Our first trip to Mt. Rainier

The weather was perfect today so we decided to head up to Mt. Rainier. We opted to the north side instead of Paradise on the south side....saved an hour of driving both ways. So off we headed up to Sunrise!

When I first told the boys we were going to Mt. Rainier, both got really excited & Nate said something to the effect that he can't wait to stand on the top. I had to tell them that we were not going to the top but just part way up & told that going to the top was a several day hike that takes lots of preparation & training. They seemed a bit disappointed but still decided that they wanted to go!

We ended up near the White River...in fact we ate lunch in the river bed. It is a river that runs much fuller in the early Spring when the snow melts. There was still a river running but it was contained to a small section of the river bed. It was pretty cool! We walked along the river for a bit & then hiked the Wonderland Trail...okay, hiked a SMALL portion of the Wonderland Trail. The Wonderland Trail is 93 mile trail that circles that mountain. We walked maybe a mile in & then back. Our best views of the top of the mountain were at the river bed during lunch. Our hike in did not reach any other view points. Next time we are headed to the south side of the mountain where there are short family hikes up to view points to see not only Mt. Rainier but other mountains in the area.

A glimpse of Rainier through the car window on the way down (just before we got to Enemclaw).


View from White River riverbed where we had lunch.

Up Sunrise Entrance there are two spots to stop. The closer is White River & farther along in actual Sunrise stop. The boys were STARVING and needing to stop to we picked the closer White River stopping area. It was 10 more SLOW miles up the hill to Sunrise...which is the highest point you can reach on the mountain by car. Here we are stopped for lunch...


Ethan skipped most of lunch & was happiest throwing rocks into a small puddle that was next to us....probably the best part of the trip for him!



The "bridges" to cross the river were pretty interesting. They were just logs that had been cut & grooved to create a walk-able service with a bit of a hand rail added.


On the trail! Once away from the river & into the forest we were really secluded.