What the Heck Have We Been Doing

That thought kept going through my mind over Labor Day weekend as I explored Mt. Rainier for the first time in the 15 plus years that Mary and I have lived up here.  We really have no excuses for not having been there before.  When the roads are clear (which was a fairly short time this year), it is an easy two-hour drive to the park.  This weekend it was absolutely incredible.  The snow had just finally melted in some of the lower elevations and it was sunny all weekend with highs in the mid-80s.

Our friends Victoria and Vikash invited us on this trip to Ohanapecosh Campground in Mt. Rainier National Park last year and reserved some beautiful sites overlooking the Ohanapecosh river.  Unfortunately Mary hurt her back a week before the trip and decied to stay home with Julia for the weekend.  So, Eva and I made it a father-daughter weekend.

There were three other families along for this trip and we each took a turn with a meal.  The first night's dinner was an awesome river side meal with lots of kids, grandparents, and great food.

The following day we started with a quick trip to the visitor center at the campground . . .

and then drove up towards Paradise to take the kids for a hike to Snow Lake.  Although a pretty short hike of just 1.1 mile, it was Eva's first "big" hike and involved a few areas of steep climbs.  Combined with the incredible 85 degree weather, it was a tough hike for the kids (and those like me who should hike more often).

Eva and her friend Amisha did great on the hike up and we all had a nice lunch break at Snow Lake, followed by a quick upside down dip in the stream that feeds the lake.  

After the hike down, we got back in the truck, and drove up to the Paradise lodge for a well deserved ice cream cone and more amazing views of the mountain that we simply call "The Mountain" up here in Seattle.  

It was a bit Dinsneyland-like at Paradise as the weather really brought out the crowds.  The two main parking lots were totatally full and I had to park about a mile down a steep mountain road from the lodge after dropping off Vikash and the kids.  Fortunately, the Park Service runs a shuttle from the lodge that picks up and drops off right at your car as I was not up for another hike at that point.

The campground at Ohanapecosh was excellent.  While the site we booked was a bit tricky to back the trailer into (I seriously thought I was heading back home when I first pulled up), I took notes on a bunch of other very good trailer sites for future trips.  And the walk-in sites for car campers are just incredible - right on the river, below the main campground with what is basically a private beach for the three walk-in sites.  Lucky for us, two of the families on this trip took those sites and we spent much of our time down on the beach.

I can't wait to get back up there and see more of the park.  We barely scratched the surface with our short stay, but living so close we should have many more opportunites to check out other areas - we just have to make sure we start taking advantage of those oppportunites.