Posted by Steve Luther on June 22, 2015 at 1:40 AM
I spent a few days up at Mount Rainier this week and the wildflowers were spectacular! Early, as most everywhere in the Pacific NW seems to be now, but still as awesome as ever. The Paradise area is going crazy, from the parking lot up any of the trails and saw carpets of beautiful flowers - avalanche lillies, magenta paintbrush, yellow arnica, bistort, avalanche lillies, pink heather, and others. It seems that the higher up you go, the better the displays are. Down lower, such as in Longmire, much of the display is past. In the lower forested slopes near Ohanapecosh there are also some decent areas, nothing widespread I saw however that rivaled higher up. So now would be a great time to visit the park and hit Paradise and other higher up trails, most of which have either completely melted out or are nearing so. Hopefully the pic I attached up at Paradise looking towards the Tatoosh Range comes through.
Posted by Greg Vaughn on June 22, 2015 at 10:14 AM
Thanks for the report! I love that view of the Tatoosh from the Paradise meadows, especially with the late day sunlight as you have captured it.
Posted by Steve Kennedy on June 22, 2015 at 10:34 AM
Thanks for the update Steve! Time to head to The Mountain!
Posted by Steve Luther on June 22, 2015 at 1:24 PM
Thanks Greg and Steve! I need to be more active here so hopefully summer is the time to get more involved. Your books Greg are always with me and are such invaluable resources for here and everywhere else in the NW!
Thanks for the update. I visited Chinook Pass and did the Naches Peak Loop on Tuesday...short hike with my out-of-town guests. Now is the wildflower peak. I rarely see avalanche lilies with so many other varieties. The height and density of the purple lupin is OK...better than some years...but not spectacular and in the top tier as some years...mind you, I've seen the past 38 years of wildflower seasons as my basis for comparison. I think the upcoming heat is going crinkle and crush the avalanche lilies. And the others will be short and a bit stunted but hang on for a while longer. Get up there now and beat the heat!@
ps...my daughter just returned from Spray Park and said there were plenty of wildflowers...but all the ponds along the trail are already dried up.
I'll have to second the wildflowers on Rainier. We were there this week and I've never experienced such an abundance of Lupines anywhere. It was beyond beautiful!
Discussion
5 repliesI spent a few days up at Mount Rainier this week and the wildflowers were spectacular! Early, as most everywhere in the Pacific NW seems to be now, but still as awesome as ever. The Paradise area is going crazy, from the parking lot up any of the trails and saw carpets of beautiful flowers - avalanche lillies, magenta paintbrush, yellow arnica, bistort, avalanche lillies, pink heather, and others. It seems that the higher up you go, the better the displays are. Down lower, such as in Longmire, much of the display is past. In the lower forested slopes near Ohanapecosh there are also some decent areas, nothing widespread I saw however that rivaled higher up. So now would be a great time to visit the park and hit Paradise and other higher up trails, most of which have either completely melted out or are nearing so. Hopefully the pic I attached up at Paradise looking towards the Tatoosh Range comes through.
Thanks for the report! I love that view of the Tatoosh from the Paradise meadows, especially with the late day sunlight as you have captured it.
Thanks for the update Steve! Time to head to The Mountain!
Thanks Greg and Steve! I need to be more active here so hopefully summer is the time to get more involved. Your books Greg are always with me and are such invaluable resources for here and everywhere else in the NW!
Thanks for the update. I visited Chinook Pass and did the Naches Peak Loop on Tuesday...short hike with my out-of-town guests. Now is the wildflower peak. I rarely see avalanche lilies with so many other varieties. The height and density of the purple lupin is OK...better than some years...but not spectacular and in the top tier as some years...mind you, I've seen the past 38 years of wildflower seasons as my basis for comparison. I think the upcoming heat is going crinkle and crush the avalanche lilies. And the others will be short and a bit stunted but hang on for a while longer. Get up there now and beat the heat!@
ps...my daughter just returned from Spray Park and said there were plenty of wildflowers...but all the ponds along the trail are already dried up.
I'll have to second the wildflowers on Rainier. We were there this week and I've never experienced such an abundance of Lupines anywhere. It was beyond beautiful!