Saturday, March 1, 2008

Sunshine and snow

We went snowshoeing on Mt. Rainier on Thursday. Ever since we arrived in Seattle we haven't been able to overcome our awe at the...thing...looming south of the city and dominating the skyline on a clear day. We were lucky to have sun all day long, even though we got a bit burned because we forgot to bring sunscreen.

We walked around the Nisqually Vista trail in the morning and tried hiking up to Alta Vista (I'm not sure of the altitude but it's probably around 6000' - 6200') after lunch. I think we made it about 3/4 of the way but had to come back down at the point because we ran out of time.

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Neighbouring mountains seen from the road up to Paradise.

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Me on Nisqually Vista (around 5,500 feet high) with the peak (14,000 feet!) in the background. There was a glacier visible under the snow but I don't think it's clear in the photo.

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Going up to Alta Vista. We saw people hiking in boots! I know it's possible, but given the trouble I had on flat snow in my own hiking boots I was glad to have the snowshoes.

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Another view of neighbouring mountains, seen from near Alta Vista.

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Top of Mt Rainier from near Alta Vista. I think the little cloud at the tip spent several hours rolling gently over the peak. You could see the back end compress and the front end hug the ground.

2 comments:

Kristen said...

That looks like so much fun. I'd like to try snowshoeing. Hope you were wearing warm handknits!

cindy said...

Glorious mountain shots!