Mount Rainier 2016

Did my annual visit to Mount Rainier last week.  My old dormmate Dick and I hiked the Naches Peak trail...a bit over 3 miles, 600 feet elevation gain.  Only a moderate amount of work to see spectacular scenery!  Here the Lizards are inspecting a rapidly melting snowfield at about 5500 feet elevation on the 25th of July.

Indian paintbrush.

A mountain tarn.

Flowers and new evergreen sprouts make a nice contrast in shades and colors.

Heather blooming on the trail.

The Lizards contemplate the Mountain.  Rainier is always breathtaking...from up close, as here, or from as far away as Tacoma.

The massive mountain, with glaciers.

Don't know the name of this flower, but it's common in the meadows around Naches Peak and Tipsoo Lake just east of Rainier.

More fresh evergreen sprouts.  The beauty in the mountain environment can be gaudy or subdued...flamboyant or subtle.  It's all good.