Randle WA- Mount Rainer Day 1 and 2

Our "home" for the next 5 days was in a small Camp ground in Randle , South of Mount Rainer.

As the C.G had 36 sites and was booked solid we were given a site in the permanent RV area, it had full Hook ups and a "private " yard with a gate..not bad at all , even better than the regular sites.

I did not realize that in this remote area there is no phone reception and of course no TV or Wifi....wilderness???

Elks are all over the place and seem not to be bothered with traffic or people and are seen even in down town Packwood , a small town on the way to the park entrance.

If around Mount Helen one can explore for months here in Mount Rainer it will take more than that.

The place has 4 main entrance and is loaded with vistas, hiking trails and waterfalls, some waterfalls are close to the parking places and some can be seen after a long strenuous hikes.

We spent the first day entering the park from the South East , Steven Canyon Entrance.

One can get a pass for a week for 25$ unless one holds an Golden Eagle pass allowing free entrance.

The first stop was to hike the Silver Falls trail , a moderate 2 hour round trip hike to see the Silver Falls.

I was suppressed to see so many people in the visitor center but only handful on the trails.. which was of course fine with us .

After the hike and the picnic we drove all the way to Chinook Pass , a must see area, snow but not cold, great views and lakes greeted us as we got closer.

Some pictures look like a postcard , but they are all from my small smart camera.

On the way back "Home" we stopped to see the "BIG TREES" in the Grove of the Patriarchs walking the short loop trails, they are big and tall but cannot compare to the ones in North California.

That's it for today… looking forward to see some waterfalls tomorrow , so stay tuned….

Second Day

This day was all about Waterfalls and hikes.

Carter And Madcap falls a 2.2 Mile round trip ,moderate trail is leads to 2 waterfalls one next to each other and is sure worth the effort.

Narada Falls are very beautiful and close to the parking area but difficult to get get close as it sprays all over the place.

The drive from one place to another in the park are very tough on the driver as he has to pay attention to the road and traffic but cannot enjoy the views, so many stops have to be made to allow the poor driver also to enjoy the vistas.

Comet falls is the highest waterfall in the park , to reach the falls one has to hike 2.2 Miles one way ALL uphill a strenuous hike ...but there are 3 great things about it:

1.It is a very beautiful water falls

2. All the way up you can see many waterfalls.

3. The way back....all downhill.

It took us 2.5 hours up and 45 minutes down.

We took our sweet time and had picnic at 7PM and a slow pleasant drive home at twilight.

It is going to be hard to beat this days adventure but we are going to try,everydays is the first day of the rest of our lives.