Rainier National Park

They called it Tacoma for hundreds of generations before the Europeans named the volcano for one of their own, Rainier. It is one of the two great white sentinels that 'guard' the Puget sound area, the other being Coma (Mt. Baker) to the north. I'm for reverting their names, although there is some question whether the intended meaning was 'mother of all waters' or 'white sentinel'.

It is a two hour drive from our front door to the front door of Rainier National Park at its SW gate. We took a day trip to make a final assessment of a lodge about 5 miles from the gate, in which we hope to house our family reunion next year. The lodge is on a flat, shaded, country road rather like a long driveway that goes at least a couple of miles and might make a great place for the grandkids to bike. We think the lodge fits us the best of any place we've checked, not perfect, but workable and in a great location.

We went into the park (yippee, I have a free Senior Pass to national parks) and quizzed a ranger about trails, trees, campgrounds, and such. Then, we drove in as far as the 4140' Ricksecker Point to get a good glimpse of the south face of the peak, looming over 10,000' above us (not its most dramatic face).

I was surprised to see how little snow and ice still remain on this side of the peak.

Driving out, we stopped briefly at a small turnout which has some old growth western red cedar and western hemlock (Washington state tree) along a short trail. There was no road sign; the ranger told us about it. An interpretive sign at the trailhead said some trees are dated to 800 years. This grove was possibly 90% hemlock, 10% cedar, and mostly devoid of fir, attesting to its great age. Hemlock are the most shade tolerant of the NW forest trees, so linger in the understory of the firs and others until they finally get their chance. They are thus indicative of a climax forest.

I had no idea hemlock grew so big. They grow to over 240' tall with a trunk diameter exceeding 8' and live perhaps 1200 years. We have a couple of young'uns in our back yard, but not yet 100' tall. Mature trees this tall and straight are amazingly impressive. What a shame we've cut almost all of the giants down, destroying in 2 generations that which will take over 20 generations to regrow, the virgin NW forest. And we did it so casually, as if with a collective smirk.

We discussed returning in six weeks for a fall car camping trip and exploring a trail or two. It is a comfort to have such a protected natural public place on the scale of Rainier Park within easy access. Off-season, it should be particularly nice.