more from Rainier

On Sunday, we woke up (early, natch) and had a breakfast fire in order to roast bagels and apples and cheese. And then we packed up the tents and food and supplies and headed out - the Hoangs went home, and we went back to Paradise. I gave the kids a few options for easier hikes - lower elevation, along a river, to a waterfall - and they both opted to return to the snow. (It became clear by the end of the day that Sebastian's motivation was at least partly tied to his desire to return to the gift shop and get a souvenir... which I indulged.) We stopped to see a waterfall along the way - Christine Falls - and then headed up to Paradise.

This map shows the hiking trails around Paradise on Rainier. On Saturday we did Nisqually Vista, and then Dead Horse Creek to Skyline to Glacier Vista, and looped down through Alta Vista. On Sunday, we followed the Skyline Trail to Myrtle Falls and then over to Sluiskin Falls, and then returned the same way.

Two little hikers, with their binoculars, ready to go.

 

Two kids, Myrtle Falls, Mt. Rainier.

Looking away from the mountain at the Ramparts.

This particular area of the hike was marmot heaven. We saw 12 marmots and the kids were thrilled!

We started to get a little loopy with the camera and photo-bombing each other...

We had been feeling tired, but then we saw snow up ahead and both children got really excited and started sprinting uphill (at elevation, after hiking 1.5 miles) to get there sooner. I love these two mountain goats of mine.

More flowers... so many flowers...

At the endpoint - Sluiskin Falls. Kids are very tired and hot, and ready to go down. But the views were amazing and I was so proud of them.

We hiked down, singing silly old camp songs (B a bay, B e bee, B i biddy bye B o bo....) and made a beeline for the visitors center. Souvenirs were duly purchased and we climbed back into the car, ready for home. We stopped at Narada Falls on the way out, admiring the falls with their conveniently placed rainbow.

Liesl slept on the way home, of course, all covered up in various sweaters and jackets.