Kathleen's Window: Warm and Sunny? No, We Found Snow!

Friday, June 20, 2014

Warm and Sunny? No, We Found Snow!

Sunday-Monday, June 15 and 16, 2014

Sunday started out cold and dreary. We drove east out of Olympic National Park. With two weeks left until we take the ferry out of Port Hardy on Vancouver Island, and start the trip to Alaska, we needed to find more places to explore. After checking out a way to easily see Seattle, we decided once again to skip the big city, and drive to the eastern half of Washington and explore there. First we had to find a Walmart and resupply, and then start the drive east.

To reach the arid eastern half of the state you must first cross the high Cascade range. We explored the Cascades some in Oregon, but, in Washington state they are higher. We set our sights on Mount Rainier, the tallest of the Cascades volcanoes at 14,410 feet. The main campground in the national park had just opened, so after a long afternoon of driving in and out of rain, about 7 pm we reached a nearly deserted Cougar Rock Campground at an elevation of 3,200 feet. Wow! We finally found cold, wet, and drippy rainforest! The campsites were paved, but very uneven, and it took a lot of looking around to find a flat one. Our other concern was to get away from the steep slope on one side of the campground. The sign that greeted us as we entered, (I forgot to photograph), warned us that we were in a seismically active area, on the slopes of Mt. Rainier. We could expect the possibility of earthquakes, mudflows, rockslides, and flooding, and we should camp at our own risk! Traveling with my own geologist should have been reassuring, but Greg seemed a bit concerned too. Oh, well, we were only staying for one night.

The drive up to Mt. Rainier, clouds, snow in the crevasses

The next morning we woke up to 40 degrees and wet. After a short visit to the Longmire visitor center just down the hill, we were informed that it was snowing at the Paradise visitor center, at 5,400 feet the highest point that you can drive on the road across the mountain. Okay, the only way to get where we wanted to go was to go over, or back down and WAY around. Up we drove through the rain, the sleet, which we “enjoyed” at a scenic overlook, and into snow, not just snowbanks on the ground, but coming down fairly heavily. We left the Olympic Peninsula to get away from the drizzle and gloom, and find sun and warmth. We reached the top and parked. Here we were at Paradise on June 16^th, 37 degrees, and wet snow falling! “I want two tickets to Paradise...” kept running through my head.

Longmire Park Office

Tree ring dates on a slice of old growth Redcedar

Could we find a hole in the clouds showing Mt. Rainier?

Heading for Paradise

We scurried into the visitor center, not wanting to dig out coats and boots. I watched a woman slog across the parking lot in sandals, capris, and a light jacket. Oh, well, we were a bit more appropriate! Inside we found mobs of middle schoolers on a field trip who couldn't go hiking, and were trying to spend all their money in the gift shop. Since we never saw Mount Rainier on the horizon, on our drive the day before, and couldn't even see up the slope above us at Paradise, we gave up on Mount Rainier and drove on east “toward the light!”

Climbing guides were still leading paying customers up the mountain

Greg is willing to hike far enough to get a hot coffee.

Our best view of the mountain!

Down we descended. Within three hours we were in arid, overcast Yakima having gone from 37 degrees and snowing, to the 70's. Back to sagebrush and grasslands. We checked into an RV park in town, and started the cleaning marathon. Showers, seven (count'um) loads of laundry, including rugs, vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, and ate leftovers, too tired to cook. Also, too tired to enjoy the free cable TV.