Taking advantage of our spectacular early-summer weather here in the Northwest, we headed to Mt Rainier National Park for a revisit (for Tom) of Crystal Lakes. Last year, smoke dampened the views. But not this time! Wow! Honestly, we were pretty surprised that a hike this far up into the mountains was essentially snow-free in early July, but we didn't argue. We were treated to a constantly changing array of flowers starting in our initial forested climb continuing high above the lake. The vivid colors of the flowers, lakes, meadows, and trees were a delight for the eyes. We extended the nominal hike a mile or so beyond the upper lake to Sourdough Gap, just a short ways beyond the ridge above the lakes. As is typical, the descent turned into a bit of a slog, but if that's the price for a day like this, we'll pay it. As an added bonus, we drove up to Sunrise (since we were so close, and weren't in a hurry) for some close-up views of The Mountain.
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| Upper Crystal Lake |
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| Western Pasqueflower seedpods |
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| Western Pasqueflower |
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| Mt Rainier beyond Upper Crystal Lake, Peak 6706 (left) and Crystal Peak (right) |
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| Glacier Lily |
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| Phlox |
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| Indian Paintbrush |
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| Mt Rainier from Sunrise |
5-Star Moments
- The beautiful lake setting ... blue-green water, bright green meadows, angular dark green trees, and grey rocky ridges, topped off with bluebird skies!
- The continuously awesome flowers!
Random Questions
- Is the Pacific Crest Trail really almost completely snow free all the way north to Rainy Pass (in the North Cascades)? That's what a hiker headed there said! Seems kinda early, but who knows!
Noteable Eats
- Not Naches Tavern ... they didn't even offer us a drink within 10 minutes of sitting down, so we left.
- Rainier Bar and Grill in Enumclaw. Just ok BIG burgers.
Future Ideas
- Crystal Peak. The trail splits off about half way to the lakes! Seems like a bit of a grind, but the views are probably awesome.
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