Paradise Glacier — Friday, Aug. 23, 2024

Two of us hiked up the 4th Crossing Trail along a pretty creek to the Skyline Trail, then up to the Paradise Glacier Trail. A wide selection of wildflowers added color and beauty to the hike. As we turned on to the glacier trail, we entered the low-lying cloud and "Marmot Valley." We saw 4 marmots and heard them whistling loudly. Continuing up the trail through the moraine, we reached the end of maintained trail sign. We had decided to turn back when another hiker showed us a picture he'd taken in the ice cave under one of the snowfields another 1/4 mile or so further. That gave us motivation to keep going. It wasn't hard to follow the trail, which crossed a snowfield, then continued over the black moraine, crossing several creeks lined with bright green moss. We were able to climb down to the creek coming out from under one of the snowfields and saw the colorful cave under the snow. We enjoyed taking pictures there and in another smaller "cave" under another snowfield. As we headed back, the clouds began to lift. I spotted three mountain goats on the ridge above us before we reached the tarn. By the time we returned to the Skyline Trail, we had a clear view of the Tatoosh Range. We never did see Mt. Rainier this trip. While admiring the view, a hiker told us that there was a bear eating huckleberries in the valley below, and after watching for a while, we saw it! I was sad that I had forgotten my good Canon camera at home, but at least I could tell it was a bear from my cellphone picture.