From Summer to Winter in 6000 easy steps

Sep. 5th, 2015 04:50 pm
mmegaera: (travel)
Looking up towards Sourdough Ridge, at Sunrise, Mt. Rainier National Park.
Looking up towards Sourdough Ridge, at Sunrise, Mt. Rainier National Park.

So. A week and a half ago, we were having temperatures in the 80s here in the Puget Sound lowlands. We’ve had a summer for the record books — the most 90 degree days in one year, the most 80 degree days in one year, the hottest June, July, and August on record… The weather forecasters were beginning to sound like a broken record (and far too chipper for their own good, given the circumstances).

Then, a week ago today, the switch flipped. The temperatures dropped to the 60s, the wind picked up, and — you guessed it — we had the biggest August windstorm on record. All of a sudden it was October (the main harbinger of autumn here is wind — google Inauguration Day storm, Columbus Day storm, and Hanukkah Eve storm if you don’t believe me).

I’ve already got a second quilt on the bed, too, because the nighttime temps have started dropping to the 40s.

And then, to celebrate completing my new novel Reunion (the second Tale of the Unearthly Northwest), my friend L and I drove up to Sunrise today, on the eastern side of Mt. Rainier, and were greeted with this beautiful sight:

Low 40s, with snow-covered picnic tables. Suffice to say, we ate our lunch in the car.
Low 40s, with snow-covered picnic tables. Suffice to say, we ate our lunch in the car.
The trail was a bit icy and slushy, but the walk was wonderful. The air smells absolutely amazing up there.
The trail was a bit icy and slushy, but the walk was wonderful. The air smells absolutely amazing up there.
Not all was black and white and gray. Mountain ash foliage in full autumn color.
Not all was black and white and gray. Mountain ash foliage in full autumn color.
Looks like some kids were having a good time!
Looks like some kids were having a good time!
There really is a mountain up there. Looks like the bottom of the cloud deck was at about 12000 feet.
There really is a mountain up there. Looks like the bottom of the cloud deck was at about 12000 feet.

Oh, and the 6000 steps? Sunrise is at 6300 feet. We hit snow at about 6200 feet (Sunrise Point, about a mile from Sunrise proper, is at 6100 feet, and there was no snow there).

What a day. And I have the wet shoes to prove it!

Mirrored from M.M. Justus -- adventures in the supernatural Old West.

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From autumn to winter back to autumn again at Mt. Rainier

Nov. 13th, 2014 02:51 pm
mmegaera: (Much Ado in Montana)
Frosted trees at Paradise, Mt. Rainier
Frosted trees at Paradise, Mt. Rainier

This past Monday my friend L and I decided to take advantage of the clear (if rather chilly) weather and make a jaunt up to Mt. Rainier. Our goal was Paradise, at 5400 feet, but that depended on how clear the roads were, it having snowed up there the day before.

The roads were only a bit icy in spots (we only slid once, and that for a few inches), and the rewards were spectacular. Six inches of very sticky snow coated everything, from the Inn to random plant stems. It was clear when we arrived, but the clouds did start building up while we were up there, which is why I have no pictures of the actual mountain from this trip.

Paradise Inn, boarded up for the winter.
Paradise Inn, boarded up for the winter.
Frosted bushes
Frosted bushes
There *is* a Mountain behind those clouds, honest.
There *is* a Mountain behind those clouds, honest.
Nice tall snow sticks so the plows can find the parking lot.
Nice tall snow sticks so the plows can find the parking lot.
6
Nevermore in the almost-deserted parking lot.

It was cold. 31dF, to be precise, with a bit of wind. So we didn’t stay up there long, just enough so my friend could try out her new snow boots, so I could accidentally step in a plowed pile of snow up to my knees, and to eat our picnic lunch in the car.

Then we headed back down, stopping at Narada Falls (where the trail to the falls viewpoint was completely iced over), and at Longmire (at about half the altitude of Paradise), where we walked one of my favorite trails in the park, the Trail of the Shadows.

The Trail of the Shadows leads around the edge of a meadow dotted with hot springs and partially filled with a pond. It’s also the site of the first settlement in what is now the park, where, in the 1880s, James Longmire discovered the hot springs and decided to build facilities so that people could come and soak in them (and drink the water, although its reputation is foul-tasting).

This time of year mushrooms are quite abundant and varied. But the trail wasn’t underwater, which parts of it can be in late fall.

Two of the many, many mushrooms/toadstools/miscellaneous fungi we saw at Longmire.
Two of the many, many mushrooms/toadstools/miscellaneous fungi we saw at Longmire.
Across the golden meadow to the rain forest.
Across the golden meadow to the rain forest.
One of the springs the Longmires tamed for their resort.
One of the springs the Longmires tamed for their resort.
Plenty of running water, but none over the trail.
Plenty of running water, but none over the trail.

It was my first real outing since recovering from pneumonia last month. I’m quite pleased to report that I made it all the way around the mile-long trail without getting tired, as well as doing all the driving on the 3-hour round trip. I must be well!

Mirrored from Repeating History.

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