Exploring Mt. Rainier National Park
Forest of the Pacific Northwest Having a few days off back in Seattle and looking for some down time after a whirlwind month and a half of no days off at my new expedition leader job I decided to go for a solo exploratory mission to the nearby Mt. Rainier. I had seen the snow covered summit from the plane when I first flew into Seattle and it has been calling me ever since. I knew there was all kinds of hiking trails and camping opportunities, plus some pretty cool wildlife to be sighted as well. I also hoped that on a rainy, foggy midweek day in early June the mountain crowds would be virtually nonexistent. There are a couple of very cute towns on the way to Mt. Rainier National Park with little general stores and churches. I stopped into one general store and saw they still had VHS movies to rent which is about as small town vibe as you can get. I stocked up on some essentials (cookies and beer) and headed off into the park. I figured a plan would present itself...