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Spray Park and the best bear! Mt. Rainier National Park

August 22, 2023 / doublemom94

9 trail miles
2000+ feet elevation gain
A day with 1 good friend
1 stunning volcano
many huckleberries in my tummy
1 mosquito
1 gorgeous bear taking a swim

We had boots on trail by 7am at Mowich Lake / Mt. Rainier, headed toward Spray Park. It made for an early morning wake up, but even by 7am it was starting to get crowded out there. We stopped at the Eagle’s Viewpoint for our first view of Tahoma and loved watching the lenticular clouds swirling down the north slope.

Spray Park is a series of meadows, almost like terraces, with wide open spaces separated by trees and more elevation gain between each one. It’s such a beautiful area, and the view of the Mountain (a.k.a. still an active volcano) shifts and changes with each tier. This place is usually a riot of wildflowers, AND an open buffet for swarms of mosquitoes. Almost all flowers were done blooming, but there were thousands of gentians filling the meadows with their wonderful blue color. Even better than that, I only saw one mosquito. We were able to sample several types of wild huckleberries as well, amazing little bursts of flavor!

After reaching the top meadow, we had lunch overlooking Mist Park and the Carbon River Valley, to the left was Mother Mountain, behind us was Tahoma itself. After lunch, a little bit further up we finished with beautiful close-up views before the trial starts dropping down toward Cataract Valley.

On our way back down we heard reports of a bear near the trail, but never saw it. By the lowest meadow, we heard more reports of another bear. We came to a small pond and were rewarded with being able to watch a beautiful bear graze for berries, then dip into the pond and go for a relaxing swim. I’ve seen many bears over the years, but this was by far the best experience I’ve had watching them. As soon as it came out of the pond and turned toward us, that was our cue to leave quickly.

What a wonderful day. I never want to take for granted the amazing area that I live in, and the fact that after so many orthopedic problems over 40 years I’ve still been able to put in the work and yoga needed so that I can continue to get outside and experience these things first hand.

Days like this make my heart feel like bursting from goodness. Gratitude for Mother Nature and even though my body is defective, gratitude that I can still do what I love to do.

Wonderland Trail 2023

August 6, 2023 / doublemom94

I just got home from solo backpacking a 37-mile stretch of the Wonderland Trail on the west side of Mt. Rainier. What a stunning way to spend 4 days with just me, my boots, backpack, tent, and time with Mother Nature. My full post with more photos and day-to-day trail talk is HERE ~ please gather up your favorite beverage and wander some incredible scenery with me.

This is what packing looks like…

July 30, 2023 / doublemom94

Let the packing begin!!! I head out on Wednesday for 55-60 miles of the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier/Tahoma. I’m not quite sure where I’ll be exiting yet, depending on if I can add one last night when I go to pick up my permit on Tuesday morning.

This is what 9 days of backpacking food looks like for me (7 or 8 days on the trail, plus an extra day’s worth just in case). I really REALLY struggle to eat out on the trail. My stomach just says “NO.”

So I’m changing it up a bit this time, only plan on heating water once a day to make a dehydrated dinner each night at camp. The rest of the day ~~ breakfast, lunch, and snacks along the way ~~ will be easy-to-eat bars, nuts, and dried fruits so that I can basically nibble a bit at a time throughout the day instead of trying to force myself to eat breakfast and lunch. Hopefully that will help with keeping my energy up.

North Cascades NP / Diablo Lake, WA

July 25, 2023 / doublemom94

Spending several days at Diablo Lake every summer is quickly becoming a tradition for me, one I’ll continue! Diablo Lake is downriver from Ross Lake, and is within the Ross Lake National Recreational Area, managed jointly with North Cascades National Park.

I’ve stayed at Newhalem, Colonial Creek North, and Colonial Creek South campgrounds. While the Newhalem Campground is very nice and is where a visitor center is located, the Colonial Creek campgrounds (directly across from each other on Hwy 20) have wonderful kayak access to Diablo Lake.

As I learned the hard way on one of my first visits, wind picks up by mid-morning. Depending on the direction you’re facing while kayaking, this can make for an unpleasant return trip back to the boat ramp. Mornings usually bring pristine smooth water, the most beautiful teal color, contrasted by blue skies and forest green. We discovered new areas, and had a lovely picnic lunch at one of the boat-in campsites, accompanied by a mama ptarmigan and her 2 chicks.

I spent 3 lovely days kayaking and hiking with friends, beginning with several hours on the water in early morning, exploring the Thunder Arm of Diablo Lake, the inflow of Thunder Creek, and part of the main body of Diablo Lake. There are 3 boat-in campsites on Diablo Lake that are the plan for next year! Afternoons were spent reading in companionable silence, and hiking the easy trail to the bridge over Thunder Creek (about 4.5 miles R/T from our campsite).

Spending time paddling, exploring, sometimes simply floating without moving, letting the silence and beauty sink in – this is part of what summer is all about. I’m so thankful to live in such a beautiful area.

On our last evening there, we found ourselves in rain and cracking thunder. The next morning as we were packing up to leave, we noticed a helicopter scooping water out of the lake repeatedly. Unfortunately, when we got home we heard that was the beginning of the Sourdough Fire which has closed the entire area while firefighters are struggling to contain the blaze due to very difficult terrain.

Beyond Owyhigh, MRNP

July 23, 2023 / doublemom94

I’m heading out on 55+ miles of the Wonderland Trail in less than 2 weeks, and wanted to test my endurance on a long and hard day hike just to know I’ve got what it takes!

