Day by Day; A Snapshot into our Adventure.
Day 1: Sunrise to Granite Creek – 5.3miles
Short and sweet first day.
Short mileage + early start = tons of time to relax at camp. (maybe too much time)
{Home-Made Fried Rice for dinner was BOMB.}
Day 2: Granite Creek to Ipsut Creek – 12.6miles
Long day down hill. Should be easy, right?
Down. So much down. We thought it would be an easy day two.. We were wrong. So very wrong. A lazy first day did not help, we were not ‘warmed-up’ yet.
Shins were very sore that night, but we ended up at our favorite camp site.
Day 3: Ipsut Creek to South Mowich River – 9.7miles
Up. Up. UP.
We did not take many pictures this day.
However, we did get a nice break at our first resupply cabin.
Day 4: South Mowich River to Golden Lakes – 6miles
This was a struggle bus day. After a rigorous down and a never ending up, we were sore and did not want to get moving. Luckily the trail was beautiful and not so steep.
Day 5: Golden Lakes to Klapatche Park – 7.6 miles
The day our hiker bodies finally took over. The aches and sores took a back seat to the wonderous joy that only nature can bring.
Half way through our day, We were half way around the mountain.
{Home-Made Chicken Noodle Soup was delicious – Next time 3X the chicken}
Day 6: Klapatche Park to Devil’s Dream – 10.9miles
Stunned by the Mountain’s beauty around every corner.
This was a great day, a truly blissful day.
Day 7: Devil’s Dream to Paradise River – 9.4miles
Worst injury – alinamouse face planting while running downhill, couldn’t carry her pack for half the day.
Wonderful lunch at Longmire – Thank you to AusFrog’s father for meeting us and grilling a magnificent meal.
Worst navigation – missed our campsite by .7 of a mile, UP hill.
Worst campsite – slanted, hard to get to, hard to find.
Day 8: Paradise River to Maple Creek – 6.8miles
Since we did not get the reception we were hoping for at Longmire, to check in with family, we decided to go about 3 miles out of our way to Paradise Inn where we were told they not only had good cell reception but also a diner with burgers.
… There were NO burgers. But it was nice to talk to family.
Day 9: Maple Creek to Indian Bar – 9.9miles
Happy to be on trail and determined to finish strong.
That night we got soaked by the thick fog that hung around all morning.
Day 10: Indian Bar to Sunrise – 13.1miles
Wet and no sign of drying out, we hurried on to our next campsite.
Surprisingly, we made it to that site well before lunch.. with 8.6 miles between us and the car, we all agreed it was time to go home.
We traveled all the way around Mount Rainier!
Coming Soon:
Exerts from each pack member on this adventure
