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Ohanapecosh Hot Springs
All that remains of the Ohanapecosh health resort. Today was another day for exploring Mount Rainier National Park.
First, I headed for the hot springs.
Ohanapecosh Campground is very close to a set of
hot springs, which were used as a health resort a hundred years ago.
The short trail reaches an open grassy area with hot water running through it.
The sides of the little stream were covered in colored heat loving bacteria, familiar from Yellowstone (see
Thar She Blows, Captain).
The springs are far too small to bathe in.
Silver Falls
Next up was
Silver Falls on the Ohanapecosh River.
This one was tricky to find.
The marked trail head is in the campground, requiring a hike of over an hour.
Those with a good guidebook know that there is an alternative trail which is much shorter and steeper.
This trail leaves from an unmarked pull out along the main road.
I managed to find it, and scrambled down the river bank.
My reward was a trail along the edge of a cliff in a river gorge.
At the head was a cascade waterfall of three drops.
The river level was high, so the waterfall gave off
Silver Falls
Silver Falls on Mount Rainier a ton of spray.
The trail soon reached a bridge over the gorge, giving nice views in both directions.
From there, I drove north.
The road followed the river valley to a high pass, Cayuse Pass.
Peaks covered in snow appeared on both sides of the road.
The sides contained lots of little waterfalls, including one where a small stream slid fifty feet down a cliff.
Heading down from the pass, the road revealed another perfect view of Mount Rainier.
Half the peak was cloud covered again.
In front of it was a large valley with a wide strip of bare rocks running down the middle.
A thin ribbon of water flowed down the middle of the rocks.
The ribbon is the
White River.
The river really is white, from all the glacial flour it contains.
It flows from
Emmons Glacier, the largest on Rainier.
Sunrise Point
The road ultimately met the river at a junction.
The side road leads to
Sunrise, the highest area on Rainier reachable by car.
The first part followed the river.
It then switchbacked up
Roadside Waterfall
One of many waterfalls on the side of the road to Cayuse Pass the ridge next to the valley.
The curves are tight and steep.
The road finally topped the ridge at
Sunrise Point, which may have the best view in the park.
The peaks of the Cascade Mountains stretched in all directions, except for the side dominated by Rainier.
The White River Valley was clearly visible far below.
Far to the southwest, a snow covered mound poked above the surrounding mountains.
This is another volcano, Mount Adams, which I last saw after rafting the White Salmon (see
One Pretty Raft Trip).
A mound of snow sat on the far side of the parking lot for Sunrise Point.
Whether deliberate or not, the mound of snow almost exactly mirrored the shape of Mount Rainier.
It took some effort, but I found a spot where the snow pile became a miniature version of the mountain behind it, an irresistible picture.
Special as Sunrise Point is, it’s not the actual Sunrise.
That lies near the top of the ridge.
After all the snow in Paradise, I was expecting the entire area to be covered in drifts feet thick.
Sunrise Point
View of the central Washington Cascades from Sunrise Point Reality was another pleasant surprise.
While there was certainly snow around, enough had melted to reveal the
mountain meadows I had missed at Paradise.
The road climbed the ridge until it ended at a lodge with a perfect view of Rainier.
Sunrise Ridge Trail
Sunrise forms the hub of
multiple trails that climb the surrounding ridges and peaks.
I took a trail called the Sunrise Ridge Trail due to its wildflowers and views.
The trail runs along the side of the Sunrise Ridge.
It has a perfect view of Mount Rainier the whole way, although the mountain was partly cloud covered.
The trail passed through many clumps of scrubby pine trees, the type I had seen before on Hurricane Ridge (see
Wildflower View Fest).
In between were open areas with lots of wildflowers, although not as many as the Olympics.
The real thrill is hiking this high alpine environment, one that is normally very hard to reach.
For most of its length, the trail had a view of a huge glacier that runs down the side of Mount Rainier.
Emmons Glacier appears on the far side of the White
Mount Rainier Snow Mound
A Mount Rainier shaped mound of snow in front of the real thing. River Valley a long distance away, and it still looks vast.
The glacier flowed into a wide U shaped valley that it has carved.
The lower part of the glacier was covered in black debris; to the point I didn’t realize it was actually the glacier at first.
The valley around it was devoid of all plant life.
The White River flowed directly out of the middle part of the glacier.
The view perfectly illustrates the glacier cycle, carving the valley in the winter and melting into the river in the summer.
