June 2
Not too many complaints from me about Frenchie’s Suite, though I’m a complainer. Maybe they could have had freight train whistles in the middle of the night.
Anyway, got out of bed at some point in the morning and managed to get my exercises in on a cramped, wood floor, then we all got ready and walked down the few steps to the restaurant for breakfast … and they were glad to see us! Got some nice eggs, toast, and coffee, and Sarah had a slice of their signature blackberry pie, which she didn’t find compelling unfortunately.
Anyway (again), we were well positioned and got right back to the Park as soon as we reasonably could. The target this morning was the Rampart Ridge Trail, from the Longmire area. I’d had my eye on this, but it looked to be a lot of vertical and perhaps too long a hike. But the volunteer had recommended it to us for our "long" hike on Monday (this was Monday), and looking at the guidebook we realized it would be 1280 feet in elevation, whereas the Carter Falls Trail we’d just done was rated at 1200 feet, not a big difference.
The Longmire area is not that far into the Park, and has some historic buildings that we should have been interested in but just didn’t have the time for. We had PB&J sandwiches, granola bars, plenty of water, first aid kit, rope, extra clothes, guidebooks, and some lint in our packs, and were ready for the trail.
Parked at the National Park Inn in the historic Longmire area, and found our way across the road to the Trail Of the Shadows, that we had to start off on. Saw a couple of big trees and some swamp cabbage, but then got to the UPHILL turn off for the Ramparts Ridge Trail and followed it. For the next few miles we were going up a steady, steep slope and navigating well-engineered switchbacks up to the ridge between the Nisqually valley and the valley of the Kautz Glacier to its West.
We started off at about the same time as a family group a bit (actually a lot) younger than us, leapfrogged them up the slope, taking rest breaks every so often, and they beat us to the top. Several other groups also beat us to the top, including some who looked like they were NOT going to stop, and we may have beaten a few as well. But whatever, it was a wonderful old-growth forest with majestic trees that let very little light find the forest floor, and so were not too bothered by the alder and maple bushes that sprang up where the sun actually shone. The ferns were as ubiquitous as always, the wildflowers had found their niches, the fallen logs that hadn’t slid down the slope were nursing future growth, and we were taking our time.
We eventually made it to the top of the ridge after 90 minutes or so, but the viewpoint over the Longmire area was pitiful. We could see our car though! We’d been advised to keep going and we’d see a great vista of Mt. Rainier, which we did, and we were rewarded with a great view when we emerged on the other side of the ridge at the top of a scree slope. Rainier was half-masked by clouds, and we kept on going, thinking that we’d have many other views as we hiked along the ridge right towards it.
But no! We were soon enveloped by trees again for the next several miles and had no idea if we were on a mountain ridge, on a river bottom, or in a video game. We passed small tree after small tree, and bush after bush, with a few interesting wildflowers and fungi to keep us busy. But it was a flat walk along the top of Ramparts Ridge with no view out, and we eventually got a little downhill, and there was a large bog on our left.
Help! We hadn’t ever needed the bug spray we got until that point, so much so that we’d left it behind on this hike. And suddenly we needed it, these bugs hadn’t been fed in years apparently. But we zipped up our jackets and hoods, hurried by, and soon got to the junction with the ubiquitous Wonderland Trail and started downhill, getting out of range of those bugs as fast as we could.
We were ready for lunch at this point, but there was nowhere good to stop where we could all sit down … and a view (and a breeze) would have been nice. But a mile or so down the Wonderland Trail we happened upon a step they’d built into the Trail which we could all three sit down on, and we thankfully settled down for a PB&J lunch. Trail ambassador Terry came by while we were in the middle of lunch and was glad to see us (he said he hadn't seen anybody all day) and talk for a bit. But he then hurried on and we finished in our own time.
Great break, but now for more serious downhill. We could see the trees changing as we descended. When we saw alders and red cedar mixing in with the Douglas fir then we knew we’d descended into another climate zone, and when we saw a few maples we knew we were almost back to Longmire. We hadn’t realized how fast we were descending until we had to cross the Park road, and then dropped even further into the Longmire area, ending up right across from where we’d started at the National Park Inn.
That was a great hike, over 5 miles and a lot of vertical, but not as much view as we’d like. Oh well. We cooled down, drank some water, and realized there was still a lot of time left in the afternoon. Another hike that had been recommended to us was the Twin Firs Trail, down the hillside, and so we drove down there and had a very mellow half hour following that loop trail.
This was our gentle farewell to big trees. Some incredible specimens of Douglas fir and red cedar can be found on this trail, some growing together almost from a single root, but most standing alone and swelling with their accumulated years. These guys are a thousand years old, give or take a bit, and were there just for us to clamber up the slope and look at them. Don’t fall over backwards when you look up!
Drove even further down the mountain after that and another thing the volunteer had recommended in his ramblings was to drive up the Westside Road until it was maybe closed and then look around. So that’s what we did, and it wasn’t much. But it was a quiet, private farewell to the Park, there was some kind of view at the top, and it certainly was … well, a road up a mountainside.
Ok, time to say goodbye to Mt. Rainier NP and to head back to Frenchie’s. We’d made a dinner reservation there for 6:00 that Monday night, realizing that we needed to get to bed early and wake up early to get back to the airport. Left the Nisqually entrance and sped the few miles to Copper Creek. And we got there in time to do most of the needed packing before dinner.
We then went down to dinner and it was mobbed again … on a Monday at 6:00! Good thing we’d made a reservation. Our waitress told us that this was nothing, wait until Summer when they’d have a line out the door and people begging for a seat. Got another fine dinner that couldn’t be beat and then headed back upstairs, where we did some final packing and then settled down for a last game of Azul.
Soon to bed. The raucous restaurant underneath us was quieting down, and we were ready for our 5:00AM alarm.
Sarah took pictures of these wildflowers during that day:
- Pacific Waterleaf
- Candy Flower
- Hawkweed
- Carpet Bugle
- Horsetail
- Vine Maple
- Beargrass
- Pinemat Manzanita
- Pink Mountainheath
- Arctic Lupine
- Pipecleaner Moss
- Oregon Boxwood
- Swamp Currant
- Pacific Trillium
- Spotted Coralroot
- Rosy Pussytoes
- Large-leaved Avens
- Columbian Windflower
- Hooker's Fairybells
- Tall Bluebell
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