fire on the mountain / september snow

fall has begun. the warm sunny days have been replaced with cool crisp evenings, smelling of damp leaves and a warm fire. the rain has finally set in here in the pacific northwest. we will embrace it, and continue our adventures.

there has been a weather advisory out the past few days, saying there will be a few inches of snow (and yes, i said snow) above 4000 feet. snow in september?...we've got to check this out.
so we loaded up the car with coats, hats and gloves to go see this winter wonderland atop mt. rainier. we came upon many beautiful fall landscapes along the way. take a look:

we spotted a sign for a historical church and just had to turn off to see it.
how has life gotten so complicated?

waiting for brooke to finish taking photos of the kirche.
'kirche' is german for church.

the nisqually river...hidden somewhere between the rocks.
just wait 'til spring... then you'll see it!

'happy to be so.'

looking up the nisqually river to where a glacier used to reside.
winter is quickly wrapping us with it's fluffy white blanket.

brooke couldn't get over how the mountain side
seemed to look like it was on fire. we couldn't help but sing dave wolfenberger's version of 'fire on the mountain'

a minute after these photos were taken a group of people can walking down
the path with packs and skis strapped to their backs.

they had taken the opportunity of snow to hike up rainier
to enjoy some early season back country skiing.
it's september people!

just like going to the festival of lights...except there was snow!
...and i guess no lights.

it's september!

so tempting.

this little guy jumped out from the brush, onto the road in
front of us, to say hello.

we saw this little haunt on the way in and quickly determined we'd stop
for dinner on the way out. about a mile from the entrance of
mt. rainier np, the copper creek inn won our hearts over as one of our
favorite local eateries. they use local ingredients for their food,
serve local wines, and don't forget about the blackberry vinaigrette
salad dressing!

copper creek inn

least we forget, mt. rainier is a volcano.

Mt Rainier - Glacier Basin

After a wonderful weekend spent at Mowich Lake in Mt Rainier NP a couple of weeks ago, we thought it would be good to explore another area of our backyard playground.

We drove in the east side of the park, checked out Sunrise visitor center, then back down to hike out of White River campground up to Glacier Basin...a backcountry site. The trail looks a little different this year than in years past...

Last November, a huge storm hit this place hard, and it is still recovering. A huge 'thank you' goes out to the countless number of volunteers and donors who have helped get the park back in 'order.'

But the hours these men and women spent on the trails, are incomparable to the way God created nature to revitalize itself after complete destruction.

the mountain in our backyard.

"our mountain" in the background.

reading about mt rainier's one hundred year storm in the newspaper
does not do the damage justice.


she loves this stuff.


brooke-size.


the glacier basin trail...or what's left of it. this trail was hit pretty hard.
at times we would find ourselves hiking up boulder-strewn fields where
the trail once was, and a stream now flows.


the trail? follow the yellow caution tape.
start in the lower right and zig-zag to the upper right.


after 1.5 miles of climbing, dodging, jumping, and somersaulting about boulders,
we made it back to the original trail.


after a bit of the original trail, we found ourselves back in an area of decimation
[as ranger dave spoke of his land.] we needed a trail break.


imagine if you will, this river bed did not exist before november of 2006.
the tree line to the upper right was where the trail was. when the fully saturated ground could hold no more water, 17 inches of rain fell in 48 hours. massive flood damage and demolished roads caused the park to close. click here for supplemental reading.


happy...as usual.


with beauty like this, it's easy to forget a torrent of water moving
vw westfalia-sized boulders down stream.


fresh mountain goodness. have a sip.


base camp.



a normal daily routine involves a paradigm shift. instead of hopping up and
trotting to the pantry for a snack; you scamper down the trail to the bear pole,
remove stuff sack filled with energy bars and then put the sack and empty
wrappers back up.


ready for the brisk morning hike down.


i love this woman!



one small step for man, one huge leap for a pika!


testing the waters.


now that's a slug! could be a banana slug...what do you think 'naturalist joe?'


glacier basin - 2007


glacier basin - 1900


click here for more pictures from our trip

string lake, leigh lake & logan:

the barista at pearl st. bagels told us that the best hidden spot in the tetons was to kayak from string lake a leigh lake. string lake had an average depth of about ten inches. we had to portage our kayaks to leigh lake; about a hundred yards. being much deeper, we dawned life jackets and paddled for an hour or two in leigh lake. returing to the portage back into string lake, we met a family that we saw a few times on the water and their five year old logan. he had a little sigg water bottle with his name on in…and a bear sticker. nice couple; cute kid.

all ten inches of water!

the tetons from string lake.


you can't even buy a sticker this cool!


a kayakers perspective.


portage in the rain :).