Wow....M850 Mount Rainier Day Trip - 420 Miles

[snowbimmer]

Well, this was sure a fun 13 hour day......






About a week after returning from a glorious 4,000 mile Wyoming, Colorado and Utah road trip, I noticed our local temperature was going to be creeping up to triple digits. For about 5 days. Not a fan of triple digits. A day trip to the 75 degree Oregon Coast helped a bit. But, not enough. So, where else to go?

High. You go high. I've done Mt. Hood to death, but Mt. Rainier is really something else. Never get tired of going there. Gotta be one of my favorite National Parks. Paradise, on the south side is the main draw - been there dozens of times. Sunrise, on the NE flank, would need some attention - I'd only been there a few times, none recently. Crystal Mountain Resort, also in the NE corner, was the main target - specifically the Mt. Rainier Gondola, that whisks you up to an unprecedented view of the mountain. Probably need to do all 3 areas. Gonna be a long day.

Normally, I would have just posted just a few random pics - but every place we went was a home run, thus warranting a separate thread. Hope you enjoy.

One caveat: I don't think the car pictures are as good as they should be. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was blazing. Carbon Black does better with my camera on cloudy days. On days like this it just sucks up all the light and becomes an amorphous darkish blob most of the time. I had to really work just to get some of these pictures to look right. Most of them ended up on the cutting room floor. The landscapes came out pretty well, though.

Mt. Rainier National Park is being loved to death. Visitorship recently ballooned from 1.1 million annual visits to 1.6 million annual visits. As such, they initiated a timed entry system like so many of our other national parks require. The Paradise Corridor and the Sunrise Corridor require a $2 reservation, each with a 2 hour window, between 7am and 3pm. Then it's fair game after 3pm. The plan was to go to Crystal first, use a 1-3pm timed entry for Sunrise and join the hoards after 3 for Paradise. It all worked out.

We left home at 8am. Crystal is 180 miles and 3.5 hours away. Lunch awaited at the top of the mountain.



Mount Rainier National Park is big - 236,000 acres big. You can skirt the south and east edges without actually paying to enter the park.





The park area map


Crystal Mountain is a major ski area, just 80 miles and 2 hours from Seattle. I always wanted to ski there - never did. Big, giant parking lots and not much lodging. Or dining.



There are not a lot of cars in the lot. We snag Mt. Rainier Gondola tickets after we park - they are not exactly cheap at $58 bucks apiece. Turns out they are worth every cent.


The ride is 10 minutes and you rise 2,400 feet to an elevation of 6,872 feet.




The ski area is fairly extensive. There's some serious-ass bowls up here. Lots of Black Diamond runs. The gondola is the red line.


And then you step out at the top. Bam! There she is. All 14, 411 feet. Not a cloud in the sky. Its warm with a slight breeze.






The view is absolutely spectacular. Most of the time on these big mountains you are looking at the mountain while on the mountain. This is the first time time we've seen the mountain this close up, this high up, from a nearby mountain. Outstanding.

Mt. Adams, at 12, 281 feet is visible - about 50 miles away to the SE.




Damn........


We grab a table with a view of the mountain in the Summit House Restaurant. It's busy, but not crazy. There is an outdoor patio, but the flies are a little too pesky today. Probably less so in the winter.

The gondola comes up the ridge and then the ridge just drops straight away again.


The White River snakes it's way down from the Emmons Glacier on the east flank.


The ridge completely falls away about 10 feet in front of the Adirondack chairs.


You can hike around up here on the ridge and even take a couple of trails back down to the base.




After about an hour on top we head back down. Still a lot to do today.




This is the view in the winter. (Not my picture)


It's 27 miles over to Sunrise from the base of Crystal. It will take us nearly an hour. We backtrack down the Mather Memorial Highway to the Sunrise Entrance at 3,352 feet. Then you are led up several switchbacks and pop out at the Sunrise Point Lookout at around 6,000 feet.


What a glorious vantage point this turns out to be


















The roads winds along the ridge with fabulous views of the mountain. "Hey! Keep your eyes on the road!," she says.






Sunrise opens up to a large, wide expanse on top of the ridge at 6,400 feet.


The parking lot is ginormous. And almost full. We head for the Visitor Center




There is also a Sunrise Day Lodge with a snack bar and lots of souvenirs


An extensive trail system leads out of here at Sunrise. There are many sub-alpine meadows with several nearby peaks and a few lakes to explore. It's still 85 degrees and the air is thin. We head out on a small (uphill) hike to get the best views of the mountain.


The Day Lodge with Tamanos Mountain in the background


The NE face of Mount Rainier. The jagged peak to the left is Little Tahoma, at 11,138 feet




Back at the Visitor Center


Sunrise is only open late June to early October, depending on snow. There's still a fair amount on the plateau.


We are baking. So we grab a couple ice cream sammiches and head for the car. It's nearly 3 o'clock, so the Paradise Corridor is now open to us. We start down.

And then we pull off for a couple more pics








It's 51 miles (and 1.5 hours) over to Paradise. We hook back in to Hwy 128 going south and turn off at the Stevens Canyon Entrance. There are only 2 cars in line. Yay.


