Paradise, Mt. Rainier

After a breakfast scone (a scone mixed with cheese, ham, and green peppers) at the Mountain Goat, we headed out of Packwood and in to Mt. Rainier National Park and the visitors' centre at Paradise. Not knowing really what to expect, I can honestly say it was breathtaking, in a literal sense. As we climbed up the mountain, the glacier covered crater hoved in and out of view, in amongst thousand-year-old Dougkas firs, cavernous valleys and sheer cliff edges. All around us were mountains, and (again) the photos simply do not do the scale or beauty of the place justice. At the visitors centre I picked up my passport stamps before setting out on a trail up the mountain.Read more