Mt. Rainier - Adventures in traveling

Our first glimpse of Mt. Rainer was on our final approach to Seattle, sticking up above the cloud layer like the top of a big ice cream cone. Fortunately, it was a cloudless day when we next saw the mountain.

We had set aside some time to sight-see in Seattle and the area, and we chose to spend a full day on a guided tour to Mt. Rainier National Park, some 60 miles southeast of the city. Rainier - visible on a clear day from as far as Victoria, B.C. - is a massive, 14,411 feet, topographically prominent...volcano.

Somehow, until we were in the very shadow of the mountain itself, we had missed the fact that Rainier is an active, dangerous volcano. In fact, it is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list. I take small comfort in knowing that being on the Decade list does not necessarily mean it will erupt in the next ten years. Though it might. It just means that when it goes, it is going to be dangerous because of its close proximity to densely populated areas.

In fact, it was not until we began to notice road-side signs that indicated that we were on a "Volcano  Evacuation Route" that our tour guide began to describe how all of the schools and villages along the route had to practice "Volcano drills" and suggested that, while on the tour, if the ground started to shake and we heard "train-like noises" we should head for higher ground immediately to escape the rivers of mud. That assumes that we were not wiped out by the big bang, initially. Uh, excuse, me Ma'am? Shouldn't you have mentioned this a bit earlier? Like, while we were still in Austin?

"Active volcano" is a relative term, we were assured, and the last volcanic eruption was in the 1850's, though there are "swarms" of seismic activity every few years. The fact that the shattered peak of Mt. St. Helens was visible from the Park, a mere 40 miles away, crow-flying-wise, was not a comfort. However we were assured that if there was an eruption, the tour company would cheerfully refund our money. To our heirs.

In fact, we loved the trip. It was a gorgeous, cloud free day (not a given around the mountain) and our driver/guide was knowledgeable and loved her job.Never mind that she didn't know her left from her right. She would call out something for us to see, saying, "On your right is...," all the while pointing the other direction with her left hand.

The approach to Rainier led us by mountain lakes and old-growth forest that survived fierce forest fires and the 1850 eruption (some trees are estimated to be more than 1,000 years old), as well as "new" forests - a mere 350 years old. There were colorful wildflowers along the way and we were surprised to see large swaths of Indian Paint Brush and Bluebonnets - though in that part of the country (and in Alaska, we found later) they are called Lupines.

Mt. Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous US, with 25 major glaciers and numerous unnamed snow or ice patches.spawning six major rivers. We traveled along several moraines - debris left as glaciers receded - like that above.

In early June, some of the Park roads had just opened, and snow was abundant on both sides of the road. Rainier is a popular climbing destination: here's a group that was just getting ready to attempt to summit.

Next: an interesting side trip on the way to the mountain.