[williswall]

I got in 200 miles and 25,000' of elev over 6 days, parking my van at Cougar Rock campground as a base. Day 1 (Oct 4)/22 miles/2400': bike to Paradise/Reflection Lakes. After checking in at Cougar (lots of space), I took an evening ride up to Paradise with a side trip to Reflection Lakes. This was a warmup for things to come, and although the skies were somewhat cloudy, it was a lovely ride...I especially like the Paradise Valley road. I arrived back at the van for a hot shower and pasta.

RL bike 4

RL bike 3

RL bike 2

RL bike 1

RL 5 Paradise

Day 2 (Oct 5): West Mini Loop (46 miles/6100'). My steed for this trip was my Salsa Cutthroat, and although I have road tires on it, they handle the gentle gravel found on the West Side Road. An early start from Cougar Rock in the dark deposited me on the West Side Road, and I parked at the trail head for South Puyallup, changed shoes, and took to ambulation. The colors in the understory were sometimes astounding, and I experienced autumn olfactory overload hiking up the trail to the South Puyallup River camp. I had 4 cameras with me and used them all for different video purposes, including my 360 cam. The pinnacle of the day was stopping at St. Andrews Lake for over an hour in total seclusion (only saw 4 people during the entire jaunt). It was hard to leave this idyllic place in perfect weather, but eventually I sauntered to Klapatche Park where there was one other person who kept to himself. I was spending considerable time soaking in nuances, and the plethora of fungi had me stopping for macro shots most of the day. Aurora Lake was repumped from recent rains and there was a small tarn that allowed for a different water reflection shot of the mountain on the St Andrews trail. I trotted down to the West Side Road, where I turned left and regained my bike parked at the So. Puyallup trail head. The hiking portion of this loop was 13 miles. From there it was a pleasant ride back to Cougar Rock, even on the main road with traffic. This whole day was fall foliage overload, fantastic!

Miniloop 29 night sky from Cougar Rock

Miniloop 1 WSR morning

Miniloop 2 broadleaf

Miniloop 3 Mt Wow

Miniloop 4 cascade

Miniloop 5 past prime

Miniloop 6 fungus1

Miniloop 7 basalt columns

Miniloop 8 basalt columns2

Miniloop 9 fungus colony

Miniloop 11 trail color

Miniloop 12 St Andrews Lake

Miniloop 13 WT sign

Miniloop 14 Puyallup formations

Miniloop 15 WT sign2

Miniloop 16 Aurora Lake

Miniloop 17 NOT Aurora Lake

Miniloop 18 fungus2

Miniloop 19 fungus3

Miniloop 20 fungus4

Miniloop 21 fungus5

Miniloop 22 fungus6

Miniloop 23 fungus droplets

Miniloop 24 fungus7

Miniloop 25 ribbon reflections

Miniloop 26 leaf on the ground

Miniloop 27 spindly husk

Miniloop 28 Tahoma Glacier

Day 3 (Oct 7): RIMROBOD (Ride the Interior of Mt Rainier Out and Back in One Day)/118 miles/13,600' elev RIMROBOD was the primary objective for being in the park, as the Stevens Canyon Road has been closed during the week for 2 years running for road renovation. I had to suck it up and do this on a weekend, and I knew that with the Sunrise road closing down on the 10th and with the glorious weather, I was in for some serious traffic. Unlike an organized event like Ramrod, I had to be self supported: I had repair kit/tubes/various clothing and liquids/sustenance for an expected 14 hour day. I set off on the Salsa at 5 AM, arriving at Paradise with lightening skies. As I cruised past Reflection Lakes the morning alpenglow was hitting the mountain, and I thoroughly enjoyed the speedy descent on the newly paved Stevens Canyon Road to Box Canyon. On the way to the Ohanapecosh entrance, I just had to stop taking photos along the way of the plethora of roadside foliage, as I would never finish the trip had I continued. As I expected, the exit onto highway 123 put me in a cold zone, and I donned a thermal top and warmer gloves until reaching Cayuse Pass, finally in the sun. I was dreading 410 traffic but descending was fast and most of the traffic was coming. When I arrived at the White River entrance there were but 2 cars ahead of me. The last climb to Sunrise before turnaround was busy, which is an understatement. Sunrise was jammed....of course, the last weekend to go there in perfect weather, who can blame people for braving the crowds? After a break, I departed Sunrise at 1 PM and hammered the downhill (no cars behind me the entire way, all the traffic was going up) to pass the entry kiosk at 1:30. The line up was unreal to get into the park. In reviewing video I counted 114 cars backed up almost to 410...unbelievable! Timing is everything. I managed the dreaded climb back up to Cayuse pass to the relative safety of highway 123. Throughout the day cars were courteous, I had multiple lights and a radar going and I pulled over whenever I could to let cars pass, so it worked out well. There were again just a few cars ahead at the Ohanapecosh entrance and I steeled myself for the last big climb to Reflection Lakes (and the mini climb to backbone ridge). I first did RIMROBOD (yes, I made that up) in 2017 on my old road bike; I stopped at Box Canyon at 9:30 PM and took a 3 hour nap before finishing in the dark. This year had me at Box Canyon at 4 PM, quite a difference. I continued my slow metered spin for the climb and cruised past Reflection Lake, absolutely jammed with cars and people, at 6 PM. On the way down I had to brake for traffic ahead, and arrived at Cougar Rock at 6:25 PM, still in daylight, 13.5 hours after starting. Despite dealing with traffic, covering the expanse of the park in one day at the height of fall foliage bordered on sensory overload, both in sight and smell. The out and back allowed me to take in the full shebang, as anything I passed doing 30 I saw later doing 6 mph. A week of cycling in Italy prior had me tuned up for a long day in the saddle, and my consistent bike training over the past year saw my FTP raised from 165 to 220, making the ascents so much easier. Biking in the park was a pure delight, even with weekend traffic!

RRB 1 climb to Paradise

RRB 2 climb to Paradise

RRB 3 Reflection Lake

RRB 4 morning alpenglow

RRB 5 Stevens Canyon Rd

RRB 6 Stevens Canyon Rd2

RRB 7 color

RRB 8 departing Sunrise

RRB 9 White River Rd

RRB 10 Stevens Canyon Rd hanging ferns

RRB 11 Sun sets in canyon

RRB 12 Stevens Canyon road below

RRB 13 Reflection Lake at sunset

Day 4: Eagle Peak Trail/7.5 miles/3000' elev. I had 2 rest days amongst these 4 sojourns, where I ambled down to Longmire for coffee and wifi; I even found an abandoned trail on the Nisqually river's edge, following it before it petered out, when I proceeded through lovely forest to regain the Wonderland. I had so much time to explore and find hidden gems in the forest and just enjoying being outdoors. Anyway, my last day in the park, Monday Oct 8, I hit the Eagle Peak trail before the forecast rain hit. This trail is an excellent trainer, with fine grade from 2800' to 5000', followed by some rocky sections and steep going the last 700' to the col. Once below this upper section, the trail is runable from 5000' feet down. I used to hike Mt Si 3x before an ultra, but this trail is even better, except for the proximity. In any event, the upper reaches sport views with plenty of fall foliage, so the autumn infusion continued. This was a great short outing to keep my legs accustomed to downhill, and a great way to cap off 6 glorious fall days in the park.

EP 1

EP 2

EP 3

EP 4

EP 5

EP 6

EP 7

EP 8

EP 9

EP 10

[Bernardo]

Nice!!