10-9-2009 Mt. Rainier Hidden in Clouds-Hiking around Reflection Lake-Mt. Rainier

November 24th, 2009

This trip to Mount Rainier was done on October 9, 2009. This photo was taken on a CLEAR DAY last year.

If you are visiting Mt. Rainier check out the other journals with photos for the season you plan to visit for more information. There are blog postings that date all the way back to May of 2007. Feel free to email with questions.

After many fabulous sunny fall days in October, clouds covered the mountain bringing a chill with them. The blue cloudless days early in the week allowed many visitors the opportunity to see the bright autumn colors decorating the base of Mount Rainier. The fall colors with the sun shining give Mount Rainier a special brilliance. Unfortunately, the brilliance of a mountain view was missed by Tom, our friend, Bronka, and me on this Friday in October.

We had planned to hike up to the Pinnacle Peak saddle for a fall color view of Mount Rainier that is so big and beautiful that it has become an annual event. Without much hesitation after arriving under clouds, we quickly settled on staying at Reflection Lake and going to Artist Pool, Faraway Rock and up toward Paradise. Everyone loves this Lakes Trail that circles Reflection Lake in a three mile loop with options to climb toward Paradise! The reason this area is so popular is that when the mountain is not visible there are endless visual treats that can rival a majestic mountain view. The trail is bordered by both mountain blueberries and huckleberries bushes that quickly turn red, yellow or orange from cool fall weather. With the choice of eating berries, picking berries or just marveling over colored sights along the trail, this is the place to be when a view of the mountain is hiding in the clouds during an autumn visit.

The red, pink or purplish red of the low lying mountain blueberry bushes and the yellow or orange of the huckleberry bushes greeted us as we hiked along the trail. Despite the absence of the sun to make the foliage sparkle, color was everywhere! The previous weekend had brought a light dusting of snow to Paradise and the upper elevation hills, so the sight of the Tatoosh Range from Mazama Ridge was especially nice. At Faraway Rock there is a wonderful open view of Stevens Canyon and on this day the hills of the canyon wore their orange, yellow and red coats. A wind had put cone seeds in the still water of Artist Pool giving the pool freckles. The colors changed to different shades the higher we climbed toward Paradise. Some of the reds were softer and almost pink rather than the deep purple red down closer to Reflection Lake. The grasses in the small meadows where there were many small pools of water called tarns had turned yellow along with a slight pinkish color and a lime green. Rather than the lush green color of summer covering the ground, a soft light brown spread over the landscape. In the far distance across a canyon with our naked eye we saw a black bear in amongst the red mountain blueberry bushes. We used our binoculars for a better view and marveled over how black and big this bear was.

(This is another small pool like Artist Pool located up toward Paradise which also had cone seeds in it.)

As we approached the Paradise area from the Lakes Trail, the temperature dropped making it quite cold. Therefore, we retreated to the back loop of the High Lakes Trail that led down to the opposite side of Reflection Lake. Here we saw a family of five Grouse disturbed by our presence on the trail.

The meadow colors continued to draw our comments about the beauty of this area. It was here on our way back to Reflection Lake that we ran into other people who also knew the Lakes Trail is one of the best places to be on a cloudy mountain day.

(Back at Reflection Lake)

The mountain remained hidden from us until we were driving back to town. We were treated to a most unusual view from the road. Lenticular clouds had piled high on the top of the summit. These clouds are caused by high winds and they often signal a change in weather. We stopped to snap a photo of the only view of Mount Rainier we saw this day. The mountain has a way of making each trip a special one to remember!