Day 17: Ohanapecosh to Big Creek campground

September 1, 2011

Map of the route from Ohanapecosh to Iron Creek campground, days 17 and 18. Terrain view is best.

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Today was supposed to be the grand tour of Mount Rainier, but the weather didn't cooperate.

41F at 7 AM, pretty cool for only 1800 feet elevation. I got on the road at 8:30. Earlier would have been better considering today's huge climbs.

After pedaling only 3 miles I stopped to hike the Grove of the Patriarchs trail. The giant trees are on an island surrounded by the Ohanapecosh river. Few people hike this early, so I had the place to myself. It's a splendid 1.5 mile hike but the stop took nearly an hour.

Footbridge across Ohanapecosh river leading to Grove of the Patriarchs.

Grove of the Patriarchs, Mount Rainier National Park. This Western Red Cedar might be 1000 years old.

Ferns and vine maples in the understory.

My first view of Mount Rainier was at the summit of Backbone Ridge, after climbing 1500 feet. It turned out to be the best view of the day because clouds started building shortly afterwards.

First view of Mount Rainier from the summit of Backbone ridge.

Then the road descends 600 feet to Box Canyon where I stopped to walk the 0.4 mile nature trail. It was difficult to get good pictures with the combination of sun and deep shadows.

After Box Canyon the climbing begins in earnest, up Stevens Canyon to Paradise. The temperature was in the 60's, about perfect for a long climb.

The creeks all have that milky glacial color and waterfalls become a common sight.

Telephoto view of Martha falls which is half a mile away from Stevens Canyon road.

It was sunny in Stevens Canyon, but clouds were steadily building on Mount Rainier. Mount Rainier is so that high that it generates clouds when everything around it is clear. The weather is better than yesterday, but still a bit humid and unstable.

Mount Rainier will be obscured by clouds before I get to Paradise.

Nice roadside flowers, but Mount Rainier is about to disappear.

Mount Rainier was completely shrouded before I got to the Paradise turnoff at 2:45. The Paradise scenic loop is a 1-way 4-mile loop that has the best up-close views of Mount Rainier. But not right now, so I didn't bother to do the Paradise loop. By not doing the loop I missed a closer view of the Nisqually glacier descending from the clouds. And I missed an opportunity to eat at the visitor center snack bar. But I gained more time for stops on the way down.

Paradise junction is the high point for me, 4900 feet elevation. I could see my next stop far below, the Narada Falls trailhead. The parking lot has a partial view, but the full view of Narada Falls is 1/4 mile down a nature trail.

Not far past Narada falls the road crosses the Nisqually river on a big bridge. The river bed is huge, but right now the river is tiny. An interpretive sign depicts how the Nisqually glacier has retreated 2 miles since 1840. The glacier once extended beyond the bridge, but now it's not even visible from the bridge.

Nisqually glacier is now a mile above the bridge, but in 1840 the glacier extended beyond the bridge.

The road descends for a very long time with frequent views of the Nisqually river. Seeing how small the river is now, it's hard to imagine that a 2007 flood washed away 2 campgrounds and miles of roads.

Nisqually river looking puny in early September.

I did the 1-way overlook loop road that adds 2 miles to the descent, but gives several excellent clifftop views of the Nisqually river.

The Nisqually river is obviously glacial runoff.

In late summer the Nisqually river only fills a tiny portion of the riverbed.

Christine falls is so close to the road that I couldn't get the entire falls in one picture. It was in very deep shade, allowing long 1/4 second exposures for a silky effect.

I passed Cougar Rock campground on the way down. It's open now, but has fewer sites than before the flood. I don't want to camp there because I need to get groceries 3 miles further down in Longmire.

I took a long stop at Longmire. Partly to eat a sandwich and buy groceries, but also because the clouds started to reveal the summit of Mount Rainier.

The inn at Longmire, Mount Rainier National Park.

While stopped at Longmire I watched the clouds slowly reveal the top of Mount Rainier.

I was hoping to camp at the Sunshine Point campground near the park exit. My park map shows the campground, so I assumed it was open. But the campground was destroyed by the 2007 flood and never rebuilt. Apparently the park still hands out maps printed before the 2007 flood.

I had plenty of daylight, but I was very tired after climbing 4000+ feet. Fortunately it was easy to continue downstream to Ashford, where I bought still more groceries while searching unsuccessfully for a fuel canister and powdered milk. Then I backtracked 2 miles upstream and turned south on Skate Creek road. Not far past the bridge I turned into the Big Creek USFS campground at 6:30 PM. My site was $16, with a pit toilet and water faucet nearby. The campground was nearly vacant, very quiet. My site had a creek view but there was a house on the other side of the creek.

Today was mostly sunny and much warmer than yesterday. High of 72F. Mount Rainier was obscured for only 3 hours, but it was when I would otherwise have had the best views at Paradise.

Distance: 52.9 mi. (84.6 km)
Climbing: 4177 ft. (1266 m)
Average Speed: 8.7 mph (13.9 km/h)
Hiking: 2.5 mi. (4 km)

Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 805 miles (1,296 km)

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