Mount Rainier National Park (Day 2 - Part II)

July 4th 2009 :- Hike along the High Skyline Trail (.. contd)

The trail descended sharply to an area filled with taller trees and a grassy hillside followed by a steep slope on a hillside. The scenery along this hillside was spectacular. The photographs right below should provide a good idea of the area.

The hike along the slope from this point on was very steep and the snow was deeper. The first part of the descent criss-crossed the hillside but beyond a point it was straight down. A couple behind me decided to put their sack to use. The first person opened up his sack (which after the snack at Panorama Point) was pretty empty. The person then used the open sack as a seat and just slid down the mountain slope at full speed. I stayed away from such heroics and made it down the treacherous slope with a few slips and ankle twists. Fortunately for me, I made it to a comfortable spot without any issues. The snow here was 10-12 feet deep as could be witnessed by tree-tops emerging from the snow at what could be preceived as the bottom of the hill.

The trail then went passed Myrtle Falls that I had come to the previous evening and after 1/2 a mile I was back at Paradise Inn. The 5.5 mile hike had left me pretty exhausted. I had lunch at the eatery and then hit the bed for some rest at the hotel. This is pretty much unlike me but such was the nature of the hike that saw me gain an elevation of 1700 ft.

Within the next half an hour I was back at the visitor's center next to the hotel and witnessed the new movie that the NP Service had introduced about Mount Rainier. These movies make an ordinary NP appear the most spectacular place on earth. Mount Rainier however is very very special and needs no advertisement for one to appreciate its beauty, variety and verdancy.

I then decided to take the Nisqually Vista Trail that heads West to a point where one can witness the Nisqually glacier. The trail is pretty flat except that one goes down a couple of hundred feet as one gets to the vista point.

Back at the visitor's center it was time to have a snack. I also packed a sandwich for dinner. Longmire is located 12 miles down the mountain and is the area one gets to immediately after entering the park. I decided to head down to get to a feel of a different setting of the NP. The area here has huge trees with thick tree cover all over. On the way I stopped at Christine Falls and then went to the head of the trail to Carter Falls. This is a 2 mile round trip that begins by crossing the river over a precariously placed log of wood over the fast flowing river.

The sun sets at 9 am and dusk at the top of the mountain is witnessed even at 10 pm. However, down in the valley it seemed darker than it was due to the high trees. The hike was an easy one going through high thick trees on one side and the Paradise River on the other side. The ascent was only 500 ft but it seemed much more just due to the reason that I was pretty tired as I had hiked almost 7 miles prior to this one. The view of Carter Falls was not that spectacular, as it was shrouded by vegetation and also due to the fact that it was dark in this side of the mountain.

I headed back the car and then back to the mountain top to Paradise. I had the sandwich for dinner in the hotel room and crashed at 9:30 pm. I could only sleep after 10:30 pm or 11 pm. It was an indication of how tired I was. Anyway, the hikes, scenery was worth the effort ....