Friday, July 5, 2019

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 

29 comments:

  1. I bet it was a refreshingly cool hike. How beautiful it is in the mountains! I haven't been in many years. What a beautiful hike.

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  2. Beautiful scenes, and how fabulous you must have felt along the way. And afterwards. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Thanks for the memories! We hiked Dege Peak 30 yrs ago. The starting point looks very much the same. Your scenery was snowier, because we went much later in the summer.

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  4. Brings back memories of going to Sunrise with both Mom and Randy. A gorgeous place!

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  5. Spectacular! The last photo is my favorite. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. I admire your energy. I'm better suited to city hiking, rather than climbing.

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  7. You make me nostalgic for our former home in the mountains of New Mexico. We had a 9,000 foot peak right in front of our home and climbed it only once, starting at our home level of 7,000 feet. I volunteered with the US Forest Service, leading nature hikes at elevations up to over 10,000 feet. I have gone back a few times from our home at sea level in Florida and found it difficult to walk very far uphill without running short of breath.

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  8. Spectacular scenery, Sandra, though the very idea of remnants of snow makes me shiver and hang on to my coffee. Thanks so much for joining me on the walks :) :)

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  9. ...yet another gorgeous place to put on my to see list. To get through my ever growing I will have to live to 101. Thanks for taking me along!

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  10. Beautifully captured landscapes.

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  11. What a trip! Mind blowing scenes and captures.

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  12. Great place to go hiking. Beautiful views.

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  13. So, so, so beautiful.
    We were in Mt. Rainer NP a few years ago but didn't get to see the mountain because of the fog (and snow) :(.


    I have to go back sometime. Thank you for the pictures, Sandra. :)

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  14. So glad you got to see our local volcano! Mt. Rainier sure is a beauty, and looks like you had absolutely perfect weather. Treasure your health and fitness that lets you climb trails like this one, and thanks for sharing.

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  15. Mount Rainier covered with snow stands almost divine. Thank you for sharing such awe-inspiring views with us.

    Yoko

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  16. Beautiful photos! A great place in the world!

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  17. Wonderful photos!
    I love hiking in the mountains. :-)

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  18. What a beautiful journey to have been on! I would be in Heaven!!!...:)jp

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  19. You got some truly spectacular shots. Beautiful!

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  20. Awesome mountain and trail photos ~ ^_^

    Happy Day to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  21. You had a grand time.

    Several years ago we had our family vacation in Seattle and one day we rented a car and drove to Glacier NP and had a great time. We visited the Sunrise center and we kind of walked around the area rather than venture up a trail. The place is beautiful.

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  22. Hello, Mt Rainier is a beautiful park. We were there in 2017, some of the roads were still closed, so we missed a good part of the park. The views of the peak are beautiful. Gorgeous photos. Have a happy day and thanks for visiting my blog.

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  23. Stunning vistas! Animals and birds always make a hike more fun.

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  24. You're so lucky to have mountains in view. Where I am, it is nothing but flat unless I travel few hours away. Beautiful photos and thanks for visiting me at Pictorial Tuesday/Peabea Scribbles so I could see how beautiful. Great photos. :)

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  25. These are awesome! You are so very fortunate to be somewhere near mountains!

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