The streets trails of Paradise are paved with gold covered in snow. Grab your scarf and mittens and follow me for a walk through Mt. Rainier's early winter wonderland.
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When I was a kid, visits to Mt. Rainier National Park meant summer and those Fridays when my mom would pack all the food, camping gear, and kids into the car in the early afternoon and drive up to the Cougar Rock or Ohanapecosh campground for the weekend (there was no need for campground reservations back then). My dad and uncle joined us in the evening when they were through with work.
September meant we were locked away behind the walls of school, the camping gear was stowed away, and as far as I figure, the mountain was closed the rest of the year. What a bill a goods I was sold.
Now that I'm all grown up and know better, and especially since I moved back to the Pacific Northwest, I've made the effort to get out to the parks and forests in every season and in all kinds of weather to see what's changed with the seasons (there are a lot of other good reasons for getting out, of course). This trip came at the end of the Thanksgiving Day weekend--outdoor experiences are an essential part of my family's holiday traditions. Who can be bothered with shopping when all of this is right outside your back door?
(All photos light-boxed for your listening pleasure)
For an autumn version of the mountain, complete with marmots and skiers hiking over rocks to find snow, visit my September Mt. Rainier diary.
Paradise Lodge, which is at the highest point you can drive to on the southwest side side of the park (5,420 ft), closes in October. An out-of-town relative and I sat on the deck in sun here in September and enjoyed coffee and the view. It looks like it would be a cozy place to hang out (next to a fire, toddy in hand) after a hike through the snow, but I imagine it would take a lot of resources to keep it warm if it were open, and too much snow might reduce the number of visitors needed to justify making services available:
Paradise Lodge
We decided to take the trail out of Paradise toward Glacier View. I punched through the snow up to middle of my shins a couple of times, but for the most part, our boots did the job--no snowshoes needed yet. The meadows that were full of flowers in the summer and vibrantly colored leaves in the fall are now covered in winter's white:
On the trail to Glacier View
The snow isn't as deep as it will be later (more snow falls at Rainier than anywhere else in the lower 48). Not all the evidence of wildflowers is completely buried yet:
Wildflower seed heads on wind blown snow
This time of year, the trails at Rainier become a playground for winter sport enthusiasts. There are signs asking skiers and snow boarders to stay on the paths and off the meadows because there isn't enough snow yet to protect the fragile landscape and plenty of rocks right below the surface (the signs didn't include the snowshoers--we saw several parties of those). The down-hillers who went by were generally paying attention to the request, but there were a few who just couldn't resist all that fresh, untouched skiing surface (this kid was on a path):
Die-hard downhill enthusiast
The temperature at Paradise hovered at around 20 degrees most of the time we were there, but the sun was out and shining down on the snow, so there was evidence of thaw followed by freeze:
A fir tree decorated with real icicles and real snow. Attempts to mimic this look with flocking and those foil things pale in comparison.
Frozen fir needles. They look like little hands, don't they?
We savored the many views across the valleys at Paradise, so refreshing after all the recent rain down-country:
After a good hike, we ate our late-afternoon lunch in the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise--it's open year-round, weekends only through the winter. I found a small spot of winter beauty in the parking lot when I went to the car to get the food we had packed:
Narada Falls is just below Paradise, so we decided to stop before we made our way home. I had never been to the falls in winter. They were worth the stop:
The bridge above Narada Falls
Ice jewels in a stream along the trail to the falls
A frozen wonderland at the bottom of the Narada Falls
The only downside to this trip--well two downsides, actually: we didn't see any wildlife--not even tracks--and we didn't get to stay longer, spend another day. Every cabin and inn near the entrance to the park looked inviting that afternoon. We'll be back soon, though. A snow shoeing trek this winter is a must.
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