Sourdough Ridge from Sunrise and Sunrise Point in Mt. Rainier National Park.
Posts Tagged ‘sunrise’
May
30
2010
Sourdough Ridge in Mount Rainier National Park
May
25
2010
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.
May
23
2010
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.
May
17
2010
Buildings at Sunrise / Yakima Park
The buildings at Sunrise in Mt. Rainier National Park.
The Sunrise Visitor Center / Ranger Station
The “Yakima Stockade Group” at Sunrise.
May
15
2010
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.
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.
A few wildflowers from the Sunrise area. Alpine Aster (Aster alpigenus) and a flower gone to see that I have yet to identify.
May
02
2010
Sunrise Panorama
Panorama taken near the road to Sunrise in Mt. Rainier National Park. From left to right the names of the prominent peaks are: Tamanos Mountain, the Cowlitz Chimneys, Goat Island Mountain, and of course, the lower parts of Mt. Rainier. This was just after I had learned how quickly the weather can change – within 5 minutes the Sourdough Mountain ridge at Sunrise had completely been overcome with clouds and the temperature dropped dramatically. This was pretty much the last glimpse of Mt. Rainier from Sunrise that day.
9 exposures stitched, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM @ 17mm
Click for larger version…
Apr
26
2010
Mt. Rainier from Sunrise
View of Mt. Rainier from Sunrise Park Road (maybe half way between Sunrise Point and the Sunrise Visitor Center). Was not too many minutes after I took this shot that Mt. Rainier was completely enveloped in clouds. This is likely categorized as a Lenticular cloud (Altocumulus lenticularis).
Sep
30
2009
Picture Frame Falls – Mt. Rainier National Park
I have just returned from my second journey to Mt. Rainier National Park. Luckily this time the weather held and I enjoyed nice days for the vast majority of my trip. I even managed to get up to Sunrise this time out.
This second trip at the end of September 2009, I returned to this spot where the road inside Stevens Canyon crosses Stevens Creek. Apparently there is no official name for this waterfall though I see it called Picture Frame Falls, or Stevens Fork Falls. No waterfall this time – apparently it is a spring melt phenomenon – which might explain the lack of official name. This is how it looked in early July 2009:
Stevens Creek
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