Waking up on a crisp cool morning in late October, my husband I were lazing around the house with nothing but a second cup of coffee on our minds. Luckily for us, some more enterprising friends rousted us out of the house to enjoy what was likely one of the last really beautiful days of fall. We traded in our slippers for lightweight gear and drove out 410 hoping to sneak into “the Park” (Mt. Rainier National Park) through Lake Elinor.
We’re now carrying OR at ESMS so I stuffed my new Gore-Tex shell in my bag along with my well traveled OR gaiters, which I didn’t use, and a wool hat, which I definitely did. Unfortunately it turns out there’s a gate not too far past Ranger Creek which is apparently closed for the winter. Now what? The couch was calling so we needed an accessible Plan B. The other couple made it simple for us and we busted up the hill to Crystal and braved a slick incline in four-wheel drive up Gold Hills Road, a small unpaved section that provides access to the cabins in the summer. Just so you know, this road is now inaccessible to trucks now also. So why blog?
Well the moral of the story is that as glamorous colors of fall fade, a new vista is allowed to take it’s place. We’ve both been to Crystal countless times but I’d never had a clear view across to Green Valley and the rest of the resort looking westward. We hiked through just a dusting of snow up about 2,000 feet of gain under a clear blue sky and the only people we passed were two (deerless) hunters. Midway we were treated to an idyllic clearing and the dog had a good drink out of what I discovered was a natural spring. I hope to use this pre-snowshoe season hike as a reminder to myself to step away from the screen this winter and experience the season’s unique beauty. Hope you do too!