Ashford, WA

 Today was Mt. Rainier day!  The forecast was for fairly chilly with showers moving in during the afternoon.  So we got moving fairly quickly for that reason....also because we'd read that the park fills up quickly and parking becomes a problem late in the morning.

Beautiful views of Mt. Rainier on the 20 mile drive up the mountain.

 

Stopped along the roadway to view Christine Falls. Always fun when it doesn't take a 2 mile hike to see a pretty waterfall.

We lucked out seriously with a parking spot just a few steps from the visitor center.  Others were having to park in  overflow parking or along the road.  We started right in on the hike of the day - the Skyline Trail.  It's about 5.5 miles long and takes you up to the glaciers on the mountain.  Not an easy one!  The valley views were just incredible.

Lots of snow!!  Glad we had good hiking boots.  The sign at the base said crampons were needed.  We found we were OK with just our boots.

We stopped to rest (frequently) and just admired the views.

Friendly little squirrels or chipmunks....I believe folks feed them.  We did not.

Views of the mountain were just better and better as we climbed.

No one told us we had to cross a freezing cold stream!  We made it hop-skipping stones without any trauma.

The snow was a bit dirty where we were all hiking.

We came across a few Hoary Marmots....apparently a bit different than ones elsewhere.

Twist and turns in the trail made the mountain look far away at times.  You can see some folks that were apparently on a guided tour climbing on the glacier.  No thanks....it was hard enough on the rocky trail!

Beautiful blue ice in places.

The views to the south (I think) were incredible as well.

This was about at the 3 hour mark on our hike.  The clouds started to move in.

Still beautiful views opposite the mountain.

I tried to get some wildflower photos but they don't seem to "pop" as much as they do in real life.

At about 4 hours, we finally started the trek downward.  

Clouds chasing us on the way down.  A few cold raindrops but that was all.

Another marmot was we headed further down the mountain.

All done in about 4.5 hours.....back to the car - so nice to set in the car and rest the feet.

On the way driving back down the mountain, we did stop for another easy waterfall photo - the one Narda falls. 

And one more stop to see the beautiful Nisqually river that runs the gorge along the highway into the park.

 Very tuckered out by a very strenuous hike for us old folks!!  In for an early night.