Day 7--September 25, 2009

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Today we took the perfect hike (suggested by one of the long-time employees at Alta Crystal), through a variety of terrains (forest, meadow, tundra, barren rock) in perfect weather, with perfect views of Mt. Rainier and the incredible Emmons glacier on the east side of the mountain. So much gorgeousness, it’s hard to describe! The only downsides were a very narrow section of the trail with a sheer drop-off and shale like rock surface—Dave’s height issues kicked in; heck, even I had a few “issues”! And then we passed through so many meadow areas of dried out, dead wildflowers, which would have been spectacular a couple of months earlier. Oh well—gives us an excuse to make a return visit during wildflower season!

We finished off the day, relaxing by the pool and enjoying a cioppino dinner, delivered to our room for us to reheat (ala Dream Dinners), since there are no restaurants in the area. After dinner we went to a program about Mt. Rainier offered by the resort, which turned out to be an excuse for the owner to regale us with his tales of ice-climbing to the summit of Mt. Rainier—and trust me, you’d never find more unlikely specimen to pull that feat off… We finally escaped and returned to our room and the blazing fire for a relaxing end to the evening.

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Photos

Mt. Rainier and Emmons Glacier
View from the trail