More Mount Rainier National Park: snippets of Sunrise

    
For those of you who don't know, Sunrise is an area of Mount Rainier NP that's east of the mountain peak, and is much drier than Paradise (which is south of the peak and 4 of 5 pictures on Mumday).

I

Love

Sunrise. 

Scariest part of my day/week/month: walking the snowy part of the trail above. Walking slowly, carefully on previous passers paw-prints praying precarious position prevails. Made it past and determined that we NEVER had to go back that way (gravity pulling me DOWN vs. slowing-my-up would be even scarier) and suddenly my mood was MUCH better.

I'm a snow-weenie. I attribute it to early formative years being in San Diego. Saltwater I'm not afraid of. =)

Well, snow I'm not afraid of. Slipping OFF of snow down super-steep-slope-which-plummets-100s-(1000s?)-of-feet-below-me-with-no-ice-axe-or-other-thing-to-grab-hold-so-I-die scares me.

I made it! Oh, and the view back is cool, too.

Frozen Lake is just visible just downslope from the furthest point of the trail, to the right of the brightest snow blob (that's technical talk).

 Looking west. (still celebrating the fact that I didn't fall =) )

Looking south(ish).

Alright. I am alive, grateful, and ready to continue forward...

Tiny bit more up before...the view...

Oh! Check out the scale: TEENY tiny people.

Herein lies the joy of this trail: you feel SO CLOSE to the mountain. It's so amazing. Great views everywhere, but THIS experience is a major motivator for THIS hike.

pretty alpine posies

lunch view, Part I. Tiny, beautiful plants abound.

lunch view, Part II

(yes, there is a story there, which I'll expand upon later)

So, out of web-space re: pics, so until I clear that, I'll just show you this one, a delightful caloric wallop after all that hiking. =)

Pastry I made which required a "butter packet"

FYI, anything requiring a butter packet is going to be good, even if slightly burnt.

Heavenly trip.

Whattapark.


(sigh)


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