Owyhigh Lakes in the White River area of Mt. Rainier is beautiful, and is an excellent place to see a large variety of wildflowers. It’s a worthy destination in and of itself, with Governor’s Ridge as a backdrop — 7.5 miles and 1650 feet of elevation gain/loss over a very well maintained trail to get out and back.

We like to continue on along the trail as if we were heading toward Hwy 123, and head up to a gorgeous saddle/viewpoint with stunning views of Mt. Rainier/Tahoma, Goat Island Mountain, Fryingpan Creek, the Summerland area, and the Cowlitz Chimneys. We could go even higher, but getting to the incredible open space at the saddle is so spectacular that we don’t feel the need to go further. The last 3/4 mile has over 1000 feet of elevation gain… Steep and not for anyone with vertigo or a fear of heights.

Along the way is a gorgeous view of the Goat Rocks area and Mt. Adams to the south. The last mile of trail is very exposed, steep, and hot. And guaranteed to make your heart pound and your breath quicken. But totally worth it. This is a place to linger, to have a picnic lunch, settle in, and simply let the views soak in.

Overall 10 miles and 2700 feet of elevation gain/loss. No numbers I can assign to the incredible views, they’re priceless 🙂

Skyscraper and a WOLVERINE, MRNP

July 13, 2023 / doublemom94

Marmots and Bears and WOLVERINES, Oh My!!!!

I’ve been out to Skyscraper Pass many times, it’s by far one of my favorite hikes at Mt. Rainier. But this time was special – we saw one of the 2 known adult wolverines who have moved into the national park after over 100 years of being absent!!

We were in the upper part of Berkeley Park, heading from Sunrise toward Skyscraper. Marmots were whistling and screeching like crazy all over Berkeley Park. I saw something out of the corner of my eye, dropped my hiking poles, fumbled for my big camera, and BAM it’s one of the 2 known adult wolverines in Mt. Rainier National Park. I only got one photo, s/he was moving fast and I had a hard time getting focused.

I can’t tell you how much this made my summer. There has been a successful breeding female there for several years now, and a wandering male. Not sure which one we saw, but I’m still in awe. A WOLVERINE?!?!? Wow.

As a bonus, we saw a far off black bear on our way back to the car, along with several marmots and a pica. I’m usually thrilled to see bears, but today it was the wolverine who stole my heart.

Check out The Wild with Chris Morgan podcast about the incredible Mt. Rainier wolverines Then you’ll realize how crazy amazing it was that we actually saw one. The episode is called “True Grit – the wild wolverine” Listen directly from the podcast website, or anywhere else like Spotify, Apple, or Google.

Or read this article about how rare and elusive these creatures are. Yep, I’m still pinching myself and telling myself it was real!! I submitted the sighting to the Cascades Wolverine Project.

Fremont Lookout, MRNP

July 7, 2023 / doublemom94

I love the views from the Fremont Lookout trail, from the Sunrise area – 360 degrees of gorgeous! Unfortunately it was fairly hazy and we didn’t have good visibility of the North Cascades, but it’s still well worth heading out this way for the views of Tahoma and surrounding areas. The wind was intense at times, but that helped with mosquitoes and also with the heat later in the day.

After the Fremont Lookout, we hiked down toward Shadow Lake, with a little mini-glissade (my only one of the year!) and then up toward the Emmons Vista, with wonderful views down into the White River Valley, the Emmons Glacier, and Mt. Rainier. We missed seeing a mama bear + 2 cubs by less than a minute! But we saw a lot of marmots, always fearless and they seem to love to pose for photos.

Greenwater Lakes backpack, WA

July 5, 2023 / doublemom94

I didn’t spend a single night sleeping in a tent last year, due to 2 foot surgeries. I decided to start easy this year, and after hearing all the sketchy log bridges were replaced at Greenwater Lakes recently, I decided to make that my first overnight trip of the year. The new bridges are amazing!

I was fortunate to find the campsite I wanted, about 1/4 mile past the 2nd Greenwater Lake, along Lost Creek. Bonus: No mosquitoes! After setting up camp, I spent the afternoon sitting and reading for hours, listening to water and watching birds, and generally soaking up the peace and quiet of Nature.

I was only out for 24 hours, but it was perfect, exactly what I needed to disconnect from the hectic pace of life for a day.

Crystal Lakes, MRNP

June 30, 2023 / doublemom94

Crystal Lakes – it’s a love/hate thing for me. The lower part of the trail is through boring, dull forest without many redeeming features. But the upper part, and the lakes themselves are well worth the grind! To the southwest, Crystal Peak looks down from up above. Wildflowers were just starting to show up in force.

And… I saw my first porcupine in the wild! I didn’t have my camera, only my cell phone, but was able to get a few photos and if you use your imagination, you can see Mr. Porky in the center of one of the photos.

Such a peaceful place, and even better with a good friend and iced tea/wine with our lunch break near the upper Crystal Lake. While there aren’t any good views of Mt. Rainier itself, except for a few peek-a-boo views along the trail, it’s still well worth the climb for the peace and beauty of this area.

Grand Park, MRNP

June 26, 2023 / doublemom94

The first time I looked down on Grand Park from Skyscraper Pass, I thought it was a golf course. It’s a beautiful, massive meadow on the north side of Tahoma that is accessible via either Sunrise or Lake Eleanor. I almost always get beautiful reflections at Lake Eleanor.

The views from anywhere in the Grand Park area are incredible. Looking due south is Tahoma itself, views of the Fremont Lookout to the left, and Skyscraper Mountain to the right. Wide open spaces. This is the kind of place to plan on spending a whole day, relaxing, wandering, and not rushing. The only downside is the relentless mosquitoes that swarm most of the summer.