Mt. Rainier National Park During 2020
Everything has been turned upside down this year and, honestly, I’m at a loss on just how to proceed but we can see Mt. Rainier from our backyard and that seemed a good place to start. Here in Washington our Governor has opened our State Parks to camping. And just recently our National Parks have opened including Mt. Rainier National Park. But, it just doesn’t seem the same.
Before our parks opened we took advantage of Hipcamp to find private property to camp on. One of our favorite properties is Wilderness Path, which is located just outside the Nisqually entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park. In just the last few months, we’ve camped there multiple times, always wondering up to the park gate just on the outside chance that it would be open.
Finally the day came, and it was great to be able to head into the park and see what was new since its closure. Of course nature is oblivious to our current crisis. If anything it’s had a bit of a break from our onslaught. Skies are clearer, road kill is down.
It was soon apparent that the park was going to be just the same whether we were visiting or not. I doubt much has changed since it’s opening in 1899 really.
Support
Our mission is a labor of love, but it does come with overhead. If you’d like to support our efforts we’d certainly appreciate it. Currently, we’re actively participating in the following field research:
- COASST Beached Bird Surveys
- Wild and Scenic River Project
Thank you.
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Looking out over Crescent Bay from Tongue Point. We recently experienced the lowest tides in a decade here in Washington.
Did our #COASST bird survey this weekend during some of the lowest tides in a decade. We could have walked out to the sea stacks off shore which I’ve never seen exposed like this. Of course, what goes out must come in…so we didn’t.
Red Sky in the Morning... it's supposed to be a warning, but I'll take it.
Wild and Scenic Rivers Project - Getting the collection gear and probes ready for tomorrows survey. Looks like we’ll get a break in the weather during the morning hours so that’s when we’ll be heading out. Looking forward to seeing what changes Mother Winter has wrought on the Suiattle River.
Headed back to the North Cascades to resume our Wild and Scenic River Surveys.
We’ll be shortly resuming our data collection for the #getwildandscenic project on the Suiattle River. Sensors have been calibrated and sent to us along with all our water sample collection bottles and chemicals. Looking forward to getting back out into the North Cascades.
We just received our collection kit from #adventurescientist. We’ll shortly being heading back out to the Suiattle River to start another season of data collection.
View of the south rim of the Dusty Lake region just to the east of the Columbia River near Vantage, WA. Here a small waterfall drains into the lake.
You never know what a simple hike through the woods will yield. Found this small dam in the hills behind our camp on Hood Canal. I'm guessing that at one time it was used by a hometead to hold water during the summer months.
Sunset over Westport.
Some of the lush green and waterfalls to be found on the Olympic Peninsula.
South shore of Dusty Lake just north of Vantage, Washington. We recently spent a night hoping for a shot of the Milky Way. That didn't happen as hoped, but we had quite the adventure nonetheless.
Just published our latest adventure - "A Visit to North Cove" - You can find the link in my bio up top. https://buff.ly/3KFAQB8
Tongue Point on the Strait of Juan de Fuco. This was a negative tide and I’ve never seen so much of the reef exposed.
Never seen the tide so low here at Crescent Bay. Getting ready for this weekends #COASST bird survey.
Theresa doing her best to imidate the North head Lighthouse.
Paradise
But some things have changed in regards to the services being provided by the park and it’s staff. One of the most apparent is the closure of the Visitors Center at Paradise Inn. Rangers are available outside the center to answer questions etc. The Inn is currently closed (but it seems the Longmire Inn is open).
A few of the campsites within the park are open but when we drove through one to check on conditions it seemed many individual sites were closed due to hazard trees. Backcountry trails are open.
This whole situation is dynamic and subject to change so it’s best to check on the parks website if you plan on a visit. You can find the latest information here.
For those who would rather stay safely at home until this crisis is over the park has created a virtual tour which you can experience on their Mount Rainier Virtual Tour page.
