Mount Rainier, also known as Tahoma, is the large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Ranges, at 4390 m high the tallest peak in and symbol of Washington State, and the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. With 26 major glaciers, it is also the most heavily glaciated peak in the contiguous US. Mount Rainier National Park was established in 1899 as the fourth park in the United States to protect the mountain and its surrounding features, and besides the mountain itself (famed among mountain climbing circles), it also boasts rainforests and subalpine meadows. As no roads approach the peak, most people visit one of 5 regions surrounding the mountain: Carbon River, Longmire, Paradise, Ohanapecosh and Sunrise.

Rainier has been long on my list of parks to visit, ever since my family drove by in 1998 or so on the way to Canada, passing Seattle at about 112 kph. In the late afternoon sun, Mount Rainier loomed both over the landscape and my imagination, seemingly within easy reach even though it was more than 100km away. From the back seat, I watched the mountain finally recede into the distance as twilight fell, and I wanted to see it closer. That did not happen until 2022, when I finally got a trip planned to Seattle. Rainier was high on that list.

I ended up visiting three times, once with some graduate school friends on the weekend, then twice on my own, going up the long road to Sunrise and hiking up to Burroughs Mountain. The highlight though was Paradise, named for its obvious connotations. Lying at about 1600m on the Southern slope of the mountain, Paradise was indeed a magical landscape of alpine meadows, glaciers, and waterfalls, as well as the adjacent Tatoosh Range, all dominated by the looming peak of Rainier. I would like to return to the mountain to hike additional areas that were blocked by autumn wildfires in 2022, in which case I would certainly visit Paradise again.

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Alan Koshiyama - A Restless Giant

From  theroguez!