Pristine weather was with us on Wednesday and Thursday (October 18-19, 2023) so I planned on another bike/hike foray into the park, visiting one of my favorite places: The Colonnade. At this point all the campgrounds were closed in the park so I secured a cross country permit at Longmire and left my van there, biking to the end of the West Side Road at Klapatche Point.

After securing the bike, it was back to earthly bipedal action and hiking the North Puyallup Trail (which used to be the road until 1987) to the intersection with the Wonderland, then departing in the vicinity of Sunset Park/Silver Forest and making my way to the Colonnade. There is a trail which I lost a few times in the lower sections, but once on the ridge proper it is patently obvious. In 2016 I did this trip and bivied at the old lookout site at 6,700’. This time I spotted a knoll with an unobstructed view of the mountain and its flanks and determined that would be an excellent spot for sunset. Despite blustery winds most of the afternoon and night, the temperatures were moderate and I enjoyed a mesmerizing star show above while a GoPro captured sunset and star trails.

*Alpenglow on Rainier, October 18, 2023*

I snoozed the next morning until the sun hit my bivy, as this was a relaxed trip and more in line for soaking in the environment than pumping out an endurance event. Once again my shadow was before me as I reversed the jaunt to my bike and pedaled back to Longmire, easier with less elevation gain than the day before. Round trip stats: 53 miles/7,100’ elev. This was an immersive trip, in complete solitude. It’s hard to explain what this infusion of sights and smells and toil does for one’s soul; maybe the video and pics will help impart some of this to you, dear reader, which is the purpose of this site.