Glorious fall weather was with us, so I was off to the park and secured a site in Cougar Rock Campground for 5 nights right up to closing day. Out of 6 days I was active for 4, with the other two involving wandering down to Longmire for coffee and WiFi. The first day (Tuesday, Oct 3) I did a nice afternoon ride up to Paradise and Reflection Lake as a warmup. The second day (Oct 4), I rode to the West Side road and parked at the trail to South Puyallup Camp. As I was planning on riding RIMROBOD on the coming Saturday, I had my gravel bike with me (Salsa Cutthroat) vice my usual vintage mountain bike. My only concern was the road tires I had on it but the West Side Road is gentle enough to not be a problem. I then proceeded on foot past South Puyallup camp to St. Andrews Park/Lake, Klapatche Park, then the St. Andrews Trail to the West side road which I trotted to regain my bike, returning to Cougar Rock. On this trip I concentrated on taking in as much nuance as I could, taking macro shots of the plethora of fungi, reveling in the colorful understory, spending over an hour at St. Andrews Lake, completely alone (only saw 4 people this entire trip), availing myself of the 4 cameras I packed for various video shots....I tried not to be overwhelmed by the olfactory overload of fall on the hill, but I failed; that's a good thing! I could barely get myself moving again from such an idyllic spot (St. Andrews Lake), but made my way to Klapatche Park, where there was one other person who kept to himself. Aurora Lake was refilled by the recent rains, and I got an alternate (maybe better?) shot of the mountain reflected in a tarn as I traveled the St Andrews trail, trotting the nice grade to the West Side Road, where my ambulation continued until I regained my bike. After the short climb to Round Pass, the fall overload continued (even on the main road back to Cougar Rock). I called this a "Rainier West Mini Loop." Of course, one could shorten this trip by parking at the end of the West Side Road, but where’s the fun in that? Todays stats: 42 miles (13 hiking)/5800' elev. I’ve done some endurance type trips this season and it was a pleasure to shift gears and just relax.