Last weekend I returned to the East Side trail in Mount Rainier National Park. I’ve described the trail in a previous blog post so I’ll just add a few comments about this year’s visit. We had braced for rainy weather but managed to avoid it for most of the day. There might be some sort of rain shadow effect for the Chinook Creek valley (roughly anything south of Chinook Pass and east of the mountain) because we experienced some moments of sun and blue sky while the White River valley to the north of us had constant rain. The rain finally reached us on our hike out when we were only 2 miles from the trail head.
Both of my visits occurred in the month of June but the water levels were higher this time around. I think my future visits will be in September so that we can enjoy lesser flows instead of walls of white water. Despite the low elevation of 2800 feet, the north end of the East Side trail still had a few stubborn patches of isolated snow. Granted, they weren’t anything to be concerned about but it was the last day of June!
We took a break in the area of the Chinook Cascades and were visited by a Dipper. I expected it to fly away by the time I wrestled my camera and zoom lens out of my backpack but it cooperated and stayed a while. I tried taking some photos of the white water crashing in the background while the bird chirped away. From there, we stopped at Stafford Falls since I wasn’t very happy with the results from my first visit. The water levels were too much so I abandoned my plans to enter the water for some different perspectives (I had brought my chest waders).
The other goal I had on this trip was to photograph Ohanepecosh Falls from below at water level. There isn’t a trail so it would take some investigating to figure out a possible way down. I was happy to discover a fairly easy way down that wasn’t very dangerous. Again, the higher water levels somewhat diminished what was possible since the downspray from the falls were far reaching. We experienced our first drops of rain while at the falls which was a bit odd because there were patches of blue skies and a clear view of Shriner’s Peak across the valley from us.
All in all, it wasn’t the most “productive” outings but it is one of the more solitary hikes you can enjoy in Mount Rainier National Park. We only crossed paths with a couple on our way out and that was it. Big old growth, crystal clear streams, and lush green forest – what more could you ask for?
