So, we spent most of today exploring more of Mt Rainier. The waterfall
is Myrtle Falls, which was a steep but relatively short hike.
But...while we were there, we decided to keep going and ended up doing
close to 10 miles of hiking. Along the way, we glimpsed one of the
glaciers before it was swallowed by the clouds. We also met quite a few
marmots on the trail (bottom right).
We also hiked to the Grove of Patriarchs, an island of 1000 year old
trees. The one on the top right was a giant cedar. Bottom right was
one that had fallen and now has new trees growing out of it. It really
was quite a remarkable place to see!
As the rain clouds rolled in, we got in one last hike to Silver Falls.
The water was so blue it looked dyed, and although the photo doesn't
show it, this falls was quite big and powerful. The lake on the right
is Reflection Lakes, and although the mountains were covered in clouds,
we did manage to catch one tiny patch of blue sky reflected. We're back
in Seattle tonight, staying near the airport. We'll begin the long
journey home bright and early tomorrow morning.
