I had such a wonderful trip to Colorado and Utah in September (see HERE).
I feel so fortunate that I was able to get in 3 last good-weather hikes at Tahoma/Mt. Rainier before the rains and autumn weather showed up with a bang. Last year there was no transition, we went straight from summer to BAM winter weather. I’m grateful that this year I was able to say goodnight to my sweet Mountain and get to these places before the roads closed for winter.
Skyscraper Pass out of the Sunrise area is so beautiful, and I very often see mountain goats there. Even with our record snow pack from last winter, it was scary to see how low Frozen Lake was after 4+ months of virtually no rainfall.
Naches Loop trail at Chinook Pass is a must for fall colors. I’ve seen more vibrant colors in previous years, but it was still beautiful, on a glorious sunny fall day.
Finally, I hiked up to the Tolmie Lookout from the Mowich Lake area. At this point there was a lot of wildfire smoke, but I had a small window of clear air and I went for it! So glad I did. I think this is perhaps my favorite view of the Mountain.
Goodnight, my sweet Tahoma – I’ll see you again next summer!