Travelogues
2014 Washington Trip

Monday, August 11

 

The Chinook Pass area was our main destination for today. We hoped to reach Tipsoo Lake shortly after sunrise and before the lake lost its reflections. Then, we would hike the Naches Peak Loop and shoot Mt. Rainier over the small tarn that has become a classic shot of Mt. Rainier.

Tipsoo Lake

Five o'clock came awfully early this morning. We dragged ourselves out of bed and started the hour drive to Tipsoo Lake. When we reached Tipsoo LakeGoogleEarth View, the lighting was very hazy, ripples already covered much of the lake, and Mt. Rainier had already lost it's early morning glow. We were struck at how dark the basin around Tipsoo Lake was until the sun rose above the ridge behind us and lit up the trees. We had to wait for the lake basin to be lit to get any good images. I think we'll consider this a sunset location next time and skip it as a sunrise location.

Tipsoo Lake Tipsoo Lake

In Search of the Tarn

We decided to hike the Naches Peak Loop "backwards" to reach the reflecting tarn (Upper Tipsoo LakeGoogleEarth View) earlier in the morning and cut out some miles of hiking. Without GoogleEarth, we thought the tarn was relatively early in the hike when Reflecting Tarngoing counter-clockwise. The tarn is so small that it doesn't show up on our Topo! maps or GPS maps, so we were dependent on the guide books. The tarn turned out to be farther than we anticipated and nearly all uphill. After nearly 1.5 miles, we climbed the final ridge, turned a corner, and there was the lake. It was absolutely still and there were no signs restricting us to the trail. We walked along the edge of the tarn, found our spots, and took turns using the tripod. From the tarn's edge, Mt. Rainier barely peers over the top of the ridge. This year, the tarn looks more like an oversized mud puddle than an alpine lake. With the hazy skies, there won't be any great images, but it's still one of the classic shots in the park. We hiked up the trail above the tarn to get a better view of Mt. Rainier. That added wildflowers in the foreground and widened the perspective to include Naches Peak.

Mt. Rainier from Naches Peak Loop Trail We returned to Tipsoo Lake the same way we had come. We only had one small ridge to climb, and then it was downhill all the way to the Explorer. Mt. Rainier was right in front of us all the way back down to Tipsoo Lake.

We ate lunch at Tipsoo Lake and then drove to Packwood to get gas and call the Ford dealership. The back window wasn't centered, and we needed it re-adjusted. Either one of the hinges was loose when they replaced the broken hinge, or the hinges loosened as we drove back and forth through the road construction zones in Rainier. As soon as we arrived at the Ford dealership, a tech checked it out and replaced the second hinge. In 15 minutes, the window was centered and we were on our way back to camp.

The day started as a hazy, cool day in the upper elevations around Chinook Pass. That changed when we dropped down to Packwood. The rest of the day could be summed up as HOT! It was 90 degrees the rest of the day.

Approaching Storm

After enduring the heat of the day in camp, I wanted to return to the ridge above Myrtle Falls to shoot wildflowers and marmots. A mile out of the campground, I knew that was a waste of time. Clouds were pouring into the area around the Mt. Rainier. I stopped at Ricksecker Point to shoot the clouds streaming in from the east. Then, I decided to check out Reflection Lake before driving up to Paradise.

As soon as I arrived at Reflection LakeGoogleEarth View, I looked up to see lightening over the ridge northeast of the lake. I shot the growing cumulonimbus clouds looming over the shoulder of Mt. Rainier as the skies darkened. I managed to catch the end of a lightening strike from the cloud down to a ridge east of the mountain. Because my reflexes have slowed, the lightening bolt is barely visible. If you click the right image below, you can see the lightening bolt just to the right of Mt. Rainier in the vertical cloud. I looked for my TriggerTrap in my camera bag, but it was in the bag still in the motorhome. I had no thought of shooting lightening when I left camp.

After I returned to camp, we grilled chicken and started packing to leave tomorrow. We are meeting friends of Carol's for dinner tomorrow night in Salem, so it's important that we get an early start.