Views of the Mountain

Many people hike this trail in the opposite direction that we did, however, I wish to provide one reason for hiking it counterclockwise.  As you pass the falls, the forest becomes thinner, and you begin to get hints of the mountain. 

First you see much larger expanses of sky with slight hints of something near.  Then you reach a switchback and the mountain in all it's glory is out.  It's not instantaneous, but it builds as you walk up the trail.  One step at a time, the mountain is revealing it's beauty, as if it's too overwhelming to see all at once. 

As you can see, it was a sunny day with only a hint of clouds in the sky.  A perfect day to hike up a mountain. 

Waterfall

Beauty at the Falls

About 1.5 miles into the hike, the trail crosses the stream that we've been hiking along.  This unnamed stream originates up by Sunrise and tumbles down the rock slope,  Technically not waterfalls, the stream loses a few hundred feet of elevation as it cuts across the rock face of the falls. 

The trail along here has seen signs of landslide activity, and is open to the elements. As you can see in the second picture, it is easily forded on rocks in the stream bed. 

This falls also signaled a gradual change from the forested trail to a trail through the subalpine meadow areas.  The trees are starting to thin out and the trail wanders through more meadows.  An increase in wildflowers but also an increase in sunshine (hence heat). 

Crossing at the base of the Falls

Climate on the Leeward Side

Having just completed the leg by Longmire, it was easy to compare the climate on the Northeast side of the mountain to the climate on the Southwest.  (We had plenty of times where we stopped to compare the climate during our stops on the way up the hill.)  The main difference in the climate is the moisture.

As you can see from the forest photos near Longmire, the understory is much more lush and verdant.  The understory on this side has much debris from the trees, however, very little (comparatively) vegetation.

The prevailing winds at Mount Rainier are from the Southwest, so most of the moisture is dropped on the windward side.  On the leeward side, the soil is drier hence less vegetation.

The other factor is that there is much more ash from the volcano.  As the ash is blown downwind from an eruption, the leeward side will have much larger ash deposits. 

These factors make this portion of the trail dryer and dustier.  It takes longer for vegetation to decompose and it is more susceptible to wildfires.

Overall, though, it was a pleasant walk through the shade. 

White River Campground - Finding the Trail

Ranger Patrol Cabin

The first challenge was finding the trail from White River Canyon.  This was not obvious since the day-use parking area is near the trail head toward Fryingpan Creek.  In order to get to the trail to Sunrise, you had to find your way through the campground and out the other side.  As you can see from the second picture, it's not very well marked. 

The easiest way, we discovered, was to find the Historic Ranger Patrol cabin.  The trail to Sunrise originates along the right side of the cabin and quickly goes up a hill. 

Wonderland Trailhead behind Cabin

"In the park's early years, rangers used patrol cabins as a base to attach wildfires, track poachers, and provide aid to travelers.  The cabins were living quarters in the summer and emergency sheltsers in the winter.  By the 1930's, a network of patrol cabins encircles the mountain along the path of the Wonderland Trail."  (from the sign placard by the cabin.) 

For those of you who have read Floyd Schmoe's A year in Paradise, this is the type of cabin that he and his family stayed in during their trip around the mountain in October.  I did question his sanity when he said he was going to take his 3-year old and his wife that late in the season. 

Third Leg - White River Campground to Shadow Lake

For the third leg of my journey, I chose to hike on the Northwest side of the mountain near Sunrise.  Although not very long, this was a pretty strenuous workout. 

We started in White River Campground and hiked the trail up to Sunrise.  In general, this is not the way most people hike it, however, given that this was a there and back hike, I generally choose to go uphill first.  Basically get it over with. 

The difficult part of this hike is the first 2.6 miles which includes an elevation gain of over 2000 feet.  We got to the Sunrise Rim Trail junction
a couple of hours later, and spent the afternoon up around Sunrise.  Needless to say, the hike back to the car went much quicker. 

Longmire

The Beginning or the End. 

In the mid 1880's, James Longmire discovered a number of mineral springs within the current boundaries of Mount Rainier National Park. He immediately saw their commercial value and file a claim on the land.  These springs, and the remains of the pools that he built, can be found on the Trail of the Shadows, and easy 0.7 mile hike in the meadow. 

Longmire went on to build a road to his springs, a hotel to serve the guests, and sold guide services up and around the mountain.  It wasn't until 1939 that the National Park Service was able to buy out Longmire's descendants and turn the site into area which it is today. 

Wilderness Information Center

Museum

Longmire is the home to the Wilderness Information Center.  This is staffed by the Park Service Rangers and is where hikers can get Wilderness Camping Permits, required if you are doing an overnight stay on one of the many campsites on the Wonderland Trail. 

