Today, we met the final major climb of the trip, Chinook Pass on Mt. Rainier. We couldn’t have asked for better weather although “the mountain” was covered in clouds as we came up and over. We worked hard for 20 miles from our campsite and found the perfect spot to enjoy our good old oatmeal in the midst of sun and scenery. After a couple hours of climbing, we coasted down in a matter of minutes to the White River Ranger Station
Getting closer...good to see you Rainier!
Somewhere...behind the clouds lies a 14,410 foot giant!
We were hoping to ditch our packs for a few hours and climb sunrise road up to 7000 feet at the base of Rainier, but they closed if for plowing…lots of snow in this park still! Instead, we headed further west and road up to Crystal Mt. Ski Area (it looks a bur different than the one near Traverse City for all if you Michiganders). It is closed got the winter so we walked around and explored it a bit.
On the way down, we had a first. My dad and I got separated from one another. We met another biker and I talked to him for a while on the road. When I turned back…dad wasn’t there and somhow we missed eachother. I stayed up looking for him and he went down looking for me. An hour layer, as he headed up and I headed down, we met again. Thankfully, we had already completed our miles for the day and the weather was nice. I can’t imagine this scenario earlier in the trip through wind or rain.
After finding a campsite we labored for at least an hour trying to get a fire going. It finally took off as we prepared for bed. We had a repeat meal of Parmesan Noodles and canned salmon…must be time to call it a trip. Tomorrow we will as we head the final 60 miles to Tacoma…hopefully with sights of Rainier and the sound!
