A walk with Scarlet

I was in Vancouver, BC on a business trip some time in August. Scarlet had invited me to join her on a hike that weekend, along with Michael's dog, Scout. It had been a while since I visited Seattle, much less gone hiking in the region, so I agreed.

I had never been to Mt. Rainier National Park before, so we decided to head there early on Saturday morning, starting at 6am. By the time we got to the trailhead, it was 9, and the sun was up, yet it was cool, even cold when we stepped out of the car. So we set off as quickly as we could. But how could you go fast surrounded by that scenery?

This was really the only time we'd be able to get a good look at Mt. Rainier. Rainier towers over the landscape like a God, revealed only in short moments, and veiled at other times by clouds and other natural shrouds.
Scarlet had never hiked with me before; all her previous outings with me have been cycling or sailing related, so she was surprised, if not actually shocked by my pace.

"You're different when you're hiking," she said, "You're slow, stop to take pictures, and take small steps." On a bicycle, I'm usually way ahead of her, so even though I do take more pictures than she does, she doesn't see when I do.

By and by, however, even at my slow pace, we reach the high point of the trail.

It was a beautiful place. We weren't quite above tree-line as we had hoped, but you could see clearly. If Rainier hadn't been shrouded by clouds, we would have gotten quite nice pictures of it.
As it was, we got a good look at clear cut and recovering forest.

"Scout's thirsty. I'll take him to that patch of ice to drink." I stayed where I was, taking photographs of the surroundings before coming down to join the girl and dog.

A failed attempt to get down to see some of the surrounding lakes forced us to turn around and head back towards the car. Yet I wasn't particularly unhappy about that necessary turn of events. You see, when you turn around on the trail, everything looks different. Sights you thought you saw already look just that little bit different on the way back.

Looking into the valley, one could see the shadows cast by clouds onto the land, blending with the trees, with blooming flowers in the foreground completing the picture of idyllic paradise. Of course, there were bugs and mosquitoes, but they generally were not bad at all.

Along the trail, I came long this bare rock on a slope above me. The cloudy sky and dead trucks along the ground gave me a chance to make something of the alignment of all three.

piaw@www.midwinter.com

No tripods were used in the making of this picture. All photographs were hand-held or mounted on a Bogen 3009 ball head on a hiking stick/monopod. Films were Elite II/100 and Kodachrome 25.

	It was a beautiful place. We weren't quite above tree-line as we had hoped, but you could see clearly. If Rainier hadn't been shrouded by clouds, we would have gotten quite nice pictures of it. As it was, we got a good look at clear cut and recovering forest.
	"Scout's thirsty. I'll take him to that patch of ice to drink." I stayed where I was, taking photographs of the surroundings before coming down to join the girl and dog.

	Looking into the valley, one could see the shadows cast by clouds onto the land, blending with the trees, with blooming flowers in the foreground completing the picture of idyllic paradise. Of course, there were bugs and mosquitoes, but they generally were not bad at all.
	Along the trail, I came long this bare rock on a slope above me. The cloudy sky and dead trucks along the ground gave me a chance to make something of the alignment of all three.