[catwoman]

Vistaclimber and I set out in hopes of having a nice fall color/photo hike today. I suggested MRNP, due to hunting season. It was left up to me to decide on the hike, so I’d decided on Forest Lake via Sunrise. There was a bit of some pretty fall color around the parking area. We set out up the hill on the wide open and clearly visible trail marking the meadows. It was an amazingly hot day today for late September! And of course, the trails with limited trees/shade. We came to some junctions that listed all the trails and had arrows pointing in the various directions. We got to the sign that notes Forest Lake, but no arrows, so we took the left (wrong) path. So we found ourselves going to Mt Freemont instead. Not a huge deal because neither of us had been there before. Oh well. The bummer was….. the views were pretty much the same from start to finish! I mean, the view was nice, but really no different than from the parking lot. Oh, except the parking lot had fall color. Anyway, we sat on the balcony of the lookout tower as we ate our lunch, peering out at Grand Park. Neither one of us were terribly inspired to take pictures, but I did manage to click the shutter a few times, just to say I did. After all, I did carry the camera up there! On our way back, I was thinking we might take the other path (the correct path) to Forest Lake, because that was supposed to lead to some different types of scenery, and er…. water and trees. =) We ended up not doing that. Not sure why, but I think we were just busy gabbing and missed the turnoff or something. Got to the car, had to pee, but the lines at the bathrooms were waaaaaay too long! Geez! Then the plan was to go to the Grove of the Patriarchs for some photos, but I talked us out of it because I was figuring it would be crowded on a beautiful sunny Sunday. So, we went to the White River Campground, used the toilets there, sat at a picnic table and drank a couple beers, then set out on the Glacier Basin trail for some photo opps. I think the beers might have had something to do with it, but also the fact that all my food was gone and it was getting closer to dinner time, so I didn’t feel like venturing up the trail after all. We cut through the trees to get to the river and see if there were any photo opps there. Nah, but clicked the shutter a few times anyway. Headed out and went down to the river from the campground instead. Took a few shots but the light was waaaaaaay too bright so I don’t think they’re anything special. But, for the sake of the trip report….. Oh, and I also have a pic of vistaclimber with his mouth full of a sandwich, but I haven't gotten his approval to post it. My take on the Mt Freemont lookout hike – it’s ok, but not my type of hike. Nothing changes. Oh, and pretty much the only fall color was around the parking area.

freemont-tower-rainier

white-river

[Mike Collins]

Catwoman...Thanks for the trip report. Having done this peak with kids in tow it was fun to revisit it through your report. In the interest of historical correctness let me point out that this peak is called Mount Fremont. It is named after John Fremont who after many adventures in life was the first Republican to run for the presidency. He was defeated in 1856 by James Buchanan. In a political scandal of those times he had been married by a priest to Jessie Benton. The attraction to the senior senator of Missouri's daughter began when she was 16 but they agreed to postpone marriage until she was 17. They actually eloped but couldn't find a Protestant minister to confirm the vows. For a national election antipapist sentiments were not uprooted until the election of Kennedy and history might have been different if....

[catwoman]

Thanks, Mike. Sorry for the misspelling. You must have a particular interest in this guy or just history itself?

[Allison]

Yes, the joke was not lost on me either....you gotta get up pret-ty early to fool ol' Marylou!

[Duncan]

Quark, you won't regret becoming familiar with MRNP. I absolutely love it, and if you are willing to work a little harder and get away from the crowded, touristy parts, you can find absolute solitude and lot's of wildlife. I think I'm gonna go for the gusto next summer and finally do the Wonderland all in one go. That's the plan anyway.

[MooseAndSquirrel]

Yeah Quark, Mt. Rainier doesn't really suck- come on, give it a chance, it'll grow on ya. There are too many bears & deer & those funny lookin' goats with beards & way too many of my relatives gathering nuts and twigs, plus stupid rivers and waterfalls running all the time-what a waste of water- can't they crank a big valve shut at night after everyone has gone home to conserve water? Don't get me started on marmots. Way too many marmots.