mt rainier

Day 5: Crag Rock Spring to Blowout Mountain. Today I hiked 17 miles. Seventeen!!! That’s the most I’ve ever hiked in a day. I’m definitely getting my trail legs. The trail has also mellowed out a bit, allowing me to travel more easily.

Day 4: Bear Gap to Arch Rock Spring. The views along today’s trail were awesome as I travelled along a crest a couple ridges east of Mount Rainier. The clear blue skies and unique terrain made for a fantastic day.

Day 3: American Lake to Bear Gap Junction. It was a beautiful morning at American Lake. I had a little under 12 miles to hike, and some wonderful lakes, alpines meadows and passes to travel through.

Before starting back onto the next section of the PCT, hubby and I spent a couple nights camping in Mount Rainier National Park. We had a picture perfect day of hiking in Sunrise.

Today I hit the trail. Not just any trail, but THE trail. The Pacific Crest Trail. The first multi-week trail I ever heard about. The trail that seemed like an impossible challenge. The trail I figured I’d never have time to do. I got the kernel of an idea, and have built on it until it has become my reality. So today I step out on a journey to complete the first half of the 500-mile Washington section of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Rainier is a mountain that will get under your skin, in a very, very good way. There is something captivating and enchanting about Mount Rainier that pulls us in and doesn’t let us go. John Muir, one of America’s best naturalists, understood the draw of Rainier.

​Sunrise is a truly beautiful area of Mount Rainier to explore. We were lucky enough to get a taste of much of it, spending a couple nights at backcountry sites, a couple nights at a front country campground, hiking low, hiking high, seeing sunsets and sunrises.

The day after our aborted backpacking trip in the north-east corner of Mount Rainier National Park was grey and dreary, though a bit less rainy. After some discussion and perusal of our map, we decided to head to Glacier Basin, a trail that conveniently started about 50 feet from our campsite.

I was seriously itching to get back on trail after getting home from our California road-trip after completing the John Muir Trail. For Labor Day weekend we’d promised ourselves a trip to the Sunrise area of Mount Rainier, which is only open for a short time through the summer season.