The mountain pops up again. We are quite low right now - it looks huge, looming in the distance.


The road goes over Box Canyon, a very narrow and deep canyon. It's too dark down below for a picture


The road breaks out of the forest and we enter Stevens Canyon, a giant gash several thousand feet deep. The road is carved out of the side of the hill on the north canyon wall. Going-To-The-Sun Road in Glacier Park has nothing on this stretch. There are several turnouts on the outer side, but we drive higher and find a large parking area at a hairpin turn. We turn around to this gobsmacking view:


The road up on the other side




The cover photo was taken here


Reflection Lake is a very popular spot






The road passes beneath the Tatoosh Range, a smallish range of 25 jagged peaks that runs east to west just south of Paradise. You can bag several of them in an afternoon. They mostly run between 6,000 and 7,000 feet.

Another turnout at Inspiration Point gives a grand view of the south side of Mt. Rainier and one lonely Tatoosh Peak.




Lane Peak - 6,012 feet


The road then turns off and heads up Paradise Road another 2.5 miles to Paradise. There are several parking lots, all crammed with cars. You want to be in the main lot by the Inn and Visitor Center. A dozen cars are ahead of us, but an SUV pulls out to my left and my rear wheel steering allows me to pull a UEY in a tight space and snag the spot immediately. Awesome. The hoards are here. What a zoo. It's as crowded as I've ever seen it.


We head for Paradise Inn, a grand wooden lodge built in 1917. There are 121 guest rooms, a gift shop and full dining room. It is typically open May to September. The lobby is quite busy.


Fall at Paradise (Not my picture)


Main Entrance and lobby




Paradise is at 5,400 feet. There are many trails that radiate out - all are very steep and the snow still covers many of them. We venture up one of the more popular paved routes.






Paradise is truly the proper name for this place. Verdant splendor, everywhere you look.


The Tatoosh Range


The green carpets everything, everywhere all at once. (I may have heard that somewhere)


The flowers are gone, or not out yet. I'm betting it's still early, cuz it can look like this (Not my picture)


More Tatooshes




Much further up the trail from a couple earlier trips.




Tatooshes behind the Inn


The Inn


From the edge of the Inn towards the Tatooshes


Kind of a big deal


Its now 5:30 and we still have more than a 3 hour drive home. Where it's still hot.

We wind down Paradise Road and eventually come to a large parking lot at Narada Falls on the Paradise River. It's a two-tiered falls of 188 feet.

Paradise River


First Fall


A trail drops 200 feet down to where you can get this view. We didn't. It's hot and we're tired. The picture is stolen.


We get in line with a long slog of cars heading out of the park at the western Nisqually Entrance. We make it home by 9:15. It's still over 90 degrees outside. Our power is out. Well, gee - that's just effing swell.

But it's not enough to ruin one of the better days of my life. (Power is back on in about an hour.)

Man. What a day!

(Not my wife )

Thanks for tagging along.

[T0RM3NT]

Beautiful...thanks for sharing!

[ctcarbonari]

Some spectacular pics!!!
I'm sure that was one hell of a fun driving & sight seeing day!!!
Mt. Rainer is truly awe inspiring.

I went over Mt. Hood on my way to Bend a couple weeks ago. Been 20+ years since I've made that trip. Beautiful, of course. The PNW during the summer offers some fantastic day trip drives!

Hope you add St. Helens to the list before winter arrives.
(Although I'm still not sure if the landslide has been completely cleared yet)

Nice Post!!!

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by ctcarbonari

Some spectacular pics!!!
I'm sure that was one hell of a fun driving & sight seeing day!!!
Mt. Rainer is truly awe inspiring.

I went over Mt. Hood on my way to Bend a couple weeks ago. Been 20+ years since I've made that trip. Beautiful, of course. The PNW during the summer offers some fantastic day trip drives!

Hope you add St. Helens to the list before winter arrives.
(Although I'm still not sure if the landslide has been completely cleared yet)

Nice Post!!!

Thanks for the nice words. Did you mean this St. Helens?


We are lucky to live here.

[BMWGUYinCO]

I absolutely love your travel posts along with the pics! If anyone is enjoying their M850 car more than me, it's gotta be you.

[BigFatRaccoon]

Beautiful drive, was up in Paradise last month but it was still snowing and 35F lol, glad to see its warmed up for PS4s to actually work.

[Mike F.]

Long day but an amazing one - thanks for posting. 110 here today - guess I need to head up to the higher elevations!

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by T0RM3NT

Beautiful...thanks for sharing!

Glad you liked them. Thx

Originally Posted by BigFatRaccoon

Beautiful drive, was up in Paradise last month but it was still snowing and 35F lol, glad to see its warmed up for PS4s to actually work.

85 degrees and 35 mph avg - not a problem for the PS4s.

Originally Posted by Mike F.

Long day but an amazing one - thanks for posting. 110 here today - guess I need to head up to the higher elevations!

Your welcome. But, "long" is a relative thing when you're having fun.

110??

[dutchm2]

It's unbelievable how beautiful and blue-sky the days are on most of your trips!