Drove up to Mt Rainier NP to hike up to Comet Falls and Van Trump Park to see the wildflowers. I hiked about 7 miles round trip with 2,500 ft of gain.
As I drove past Longmire, a doe and two fawns crossed the road in front of me.
Near the start of the trail, a wooden bridge crosses Van Trump Creek, view up stream
view down stream to the road, where Van Trump Creek drops into Christine Falls.
While the trail up to and beyond Comet Falls is mostly in the forest, there are some sections where the trees part and there are views of Van Trump Creek and
wildflowers bloom in the sun.
There is one section where the top of Mt Rainier can be seen.
There are some steps and some rocks to climb up along the way.
There are a few talus areas, where pika can be seen scurrying around and gathering food.
Bluebells growing near the rock steps.
An insect on the trail
A log bridge crosses Van Trump Creek shortly before Comet Falls
Bloucher Falls on Van Trump Creek
Comet Falls
After Comet Falls, the trail continues going up through the woods, lots of wildflowers along small streams,
and along open areas of the trail.
Instead of hiking along Rampart Ridge, I took the Van Trump Park trail.
View of Mt Rainier and a field full of lupine in the lower part of Van Trump Park.
After 0.3 miles the "maintained" trail ends, but a well traveled boot path continues through Van Trump Park
There are great views of Mt Rainier
and lots of wildflowers blooming in Van Trump Park
even a patch of avalanche lilies still in bloom.
Wide angle view in Van Trump Park:
It was hazy to the south, so I only saw Mt Adams as a faint outline behind the Tatoosh Range
Waterfall coursing down from glacier melt
I found a rock to sit on and enjoy the view 6,200' while I ate lunch. I had seen no other hikers this morning, and would not see any until after I started hiking back down.
another field of wildflowers at Van Trump Park
view heading back down the trail
another look bak at Mt Rainier
Comet Falls in the late morning
After my hike, I went to see Christine Falls, view along the side of the road
Christine Falls under the road bridge.
Some of the other wildflowers and flora I saw along the trail today:
So nice to meet you too, Carol. I saw that same mama deer and baby! The baby was dawdling on the road, Mama was down the side munching.
ReplyDeleteAnd holy cow, that's a long list of hikes! A new source of possible adventures for me!
ReplyDelete