Peek-A-Boo
Mt. Rainier from Tipsoo Lake · Mt. Rainier National Park · Washington · USA
It wasn't quite the atmospheric conditions I was hoping for at the end of a 3-hour drive as Mt. Rainier kept her head stubbornly in the clouds, but that barely diminished the ooohs and aaaahs coming from my mouth all along the incredibly scenic Naches Peak Loop Trail. Pressed for time due to a late start and egged along by a constant buzzing energy--one from the swarms of insatiable mosquitos and the other from the claps of thunder and flashes of lightning in the ever-nearing distance--I completed the 3-mile circuit in less than 90 minutes, even accounting for the frequent stops for photos. Back at the lake, Rainier could never really visibly separate herself from the clouds, but I and the thousands of sub-centimeter tadpoles still enjoyed the sunset show from Tipsoo. Only after I left did I realize that the classic view of a reflected Mt. Rainier was to be had at off-trail Upper Tipsoo Lake, and I might have kicked myself had the sky gone nuclear. But either way, a return date in autumn is definitely in order...
