Flowers, Berries, and More

When hiking or walking in the woods, it's fun to slow down and look at what's blooming on the side of the trail. Here's what I saw at Federation Forest State Park, Washington State, this past week. Sorry I can't identify all the plants. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The trails were wide and easy for the
walking group to traverse.

These tiny white flowers brightened the path.

Foxgloves bloomed near the visitors' center and all along the highway

These unusual plants go by several names:
Indian pipe, ghost plant, or corpse plant.
They were between 4 and 6 inches tall.

These berries glowed like rubies in the shade
beneath the tall trees.

We saw quite a few mushrooms and toadstools.

Thistle

Cedar (left) and Douglas fir (right)

View from our picnic spot along the White River.
The river gets its milky color from glacial run-off from Mt. Rainier.

I'm linked with:

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 

Carbon River Ramble - #MountRainier

Recently, a group of walkers from the Auburn Senior Activity Center bravely crossed a high one-lane bridge to explore the Carbon River Trail.
(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Our walk (only three miles, round trip) took us along a wide, gentle path that had been a road until the river washed it out and forced the forest service to close it to vehicles. Along the way we walked beneath towering old-growth trees, listened to bird serenades, and sampled red huckleberries. Tart and not quite ready for pies.

Huge old-growth trees provided shade. Some would make nice shelters.

Nurse logs provide the perfect habitat for nurturing young seedlings. This photo shows the roots of the "baby" tree growing out of the rotting nurse log.

After a beautiful and relaxing walk, we stopped at this wash and headed back.

If you continue farther on, the way becomes more rugged and leads to the base of the Carbon Glacier, which feeds the Carbon River. At 17.5 miles round trip from the parking lot, that's too long for me to cover in one day!

Lunch at Wally's in Buckley, our reward for all that walking.

An editorial comment: We have noticed that some of the national park facilities are not maintained as well as they have been in the past. We've seen restroom facilities where most of the toilets are out of order, structures that need refurbishing, etc. This must surely be due to lack of funding from the federal government. How sad it would be if our treasured national parks were not maintained for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. More info HERE.

For more information about this walk and the extended hike to the glacier, look HERE
For more of my photos from an earlier walk along this same path, look HERE

I'm linked with:

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 

More #MountRainier

Another great hike originating from Mount Rainier's Sunrise area. This trek started at the visitor center and connected with the Wonderland Trail...

skirted Shadow Lake ...

crossed a footbridge...

meandered along verdant meadows, most dotted with wildflowers...

and climbed toward Frozen Lake.

We decided not to cross a snowy patch to reach the overlook to Frozen Lake. Maybe later in the summer.

Nice spot for lunch!

Our route covered about five miles.

What's the weather on Mount Rainier right now? View webcams HERE
For more info about the Wonderland Trail, which encircles Mount Rainier, click HERE
To see posts about other hikes in Washington State, click on the Hikes/Walks tab above.

I'm linked with:

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 

Dege Peak, Mount Rainier National Park, USA

The Sunrise visitor area of Mount Rainier National Park just opened for the summer! If you want to see a glorious view of The Mountain, Sunrise is the place to go. I hiked the Sourdough and Dege Peak trails recently on a perfect sunny day (high temp 65° F). Here's what I saw.

We started out at the Sunrise Visitor Center parking lot, then walked up to the Sourdough Trail. It's the horizontal line up on the hill. Maybe you can see a few tiny specks along the path. Hikers!

As the trail climbed, the views became more and more spectacular. One false step off the edge and you're in trouble!

A look back at the Sunrise visitor center and parking lot. I love the "ruffle" of clouds across Mount Rainier's peak.

Patches of snow blocked the path to the top of Dege Peak. Although we could have climbed up anyhow, we were concerned about more snow near the top and slippery footing on the way back down. Next time we'll try for the summit.

As a side hike, we also walked to the Emmons Glacier Vista. According to the National Park Service website:
Emmons Glacier has the largest area of any glacier in the contiguous United States, although the Carbon Glacier has a greater volume of ice. The glacier descends from the summit into the White River Valley.

A highlight of the hike--seeing a male sooty grouse puff up and call for a mate (per the ranger we saw on the trail). His "whoop, whoop" is a distinctive call I'll never forget. 

What a glorious day for a hike! 

More info about Sunrise area trails HERE.

Curious about Mount Rainier's glaciers? You'll find info HERE.

I'm linked with:

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE