Glacier Vista Snowshoe — Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011

Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise

Finally, good snow in the mountains. On this final day of the year and the weather looking pretty good for Mt Rainier, we picked Paradise for our year end snow shoe hike. The one drawback was the 3 hour drive each way. We reached Longmire, just as the traffic was allowed up the mountain. We arrived at Paradise at 11 am, as one of the first 5 vehicles. We were told the gates at Longmire would close at 6 pm. Note: we were required to carry chains past Longmire, even though we drive a Subaru, with it’s all wheel drive. This was our first snowshoe hike in Mt Rainier. With the day partly clear, we snow shoed up the mountain to the Glacier Vista, gaining a total of 1200 feet in a 2.5 mile round trip. The vista looks up at Nisqually Glacier, and likewise down the Nisqually Valley. Views also included Mount Adams and Mt Saint Helens. Paradise provides many other snow shoe hikes. Animal sightings: as we entered the park, we stopped for a couple deer as they crossed the road. After leaving Paradise and reaching Narada Falls, we saw our first fox in the wild. The fox crossed the road then walked along the side looking at us. This fox may have been expecting a handout.