Finding That Sweetspot at the Snowline

We had the exceptionally good fortune to be treated by parents to a weekend at a mountain resort near Mt. Rainier recently. It was a little late in the season for savoring the out-of-doors sans skis or snowshoes, but we were absolutely blessed in terms of weather. This is a great spot, just down the road from the turnoff to Crystal Mountain at the NE entrance to the park. We had a comfy condo-like unit with fireplace and reasonable arrangements for food preparation - semi-essential since the options for dining out are pretty limited and not handy. For us, perfect.

We actually did not fully exploit the features of the place, alas, in particular heated pool and hot tub. Reading in front of the fire and savoring more than our normal recent pre-wedding allotments of proper sleep were more urgent! I did make a point of introducing myself to the apparent matriarch of the three dogs responsible for monitoring things. Otherwise we were pretty reclusive.

I was disappointed that the closest mountain access, at Sunrise, was closed for the season. We went through some good-news/bad-news gyrations over status of other roads. Paradise, on the far side, was open, road to Ohanepecosh open so major detour to East not needed, but Stevens Canyon closed for the season, dictating less-onerous sidetrip to Packwood.

In the end, what I'd hoped would be a half-day project getting close to Tahoma became a full-day project. But we found several batches of lemonaid, including the terrifically untrafficked blue highway from Packwood to SW park access - so obscure that we overshot it the first time by five miles or more. On return we had a great moment of transcendence when we matched speeds with a GBH foraging along the adjacent wetland.

The tourist level at Paradise caught us off guard. Parking was at a premium - upper lot and Inn area off-limits. We cadged a parking place and did a modest walk in running shoes, headed for Inn but ending up in the semi-wildness above, gingerly working with up to a foot of snow, occasionally packed and treacherous, and entertainingly whacky turistas. The latter included snow-shoers clomping along on bare pavement, skiers struggling to find routes with continuous snow-cover, multiple sobbing pre-school-age children suffering from as best I could tell the sheer strangeness of the experience (I was comfortable in shirt), and plastic-bag sliders shrieking in foreign languages.

We also made a side-trip on return to Inn to the Grove of the Patriarchs, a cluster of especially-impressive old-growth trees. We've been semi-inadvertently collecting these contacts with old, large, vegetables over the last few years. E.g., Vancouver Island, Olympic Peninsula, and Northern Cal. I'm convinced that rubbing up against living specimens older than the oldest human is a worthwhile endeavor.

And, after early checkout Sunday we did a little snowline-probing close to the resort, driving most of the way to Corral Pass before timidly parking when snow depth on road became a concern. We walked a bit of road and then hiked the easy Rainier Vista trail to predictably delectable jaw-dropping views. Once again this was in short-shirtsleeve conditions (for me, at least), somewhat incredible at an elevation of probably at least 5,000 feet in late October. We sometimes have remarkably good weather in late September and early October, but in this year of relatively disappointing summer weather and blah September, this was a great bonus.

Many thanks, Ma and Pa for the weekend! Oh, and Eric also, for the dog-tending!