Mt Rainier NP Day Two - Reflections, Waterfalls and Flowers

Day two!  Are you ready?

Reflection Lake lived up to it's name

On the second day of my Mt Rainer National Park trip, I woke up early hoping to catch some nice light on Reflection Lake (and beat the crowds).  This lake, of course, was so named due to the mirror image of Mt Rainier reproduced on it's waters.  I drove by the day prior, but dense clouds hiding the mountain prevented any reflections (except of the clouds of course!)

Sun glow on Reflection Lake

But on day two clear skies greeted me as I pulled into a nearly empty parking area.  Grabbing my camera and hustling down to the lakeshore, I gasped in happiness.  My early arrival had paid off -  Reflection lake's waters were producing a most excellent duplicate of the famed snow-capped peak.

Amazing Mt Rainier duplicate!

I spent a good hour wandering around the lakeshore, trying to capture that money shot.  When people started arriving, I took that as my cue to move on to another place.

Ice-blue stream above Christine Falls

My second destination of the day was to hike into Comet Falls.  Driving back and forth along the park road the prior day, I'd passed by it's overflowing parking area several times.  A trail that popular had to be good!  So I decided to hit it early ensuring both empty trails and a parking spot.

Interesting "stairway" on Comet Falls Trail

The trail itself was only 3.8 miles round-trip, so I planned a quick romp to the waterfall to allow time for hiking another longer trail afterwards.  But what I hadn't factored in was the elevation gain - 1250 feet in less than two miles.  Plus I was carrying a heavy tripod - and the day was already hot and muggy.  For those reasons (and the fact that I was still tired from hiking the day before) this short trail became an unexpected slow slog.

Stream crossing right before Comet Falls

It started out nicely though, passing over the lovely creek directly above Christine Falls (which I'd photographed yesterday).  The ice-blue water had worn channels into the rock, and it made for some nice photo ops.

Comet Falls (in really crappy light)

But then the hike quickly turned into a steep trudge through an unremarkable forest.  Sweat poured off my body, and my breathing became ragged.  The tripod hanging off my backpack felt like an anvil.  I took many more rest breaks than I'd intended (I kept thinking "what's wrong with me today?")  It was the longest 1.9 miles ever!

Silty glacial stream

But thankfully I began to hear the sound of rushing water.  I crossed a churning East Fork of Van Trump Creek, and looked upstream to a very lovely waterfall.  Bloucher Falls, a three-tiered drop of 124 feet, was blowing mist furiously.  I would've mistaken it for Comet Falls, except for a sign proclaiming my destination was a mere 200 feet further.

Upper portion of Comet Falls

Climbing up the stream's steep bank, I rounded a corner and there before me was the magnificent Comet Falls.  Dropping 320 feet down a nearly vertical rock wall, it dwarfed neighboring Bloucher Falls.

Lovely rainbow (my favorite image of the day)

The only bummer - unequal light.  The cascade's upper tier was in sunlight, while the lower two drops and creek were still in shadow.  I did the best I could to photograph this wonderful sight in the crummy light.

Upper and Lower Comet Falls

I followed the trail as it hugged the top of a steep riverbank.  I ventured out onto a clearing below the first tier.  Here the light hit the water and produced a stunning rainbow.  Well, if I couldn't get the entire waterfall in sunlight, I guess this was the next best thing.  A capture of flowing water beside the rainbow became my favorite image of the day.

Roadside wildflowers

About this time I noticed another photographer setting up his tripod nearby.  Recognizing the young man from Reflection Lake earlier that morning, I struck up a conversation.  He was from the Seattle area, and spent many of his weekends like me driving around the Pacific NW in search of lovely nature images.  We had a great chat, comparing notes on where we'd been shooting.  I ended up hiking back to the parking lot with him, and the company made my return trek pass much faster.

Rainier peeping out of the clouds

By the time I reached my car, it was past noon.  Although I'd initially planned to hike the Kautz Creek Trail into Indian Henry's Hunting Ground, I knew there wasn't enough time, nor did I have enough energy, to cover the 11.4 miles and 2300 feet of elevation gain.  Time for Plan B!

Huge field of pink flowers

First I drove around the park, taking in all the various scenic overlooks.  The morning's clear skies were sadly giving way to large puffy clouds that Mt Rainier was trying to hide behind.  But after tiring of fighting traffic - it was Saturday afternoon and the park roads were busy - I ended up back at Reflection Lake when a parking spot magically opened up.

Louise Lake from Reflection Lake trail

According to my hiking guidebook several trails led from this lake, one climbing all the way up to Paradise.  Although I wasn't ready to go that far, a shorter 3-mile path looped around the lake.  Perfect!

Flowers and mountain

After another look at the lake as I passed by (muted by clouds, the mountain reflections were much better first thing that morning) the path turned away from the water and began climbing a ridge above.  Eventually it flattened out into a lovely alpine meadow, where blooming paintbrush and lupine brightened the landscape.

Orange paintbrush lined the roadways

When I was about halfway through the loop, I noticed dark clouds looming overhead.  It looked like the area was in for a dousing!  Time to move it.  As I was descending back towards the lake, thunder rumbled from above.  Uh oh....I really didn't want to be stuck high on a ridge (holding metal trekking poles) during a thunderstorm.

Fireweed was everywhere too

I came upon an overlook with a killer view of Louise Lake below and craggy peaks beyond.  A couple I'd been leapfrogging was perched on the rocks, the man working a camera on a tripod.  I couldn't believe this couple was calmly sitting on a very exposed point (with a metal tripod, no less) when the sky directly above looked like it was going to storm at any minute.  However, the view was so nice that thunderstorm or not, I couldn't resist taking a few minutes to stop and capture the scene.  Then I quickly hightailed it down the trail!

Paradise visitor center with ominous clouds

Safely back at my car, I contemplated my next stop.  Since yesterday's trek above the Paradise visitor center had been a miserable rainy experience, I thought about trying again.  Maybe arriving during early evening I'd miss some of the crowds?  It was worth a try.  So around 6 pm, I headed back up the steep, winding road towards Paradise.

Beautiful aster

At first it looked as though I'd succeed in getting a hike on the high alpine meadows above the famous lodge.  The earlier thunderstorm seemed to be gone.  Happily, I chose a path and began to climb.  I passed some lovely wildflower fields, and had stopped to take a few photos, when I heard thunder rumble.  Oh no, not another storm!

Magenta paintbrush

More dark clouds had moved in.  A series of booms echoed across the mountain.  By now I was above treeline - and totally exposed to any lightening.  Not a good place to be!  Sadly, I turned tail and retraced my steps back to the visitor center.  On my way down, I noticed several people still heading in the opposite direction.  (I couldn't believe the number of people!  They must have been clueless or had a death wish)  The sky opened up just as the visitor center came in sight.  I ducked inside, grabbed a piece of pizza from the snack bar, and watched the deluge.  Pea-size hailstones began falling, and I was doubly thankful I'd decided to turn back when I did.

Mountain view from Paradise trails

Foiled again!  Would I ever get a chance to hike the lovely trails above Paradise in good weather?  I was beginning to think it wasn't in the cards for this trip.  But I still had one final day at Mt Rainier National Park.  Maybe the third time would be the charm?

Find out in the next post - a recap of my third and final day at Mt Rainier.