Mom and I wanted to do one more hike before we went on our trip, preferably one above sea level so we had a choice between Mt. St. Helens and Mount Rainier so we discussed it. I had a list of three hikes at Mt. St. Helens and found two for Mount Rainier. We wanted to be kinda ready for Peru even though where we were going isn't even close to the elevation we would be at in Peru. We ultimately chose Mount Rainier because it was closer.
I looked at the two hikes I picked out and Carter Falls sounded like the best one because it wasn't super long, there would be waterfalls along the way and it was easy to get to. Mom loves waterfalls and there was a virtual cache at the falls I wanted to get.
I asked Fitzy if she wanted to go since she was in town and wasn't busy on Sunday and I asked Ben if he wanted to go since he finally wasn't working his life away that weekend and they both said that would be fun to go on an adventure. The weather was suppose to be nice but because it was at Mount Rainier, the elevation was higher and the temperature wasn't suppose to be super hot so I planned accordingly. I read up on what to expect at Carter Falls and the trip to the trail head. I told Fitzy and Mom that we would pick them up around 10 a.m. They said they would be ready to go.
Ben and I got up around 9 a.m., got dressed and made some sandwiches for lunch. I brought a One bar for breakfast. I threw in my walking poles, grabbed my back pack and threw in extra clothes, socks, my lunch, water and other things we might need like a small first aid kit. I put my hiking shoes in the back. Ben followed suit.
We drove into Rainier and picked up Fitzy first and then drove to Mom and Dad's house and picked up Mom, she was actually ready when we pulled up. We threw everyone's back packs and shoes in the back. We drove out the backway towards McKenna. We got onto the 702 and went through Eatonville through the Alder Cut Off. I wasn't going to subject anyone to the swirly road. We went through Elbe and was hoping everyone was going to turn off at the Hwy 7/Morton junction so we didn't have to follow anyone down the 706 to the entrance to the park.
We got to the park entrance and head to wait in line. It was semi busy but not too bad. When we got there, I paid the entry fee even though Fitzy offered. She was our guest so she wasn't expected to pay. Sadly, Mom isn't old enough for the pass and none of us were military or come to National Parks often enough to warrant the yearly pass.
We followed the road up to just before the Cougar Rock Campground, which is about an eight mile drove from the gate. The roads were somewhat busy since is is the end of the summer and people are trying to get their last couple trips in before school starts and the weather turns. We saw there was plenty of parking along the side of the road near the trail head. We pulled in and made sure I had enough room in front and in back. We all got out and got organized. I put on my socks and hiking shoes, grabbed my back pack, locked the doors and off we went.
Carter Falls is a 2.6 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail near Longmire and is good for all skill levels which is good because I tend to me a slow hiker. A 1.1 mile portion of this trail to Carter Falls and Madcap Falls is also part of the 92 mile Wonderland Trail that spans around Mount Rainier and the park. I've done bits and pieces of this enormous trail over the years with the last one being Spray Falls with Ben back in 2015.
We walked to the trail head, clearly marked with a Carter Falls sign, and followed it down to a neatly manicured, complete with rocks, dirt river bed trail. The beginning of this hike was pretty unique because it took you over the Nisqually River, with a wooden footbridge that often washes out during the fall and winter months. We could see the mountain from here and it was hard to see the highlight of our skyline so bare.
We followed the trail that paralleled the Paradise River and it was definitely a uphill hike. It wasn't too hard of a hike unless you are severely out of shape. I just haven't been out hiking hills in a while and got out of practice. My endurance wasn't all that great. I think by the time we got there we would have gained about 800 feet in elevation. We took a couple water breaks as we made our way to the top.
We passed a pipeline to the left of us and it was very cold to the touch. Fitzy mentioned that a few years back her Mom would hike with a bunch of other ladies on the weekends and remembered her talking about this hike and the pipes. I told her I remembered seeing some of the photos of her Mom hiking different places at Mount Rainier. We chatted about our upcoming Peru trip, people from Rainier and how Jean was doing with her treatments. It was nice to see that she was improving and were able to do more things that she did at the beginning of the summer.
We walked past a few groups of hikers as we got closer to the falls. We rounded the corner and there it was. Carter Falls is a 50 foot horsetail shaped falls and it was named after Harry Carter, builder of much of the trail between Longmire and Paradise. The falls was pretty cool but there were trees in front of it so it didn't allow us to get a really good view of them without some obstruction. We took a few pictures and I couldn't figure out how I was suppose to log the virtual cache, Carter Falls (GCE4D), so I took pictures of everything that was around us, including the elevation sign a few feet away. Both Fitzy and Mom had to pee so they found a place while Ben and I hung out enjoying the view of the falls.
We all reconvened and I asked everyone if we wanted to go about 500 feet further up the trail to go see Madcap Falls and everyone said of course! Off we went. Once we got there it seemed less than 500 feet and these falls were much easier to see and a lot more photogenic. Madcap Falls is 34 feet gradual cascading falls with a 45 degree pitch. We spent a few minutes upstream of the falls just to see what was over there. Of course we took more photos.
We started our way back down the trail and took more photos along the way. There were a couple of cool shots along the Paradise River of large boulders and the river itself. It was such a nice day and it turned out to be way warmer than I thought it would be. We got back down to the Nisqually River and there were a bunch of people hanging out down by the bridge. I took Mom's camera and took several photos of Mount Rainier and a couple of Ben, Fitzy and Mom crossing the log bridge. We got a couple selfies and walked back up the hill to the Escape.
I asked everyone, since we were already up here and paid our fee, if they wanted to go up the road to Narada Falls and everyone said sure. We ate our lunch in the Escape on the way up to Narada Falls. There were a lot of great views of the mountain, which I mentioned before, was thrashed this summer from really hot, dry weather. It didn't have a lot of snow on it and some of the glaciers have seriously receded. Hopefully we get some snow pack this winter or next summer will be another rough one for the region.
We followed the road up to Narada Falls and I didn't remember it being this close to Paradise. I thought it was closer to Christine Falls. We found a place to park, we got out and made sure we had our masks since there were a lot of people here. We walked the short distance down to the viewpoint of the falls and spent some time down there soaking in the incredible view. The sun hit it just right to where we got to see the rainbow over the falls. We walked back up the hill and I got winded because of the higher elevation we were at. I had to rest a few times. We used the restroom and walked back towards the Escape. Fitzy was trying to get a picture of a chipmunk but it wouldn't hold still. We all piled in and headed back town towards the gate.
We took the same route back into Rainier. We dropped Mom off first and then took Fitzy home when we drove through town. Ben and I got home, unloaded our stuff our of the Escape, got cleaned up, ate some dinner and enjoyed the rest of our weekend. This next work week is going to be busy but short.
Next Adventure: TriCities Geocoin Challenge: Heading to Selah
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