The process for making reservations is described in detail here. 

National Park Inn

References:
10 Oct 2007 Article in The News Tribune

Historic Gas Station / Transportation Museum

Nurse Logs

Immature Nurse Log

To tell you the truth, the leg between Cougar Rock and Longmire is pretty boring.  It's a nice, easy hike down a gentle slope through a temperate rain forest.  So, when I stumbled across a nurse log, I couldn't help but expound.

After a tree dies and falls over, it begins to decay.  It becomes a home for insects, critters, mosses, plants and eventually, other trees.  As the wood rots, the nutrients are consumed by other organisms and it becomes the nurse for the new generation; hence the term nurse log.

As you can see from the picture, seeds of trees begin to grow on nurse logs, their roots initially growing through the cracks in the wood, and eventually growing into the decayed log.  In a tropical rain forest, a tree may decay in 18 months, however in the Pacific Northwest, it takes decades.  By then, the trees growing in the log are beginning to mature.

In fact, if you look carefully in a mature forest, you can see the remains of a nurse log by looking at the spacing of the mature trees.  If you find a number of trees roughly in a line, you can bet that they began their lives in a nurse log. 

Future Nurse Log

Mature Nurse Log

Cougar Rock Campground

Cougar Rock Campground is located on the road between Longmire and Paradise right near the Nisqually River Crossing.  This campground is accessible by car and reservations are required for regular campsites.  As you can see from the map, it is primarily used for typical camping, not wilderness camping. 

If you are starting or ending at Longmire, it is an easy hike.  It does have potable water and flush toilets, which come in handy sometimes. 

It also makes a good place to meet up with rides at the beginning or end of your trek. 

Ahhh Vacation.

Sorry for the hiatus, I was out of town.  On to finish the notes on the last leg and start the next one. 

Nisqually River Crossing

Mount Rainier up the Nisqually Valley

A bit more than a mile from Carter Falls the trail crosses the Nisqually River.  The Nisqually River originates from the base of the Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier. 

The Nisqually Glacier is one of the largest glaciers on Mount Rainier, and is easily viewed from Paradise.  The glacier, advancing at up to 29 inches per day, is constantly melting filling the river with cold rushing water.  It is also the source of many floods over the years, the latest being in November 2006, where 18 inches of rain fell at Paradise within 24 hours and the flooding destroyed roads, trails and campgrounds. 

Nisqually River Crossing

In the second photo, you can see the method of crossing the river.  This is similar to most river crossings on the trail, needing to be taken out during the winter and replaced the next spring. 

Notice the white colored water on the second picture.  This is called glacier flour and is rock scraped from the mountain by the glacier.  This material is then suspended in the ice and when melted, is carried by the river downstream.  In the final picture, you can see how fine this sediment is. 

Glacier Flour

Early explorers always knew if a glacier was close if they came across a lake and it had an opaque turquoise color.  That is due to the glacier flour being washed into the lake from upstream. 

Big Rock

Big Rock in the River

As I wandered farther down the trail, I noticed a huge rock in the middle of the river.  The rock obviously came from the hillside above, but was much larger than most of the talus on the other shore.  Just to give you some perspective, this rock was much larger than my car and about as tall as my house. 

It will take a little while for the river to erode this rock.

Trail

I also thought it would be a good idea to give you an idea of what the trail looked like through the forest.  This section of the trail was very wide, very smooth and almost laid out like a road. 

I found out later that it actually was a road back in the power plant days.  Not the type of road we would think of, but a cleared path through the woods. 

Madcap and Carter Falls

Madcap Falls

As I progressed down the trail, I heard the rushing of the water become louder, and came to Madcap Falls.  There is a nice viewing area along the side of the trail, and as you can see, very good photo opportunities. 

Progressing further down the trail, you come to Carter Falls.  Or at least, you hear Carter Falls.  The sign identifies the location of the falls, however, getting a good view of the falls is difficult.  As you can see, from the trail, you have to look hard to determine see a waterfall. 

Carter Falls was named for Henry Carter, the man who created the trail between Longmire and Paradise.  In Henry Longmire's day, he charged 50 cents for access to this trail.  In today's dollars, that would be over $11. 

Carter Falls

There is a bit of confusion as to which falls are Carter Falls and which are Madcap Falls.  Madcap Falls is not marked on the trail, but it is more visible than Carter Falls.  In essence, they could easily be part of a larger cascade along the Paradise River. 

It was a nice place to stop for a sandwich.