Comet Falls and Van Trump Park

Drove up to the Comet Falls trailhead at Mt Rainier National Park this morning to hike up to Comet Falls and Van Trump Park, about 6 miles round trip with 2,200 ft of gain. This trail is mainly in the forest, with glimpses of Van Trump Creek, crosses several talus fields with wildflowers in bloom along the way. This is a steep trail with lots of rocks and roots to climb over. About 0.3 miles from the trailhead, a foot bridge crosses Van Trump Creek, here a views looing upstream an downstream along Van Trump Creek

In the talus fields there was some intresting rock formations, zoom of a marmot and of a pica

Before crossing over Van Trump Creek to see Comet Falls, there was a view point where the West Fork of Van Trump Creek (first photo) and Van Trump Creek (second photo) joined.

footbridge over Van Trump Creek, veiw up to Bloucher Falls from the footbridge and a zoom of Bloucher Falls

Views of Comet Falls along the trail

After Comet Falls, the trail continues upward to the Van Park Trail, where I encountered a grouse on the trail, also views across the way towards some of the Tatoosh Peaks

I went a short ways beyond the end of the "maintained trail" into the open area of Van Trump Park, there wer wildflowers in the meadow, but Mt Rainier was mostly covered in clouds, also a zoom of some of the waterfalls coming off of a glacier

one of many butterflies among the flowers

some of the wildflowers, berries and fungi seen along the trail