Braved the crowds to spend a couple of days rambling the northern reaches of Mt. Rainier National Park July 31 and Aug 1st, with a hike from the White River Campground to Lake Eleanor, passing through Berkely and Grand Parks – and back. The wildflowers were just getting into their peak show at Berkely Park, altho the show was yet to get started at Grand Park.
The bugs were not too bad, the sun was hot, and (once I got away from the crowds) the solitude was sublime. I especially enjoyed the White Azalea in bloom at Lake Eleanor – I’d never noticed that blooming before, and it’s gorgeous! Also really interesting was the place where Lodi Creek pours out from beneath the wildflower-carpeted rocky slopes of Berkely Park. Grand Park is a great place to walk – so high up, so vast and flat.
I never did see a bear, tho I had read a cinnamon-colored cub was in the Berkely Park area. Also, the sow with two cubs that spent the evening in the meadow just over the hill from my camp went unseen, and I wouldn’t have known about them if the friendly ranger hadn’t warned me before he cleaned the pit toilet and left for the night.
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