A noticeable tree line sits on the sides of the valley, with big pines above and little trees below.
The line is a sad sign of global warming.
Over the last few decades, the glacier (along with all others on Rainier) has
shrunk a notable amount.
The tree line shows how large it used to be, because young pine trees have colonized the newly available land.
The trail ends at the
Pacific Crest Trail.
This famous footpath runs from Canada to Mexico through the most famous mountain ranges of the west, the Cascades and
Mountain Meadows
A small portion of the mountain meadows that surround Sunrise on Mount Rainier the Sierra Nevada.
I could not resist walking along it for a bit, just to say I had done it.
After that, I headed back.
I wanted to walk in the meadows before leaving Sunrise.
I hiked the Sunrise Nature trail.
It climbs the far ridge through completely open meadow.
The views are huge.
Since there are no trees, distances are really deceiving.
The top of the ridge looks much closer than it really is.
I went to the nearest trail junction and turned around, having had my fill of the world above tree line.
Snoqualmie Falls
I left Sunrise earlier than I could have, to squeeze in one of Washington State’s most famous and impressive waterfalls,
Snoqualmie Falls.
People have written about it basically since settlers first entered the area.
It is located in a pass roughly east of Seattle and north of Mount Rainier.
A big waterfall near a major city will become a target for power generation (see
Hell’s Acre) and Snoqualmie was no exception.
Normally, the waterfall is rather unimpressive this time of year because so much of
Emmons Glacier
The lower portion of Emmons Glacier, the largest on Mount Rainier. Note the obvious tree line half way up the valley, caused by the glacier shrinking from global warming. the flow is diverted.
This year is an exception.
The
power company is renovating its plant, so the waterfall was in full flow.
The waterfall itself is very impressive.
A big river flows over a tall cliff.
Most big river waterfalls, such as the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone (see
So This is What A View Looks Like) flow down the side of the cliff.
This one poured away from the cliff into open air, like Comet Falls (see
The Great Mountain).
Instead of breaking into mist though, the high volume of water broke into jet busts.
The busts fell until they crashed into the pool at the bottom, giving off tons of spray.
While the waterfall is impressive, its
setting is not.
The rock grotto is pretty enough, but the power plant is obviously right behind it.
Even worse, the repair equipment was sitting directly above the waterfall.
An
expensive inn is also located next to the waterfall, further detracting from the view.
I managed to ignore the clutter and look at the water.
I had some time after the waterfall, so I went to see a
Snoqualmie Falls
Snoqualmie Falls, the most famous waterfall in Washington State. The flow is low, although higher than normal for this time of year. little known companion,
Twin Falls.
This waterfall is located next to Interstate 90.
Parking on the highway to see the waterfall is dangerous (and illegal) so people have to
hike in along the river from Twin Falls State Park.
Said park charges an
obnoxious parking fee.
The trail to the waterfall is over a mile long.
The first part runs along the river through forest that was similar to the forest on Mount Rainier, except that it is obviously second growth.
The trail eventually climbs up the side of the valley to a viewpoint.
It gives a long distance view of a tall waterfall.
The viewpoint is not enough, so the trail follows the valley to a much closer viewpoint.
This part of the trail involves lots of weaving through side ravines.
Highway noise appears in many spots.
Eventually, it reaches a long set of stairs that leads to another overlook.
This one reveals a waterfall that flows down a rock face as a curtain of rivulets.
It reminded me of a much narrower version of Rainbow Falls in North Carolina (see
Beauty Must be Earned).
It was rather pretty.
After the waterfall, I had a hike back to the trailhead, and daylight was fading.
Moving quickly, I made it back while I could still see, but not by much.
After the hike, I had a drive into Seattle.
Most cities by night are memorable drives, and Seattle is particularly memorable.
Interstate 90 goes through a tunnel.
The far side reveals a huge lake with a
long bridge over it, Lake Washington.
Like Hood Canal Bridge (see
The Biggest Port that Never Was), this one floats on the water.
Lights are visible everywhere on the shore, houses packed as tight as will fit.
On the far side of the bridge is another tunnel, the Mount Baker Ridge Tunnel, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places (who knew?)
It opens directly into the southern part of downtown Seattle, and I was soon driving between tall buildings.
Driving the westernmost portion of this Interstate was also something of a thrill because I’ve driven the easternmost portion so often at home.
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