For our last day in Mt. Rainier National Park, we thought we'd explore the eastern side of the park. First up, we found the trailhead for Silver Falls and walked the .5 miles down to the bridge where we could see the water of the Ohanapecosh River crashing over the rocks.
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| Jim was looking for all of the good fishing spots |
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| Silver Falls |
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| Downstream of the falls |
The next hike on the agenda was the Naches Loop Trail. This 3.3-mile trail starts by the picturesque Tipsoo Lake and works its way up about 500 feet to the Chinook Pass while passing several other small lakes. The back half of the trail is magnificent with views of snow topped Mt. Rainer in the distance. Once again, the wildflowers were in full bloom and some fellow hikers even introduced us to wild huckleberries growing along the trail. We sampled a few and think it would be fun to try a huckleberry pie sometime.
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| Jim with Tipsoo Lake behind him |
The last stop of the day was the Sunrise Visitor Center which is at an elevation of 6400 feet - the highest spot in the park that is accessible by car. It was much cooler at this elevation, so we huddled in the car to stay warm while eating our picnic lunch. Since the clouds had moved in obscuring Mt. Rainier, we just checked out the displays in the visitor center, bought a snack at the snack bar, and hit the road for the 2.5-hour drive to Seattle.
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