These posts will cover all the areas I'm visiting in the confines of Mt. Rainier National Park in celebration of 35 years exploring here, including new places with a smattering of old.

This was a traditional outing, where in February I bike from Longmire to Paradise, then hike up the Muir Snowfield and return. I was packing my new camera, a Panasonic G9 with a Leica 8-18 lens and wanted to get some snow shots in the process. As expected, the weather was clear but cold, but the heat generated by climbing from Longmire (2800') to Paradise (5400') means I stayed toasty from the internal furnace. This fine day had plenty of people out on the snow, but not very many above Panorama Point. I especially like the trio of women who had quite the spread on their portable table at Pan Point; that's the way to spend an afternoon whilst getting one's drink and snack on! On this sojourn I only climbed to 7,000 feet, concentrating on photo ops in areas not frequented by people. And as usual, the best part was the exhilarating ride back to my waiting vehicle, making for a 28 mile day with 4500' of climb. I love this park!

*Just your everyday lunch get together!*

*Tracks in the winter playground of Paradise.*