Mount Rainer Kicks My Butt

My Dad really wants to visit the mountains while he’s here, so we do some research on trails and head for the hills. It turns out that Mount Rainer (which is snow covered during the summer and you can see from our town) is huge and doesn’t have a million entrances. So we decide on a park entrance that is closest to Federal Way and pick out a trail that is kid-friendly (because we haven’t hiked in a long time) and had a pretty waterfall. Well we get to the park entrance and it turns out you can’t drive into the park from this entrance because of massive flash flooding damage from November rainstorms. We talk to the park ranger and she told us about a waterfall hike right next to the ranger station and we decide the 3 miler will be perfect for us.

Turns out, this hike was not so kid-friendly. It was an extremely tough hike, especially for Florida flat-landers and out-of-shape, McDonalds-eating ME. It was a pretty steep climb and I will admit that I had to sit down a few times and catch my breath. However, getting to the top was worth it. The waterfall was impressive and so were the vistas. It is impossible to convey how tall the trees are. Part of the reason Robb and I wanted to come to this part of the country was to get back into hiking and outdoor sports. This hike was a great introduction. We hope to go to the mountains and hike at least 2-3 times a month. (Dad, Robb, me)