We finished our drive around the peninsula and did a short hike around a temperate rainforest. We then drove through a lot of small logging towns on our way to Mt. Rainier. Even the tiniest towns that we’ve passed through have some sort of espresso shack. Today was a free day at national parks (at least in Washington state), so it was really crowded at Rainier. Signs going into the park warned us that the parking lot at the main visitors center with panoramic views of the mountain (and where the trailhead of our preferred hike was located) was full and that we wouldn’t be able to stop. A park ranger at the visitor’s center near our campsite recommended a couple hikes in that area, so we saw some more waterfalls and then some giant trees that are over 1000 years old. They’re located on an island, so they’ve been spared from the fires that periodically wipe out the other areas of the park. Relocating our activities to this section of the park meant we actually only got a few fleeting glances of the mountain itself, but it looked suitably formidable.
The hikers in Olympic and especially Mt Rainier are less friendly than the other parks we’ve been in. Normally, whenever you pass people on the trails, everyone says hi and makes some comment about the weather or hike or park or general well-being, whereas everyone just seems to ignore each other in the Washington parks. Our theory is that hiking and camping is a normal activity for everyone in the Northwest, so they’re a bit more blasé about the whole thing. Most of the people we saw on the trails at Rainier were carrying or leading around little kids, and the campground was full of well-behaved little kids running around and riding bikes and playing with dogs.
We're starting to notice the leaves starting to change a bit, so that should be exciting for our drive back east.
-M
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