharon and Steve with Rainier
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- Looking across Berkeley Park
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- Love the stunted trees out here, these are some tough plants !
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