We toured through Mt. Rainier National Park yesterday, entering from the south and exiting on the Nisqually west side. Some interesting facts. Mt. Rainier is part of the Ring of Fire, the ring of volcanoes that circle the Pacific Ocean and account for half of the active volcanoes above sea level in the world. It did have eruptions in the early 1800’s. It is so big at 14,410 feet that it creates its own weather patterns. It can have weather as severe as the highest peaks anywhere in the world, and that makes it dangerous for climbers from time to time. At one time it was 16,000 feet but was reduced 5,700 years ago by an eruption that sent a 100 foot high wall of mud like a wall of cement all the way to Puget Sound. The towns of Kent, Sumner, Auburn, and Puyallup are built on top of that flow. That’s a large blast zone! It also gets over 600 inches of snow each year and has 26 glaciers. Yesterday it was pretty bare on the south side at this time of year, except for the glaciers. If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, the road to Paradise is paved with new concrete and is lined with maiden hair ferns! We visited Paradise, and it looks like you can make it to the top of the mountain in a day, but that is very deceiving. It is still 10,000 feet to the summit from Paradise. A new visitor center is taking shape there, which will be beautiful. We could go on and on about this icon of Washington state, but you get the picture. It’s a one of kind landmark with which the beautiful state of Washington is closely identified and always worth the trip.
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