Successful Ascent of Mt Rainier!('s tourist trail)

Boy, getting up there is so much easier by car!

What fun to go up on a hot July day and scramble along in the snow in flip-flops!!

The boys conquer Mt. Parking Lot :-)

I told a friend that I had gone to Mt Rainier for the first time, and she said, "Oh, you're one of those native Washingtonians who's never bothered to go see any of your own attractions!"
I asked if she had been there.
She said, "Of course. I'm from Ohio."

It's true. I always thought of Mt Rainier as a standard skyline feature, kinda like the moon. I probably would have gone ahead and died without it crossing my mind to get closer, but Ed finally suggested we drive up there.

It might have been partly because his friend told him he had gone hiking on a trail on Mt Rainier and had encountered a lady wearing sunglasses, tennis shoes and a big smile. Ed kept a sharp lookout for her but she wasn't there the day we went (luckily, since we had kids along)

We encountered a group of scared-looking flatlanders who asked how hard it was to get up there (higher up the tourist trail) and could they do it in their regular shoes? Ed gravely warned them of how slippery it was and urged caution. They were nodding in agreement and then I said, "I made it in flip-flops!"

Everybody looked at my feet and had a big laugh (except Ed).

Oh, kingly mountain draped in royal raiment white
With countless jewels bedecked in dazzling splendor
Yet silent as the night

I've always wanted to say that! I was hoping to go up and have my mind expanded somehow. I even stared at the mountain for a while, waiting for something to happen. Maybe you have to actually climb it.

But I had great fun on the tourist trail! SO pretty, so wide open, the sky so deeply blue and the air so nice.

1600 x 1200

1440 x 900

Mt. Rainier visit 2012, the Paradise side this time

Oops. I did it again.

This time I decided not to make everybody laugh at me by wearing flipflops, so I put on tennies, actually those cool Skechers Shape-Up Resistance Runners with the rocker sole. If half a moment's thought had gone into it I wouldn't have, because I know very well I can't even climb on rocks at the beach in those! The trail was covered with four feet of snow and wearing those shoes was like having two plastic salad bowls strapped to my feet.

Flipflops would have been easier. Some of the people we passed on the trail (the smart ones) had crampons.

The view was worth it. The dropoff was the kind that makes you hold your kids by the back of the shirt.

Mike decided to run up to the barrier and throw a huge two-hand snowball over the cliff; my peripheral vision registered "Mike running" and "motion continues, flying out into space".

Thank you for the two or three extra gray hairs, dear.

And Dave tells me he's going to climb it.