Mount Rainier called us to play over the weekend!

(A phone ringing) ring, ring, ring...

"Hello?"

"This is your local mountain, Mount Rainier. I'm calling you. I'm calling both of you, Anne and Alex, because I'm everything you ever wanted in a Mountain."

"Hella' cool! Wait...? This is hella' creepy? Why are you calling me MR.? Mountains don't call humans!"

Well, we’ve only been on a few nature explorations, but trust us, if you were with us over the weekend you too would have been in love with Mount Rainier. During the summer Rainier stands out prominently along the Seattle skyline. It was calling us. On Friday we packed up the Cavalier with camping stuff and took off to Anne’s suggestion: White River campsite within Mount Rainier National Park.

The drive took over an hour and a half; with confusing directions, suckered into free McDonald’s Lattes and barely getting a campsite before we finally got settled in. The campsite filled up around us. Anne and I spent the evening with other nature-enjoyers, like us, whom were enjoying the incredibly great warm weather and sunset off Mount Rainier as the sun was setting down in the east. Yes, our campsite was basically under Mount Rainier. It was amazing.

In the morning we packed up and checked out a place called Sunrise. Both of us had never been there nor heard about it before. So it was exciting to drive the 10 miles up there. As we were driving through this very steep and windy road we both realized how much gas we had: about 40 more miles. Yikes. We didn’t let stupid gas bother us, yet and reached the top excited and hungry. We stood before Mount Rainier. It was right in front of our faces! It was waving at us, so we waved back at it. It was crazy.

Have you ever eaten breakfast right next to Mount Rainier? We have. Thanks to Bill and Jill for our MSR stove and Noel for our MSR pot, which by the way fits perfectly together- we could eat breakfast. The picnic area we had breakfast in was facing Rainier and snow decorated the surrounding meadows in patches. First of all the stove was interesting to figure out because I accidentally squirted too much fuel out. Then when lit by a match it created this unneeded storm of fire. Luckily it stopped otherwise we’d be responsible for burning down the National Park. Our instant oatmeal stuff was fitting for one person. Anne had just a little and had a hard boiled egg, which she excitingly enjoyed on a leftover smashed hotdog bun. After our delicious breakfast and breathtaking views we were ready to hike around this monster.

Looking at the information hiking board it had more than eight different hikes to choose from. I chose the one that described, “Amazing 360 views of the Cascades.” The weather was, as you could easily tell by the pictures, more than prefect. There were pockets of snow everywhere, but that just enhanced the fun-ness. So once we made it to our hiking destination, Dege Peak, we were shocked by the beauty. Looking towards the south Mt. St. Helens stood before our eyes as well as, in the north; all of the Cascade mountain range including Mt. Baker, Glacier Peak, and you could barely see the Olympics mountain ranges across the Puget Sound. And of course the colossal Mt. Rainier was looming above us.

It was a life changing experience, seriously. Being on top of that peak by ourselves for nearly an hour will probably be an experience we’ll look back on later down the road. I love nature. I love Washington.

When we got back from the hike we talked to a park ranger about finding gas, because that was our problem now. He pointed out that the next nearest gas station was 42 miles south: we probably had about, only 40 miles left of gas. Because of the lack of gas, it our plans to confine camping were miserably ruined. On the lighter side the ranger claimed the hike we went on was probably the best hike within the park.

If it wasn’t for Anne’s mad driving skills placing the car in neutral as we coasted down the mountains we probably would have run out of gas. But, we made it. We got gas and drove back into the park. We were now on the hunt to get another campsite for the night, which is easier said than done.

The three campsites within our direction were all full. No surprise, really. The park was busy. Cars and people everywhere looking and admiring nature. We didn’t really know what to expect when it came to getting a campsite. Now we know they’re first come, first serve type of campsites. We were out of luck and needed to get food in our bellies. So, what else do you do when you can’t find a campsite late Saturday evening? You go to Dairy Queen in Spanaway, Washington.

Without eating a lunch, trail mix doesn’t count, we were desperate for food. For those who have never been to Spanaway don’t worry. Spanaway is as dirty as a used dirty diaper, but their Dairy Queen, let us tell you, was the only thing worth stopping for. Yeah, it was sad our amazing camping trip was traded for Dairy Queen kid’s meals and small Blizzards.

As much as we wanted to continue on camping, it was nice to get back home. We both realized in the shower how much sun we got. My dark color skin just got darker, which makes me look sexier, and Anne’s white color skin got redder, which she wasn’t a fan of. Although we were home and exhausted at 8 p.m. we still wanted to continue the Mount Rainier spirit. In honor of our early departure from Mount Rainier we drank some beer. Rainier beer of course!



Go and play with Mount Rainier! Now.

A&A