Archive for May, 2010

Sourdough Ridge in Mount Rainier National Park

Sourdough Ridge from Sunrise and Sunrise Point in Mt. Rainier National Park.

sourdough ridge from sunrise point sourdough ridge from sunrise

sourdough ridge from sunrise sourdough ridge from sunrise

Sunrise Point Panorama

Panorama from Sunrise Point in Mt. Rainier National Park. From left to right: Crystal Mountain, Yakima Peak, Natches Peak, Governors Ridge, Tamanos Mountain, Goat Island Mountain, Cowlitz Chimneys, Little Tahoma, and Mt. Rainier. The White River is in the foreground.

11 exposures stitched, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM @ 17mm

Click for larger version…
sunrise point and mt rainier

Roads

Sunrise Park Road and the Mather Memorial Parkway – Looking down from Sunrise Point.

sunrise park road from sunrise point mather memorial parkway from sunrise point

Emmons & Fryingpan Glaciers

The Emmons Glacier is on the northeast side of Mt. Rainier. It is the largest glacier in the contiguous United States at 4.3 square miles ( 11 square kilometers ). The Fryingpan Glacier is much smaller and sits on the eastern side of Little Tahoma Peak. After the upper portions of Sunrise and Mt. Rainier itself were enveloped in clouds parts of the Emmons and Fryingpan Glaciers were still visible from the road to Sunrise.

emmons glacier swallowed by clouds emmons glacier swallowed by clouds

fryingpan glacier swallowed by clouds

The Cowlitz Chimneys

The Cowlitz Chimneys are comprised of the Main (south) Chimney (7600 feet or 2 316 m), the Central (middle) Chimney (7420 feet or 2 261 m) and the North Chimney (7015 feet or 2 138 m). The Chimneys lie to the East of Mt. Rainier and just south of the Goat Island and Tamanos Mountains. These shots are taken from Sunrise in Mt. Rainier National Park.

the cowlitz chimneys from sunrise the cowlitz chimneys from sunrise

Silver Lake Provincial Park Reflection

Wells Peak reflected on Silver Lake in Silver Lake Provincial Park, just outside of Hope, BC.

wells peak reflected in silver lake

Buildings at Sunrise / Yakima Park

The buildings at Sunrise in Mt. Rainier National Park.

The Sunrise Visitor Center / Ranger Station

sunrise visitor center in mt rainier national park sunrise visitor center in mt rainier national park

sunrise visitor center in mt rainier national park

The “Yakima Stockade Group” at Sunrise.

yakima stockade group sunrise day lodge south building yakima stockade group sunrise day lodge

yakima stockade group sunrise day lodge north building

Sunrise / Yakima Park

Sunrise (also known as Yakima Park) is an area near Mt. Rainier that has a different assortment of plants compared to the areas I had visited on earlier trips (Longmire through Stevens Canyon). A large part of this is likely due to elevation as the parking lot at Sunrise is at an elevation of 6400 feet or 1950 meters.

sunrise visitor center in mt rainier national park

When I ventured up to Sunrise last September I wandered around the parking lot a bit wondering where to go next. From Sunrise Point I had seen the clouds approaching the Sourdough Mountains and thought I should likely get my shots of Rainier and the surrounding area in pretty fast (I was correct). A park ranger was looking at the clouds coming down over the Sourdough Ridge and suggested that I get a jacket on as the temperature was “about to drop and get ugly fast”. I said “thanks for the advice”.

The advice I ignored.

About 20 minutes later I think the temperature probably dropped 10° C, the clouds became darker and the top of the ridge was suddenly hard to see. It became windy. I retrieved my jacket. When I walked past her again she said “Hey nice jacket”. I think that comment had less to do with my jacket (which was nice) and more to do with the fact that we both knew she had been right. Maybe I’ll listen next time.

sourdough ridge from sunrise mt rainier obscured by clouds

sourdough ridge from sunrise sourdough ridge from sunrise

A few wildflowers from the Sunrise area. Alpine Aster (Aster alpigenus) and a flower gone to see that I have yet to identify.

alpine aster - aster alpigenus gone to seed

Sourdough Mountains Panorama

Panorama of the Sourdough Mountains from Sunrise Point in Mt. Rainier National Park. From left to right: Dege Peak, Marcus Peak, and The Palisades. Taken at the same place as my earlier post with Sunrise Lake in the foreground.

9 exposures stitched, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM @ 17mm

Click for larger version…
sourdough mountains dege peak marcus peak the palisades