Temps were a crisp 29 degrees as the Longmire gate opened at 9 am. On such a beautiful day as this, the three of us were surprised to see only about a dozen cars waiting. Right out of the parking lot we donned snowshoes and headed up the Wonderland trail, crossing the Nisqually River on the Cougar Rock log bridge. We scrambled up the snowy bank to the north & through the trees, connecting with the trail again above Paradise River. We later turned around just before Carter Falls. The snowfall over the often narrow trail had made the angle in some sections increasingly steep & slick. We backtracked and decided to snowshoe up the river bed, following the Nisqually. With the awesome view of the mountain in our faces, sunshine with blue skies, fresh powdery snow and only animal tracks for company; times like these make for some very special memories. Map USGS Mt Rainier West

~ Today’s snowshoe trip from Narada Fallls to Paradise at Mt Rainier National Park didn’t happen because it still wasn’t safe to open the road. It’s supposed to open tomorrow. Of course, we’re hoping that the big crack and boom (avalanche) we heard didn’t come down on the road; if it did, it’s not likely to be open this weekend and we want to go back and try again on Monday. But today’s trip from Longmire to Cougar Rock was awesome! We were a bit concerned at first when we woke up to RAIN, not the sunny skies the forecasters promised us. We were even more concerned when it was rain and not snow when we got to the park entrance. Luckily, just before Longmire (where the gate is closed) the rain turned to light fluffy snow. The sun threatened to come out, Eagle Peak teased us, but “the lady” (Tahoma, aka Rainier) did not choose to show herself to us today. Maybe Monday. After being assured by the ranger that Rampart would have been “teh stoopid” and that we could do the first two miles of Eagle Peak (uphill switchbacks) and turn back at the saddle (which was near certain death) we opted for the Wonderland Trail up to Cougar Rock. The snow was light, crisp with just the right amount of “crunch”. The trees were dusted with a light covering of fresh snow. The sun shined briefly while we were lunching at the picnic area of Cougar Rock (not safe to cross the river to Carter Falls) where we enjoyed the antics of “camp robbers” (several gray jays, a stellar jay and a couple of ravens) We had one minor rescue when a bank we were climbing gave way and we had to help dig a friend’s shoe out. (we found a HUGE hollowed out area, it could have been any of us) It started lightly snowing on the way down. We had two minor rescues a few feet from the parking lot when people took of their snowshoes and postholed up to their hips (very common occurrence today) All in all, it was a beautiful day. Monday, we shall return to paradise (or at least try, Eagle Peak is always there for backup) The rest of the pictures of today’s Mt Rainier snowshoe adventure are available here: http://www.wildcelticrose.net/lisasplace/cougarsnowshoe0208.html ~L

We arrived at Longmire as the sunrise was illuminating Tahoma. She was GLORIOUS!!! So much so that I squealed “OOOOOHHHH!!!” and left poor Bryan at the car while I went and took pictures from the road (hey, I already had my boots and shell pants on; he didn’t) We checked in at the ranger station and decided that taking the Wonderland Trail up towards Rampart Ridge was the safest choice given the current snow/avalanche conditions. We could make the decision to cross the ridge or not when we got up there. It was quite the slog up, where I promptly lost my sunglasses (they were on the top of my hat which I promptly pushed off my head to dangle over my pack) Hey, an annual sacrifice to the snow gods ensures a safe season (as does an annual sacrifice to the river gods) We took a little side trial to get another view of the mountain before she started being a tease. After that, we took a food break and had an “incident” that is shown on the video. As we approached the ridge, we briefly lost the trail and had to consult maps and GPS units and [gasp] use good judgment. We came across an open slope that could only be described as “death by avalanche on a silver platter” looked at each other (with really big eyes) said, “No frikking way!” and backtracked. We bushwhacked a bit straight up the spine of the ridge and found a great view of Tahoma which was our lunch spot. By then, she was playing hard to get; no… she was being a tease. A bit of leg here, a cleavage shot there…. We waited until we were too cold to stand still any longer and reluctantly headed down the Rampart Ridge Trail to make the loop. (we’d already passed the dicey part) We found the overlook and were amused to see that the railing that is normally about hip/waist height was completely buried. We got some great pictures of Eagle Peak and headed back down as the sun started to come out in earnest. Of course, the sun coming out meant that we had to dodge snowbombs being released from the trees. It was one heck of an awesome trip!!! The pictures are available here… http://www.wildcelticrose.net/lisasplace/Rampart0108.html And the YouTube video of “the incident in the shadow of Mt Tahoma” is here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehTmFk3GRQw Next week I have to have truck repairs done on Saturday, but I’m all about doing something on Sunday!!! ~L

The road to Paradise was closed all day, so we snowshoed the Trail of the Shadows and the Wonderland Trail to the river crossing instead. The snow was soft and deep, in some places over knee high, and we sank in the snow as we broke trail along the Trail of the Shadows. The scenery was stunning, and we had snowfall rather than rain on this outing. We saw a deer in the woods who did not shy away when we hiked past on our snowshoes.

Started at Longmire and made it to Van Trump Park Trail junction (2 miles). Since I was breaking trail through 2-3 feet of fresh snow, I got a good workout. The West Side Road is gated shut at the main road due to construction which is supposed to end by 12/17, but there will probably be too much snow to drive up it by then anyway.