Southern Mount Rainer waterfall trip 9/6 - 9/7

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merelunacy
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Southern Mount Rainer waterfall trip 9/6 - 9/7

Post by merelunacy » September 19th, 2013, 5:58 pm

Considering time I'll keep this simple. We saw 19 waterfalls that we added to our count (I've numbered the pictures). It would have been nice to get closer shots, however the park rules for Mount Rainer National Park is no wandering off trail.

Friday we had a wet start, it looked like fall was here. Our first trail was off to Comet Falls.
wet trail.JPG
Sadly the dreary weather put Comet Falls in the clouds.
Comet Falls #01 waterfall.JPG
timothy and comet falls.JPG
Heading back we got some better pictures of the other waterfalls along the way.
Bloucher Falls #02 waterfall.JPG
Van Trump Falls #03 waterfall.JPG
According to weather reports Saturday was suppose to be another wet day...
morning mt rainer.JPG
It was a nice surprise to wake up to sunny skies, so off we went.
We got a friendly hello from this guy.
blue bird.JPG
timothy at Christine Falls #04 waterfall.JPG
Sadly the road no longer goes to this waterfall, Tato Falls in the distance.
quick glimpse waterfall that used to have road to it.JPG
Also along the road I got these shots.
mt rainer later morning.JPG
waterfall from afar.JPG
If we were a few weeks earlier we would have gotten epic flower pictures, still an awesome view.
mt rainier with waterfall and cabin.JPG
Myrtle Falls #05 waterfall.JPG
This guy was at the bridge above Myrtle Falls, got some good pictures before he figured out I wasn't going to feed him.
marmont.JPG
Middle Edith Creek Falls #06 waterfall.JPG

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merelunacy
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Re: Southern Mount Rainer waterfall trip 9/6 - 9/7

Post by merelunacy » September 19th, 2013, 6:38 pm

I grabbed a distant picture of Golden Gate Falls before heading off a different direction
distant golden gate falls.JPG
And I couldn’t help but grab this picture of Timothy.
timothy and mt rainier.JPG
Down the road we stopped off at Edith Gorge Falls and I got a cute picture.
Edith Gorge Falls #07 waterfall.JPG
On the way up to Sluiskin Falls I saw this other waterfall.
incoming cloud and distant waterfall.JPG
close up distant waterfall.JPG
Unfortunately we hiked all the way up to the top of Sluiskin Falls only to find out that there was no way to get a clear picture from the trail. It was very disappointing that we had to settle with a far away shot, although we know we did our best.
Sluiskin Falls #08 waterfall.JPG
Considering we were already at the top, we went a little further and got a picture of Paradise Falls as well. Truly it’s too bad they won’t make a trail to the base because it would be really pretty.
trying to get decent shot.JPG
Paradise Falls #09 watefall.JPG
Heading back to the road I got this picture of Paradise Lodge.
park lodge.JPG
Fluttering around Ruby Falls we got these shots.
butterfly.JPG
above Ruby Falls.JPG
Ruby Falls #10 waterfall.JPG
Then we hiked down to the Washington Cascades.
Washington Cascades #11 waterfall.JPG
Narada Falls was really pretty. Another mile and a half down the trail was Carter Falls
Narada Falls #12 waterfall.JPG
Carter Falls #13 waterfall.JPG

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merelunacy
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Re: Southern Mount Rainer waterfall trip 9/6 - 9/7

Post by merelunacy » September 19th, 2013, 6:57 pm

Hiking back up to the road we grabbed these shots.
Madcap Falls #14 watefall.JPG
Sidewinder Cascades #15 waterfall.JPG
Along the roadside I grabbed a few more pictures. Why isn’t there a trail up to Fairy Falls or Upper Stevens Creek Falls?
distant fairy falls.JPG
distant upper stevens creek falls.JPG
random waterfall above bridge.JPG
Pictureframe Falls #16 waterfall.JPG
We hiked down to the middle of Martha Falls, however I think our distant shot was better.
part of Martha Falls #17 waterfall.JPG
Martha Falls #17 waterfall.JPG
On the last stretch I got even more pictures, yes I like taking pictures and besides it’s a very scenic area.
cave from far away.JPG
scenic drive.JPG
box canyon.JPG
Cougar Falls was a bit camera shy and even with Timothy daring the edge there wasn’t a good shot to be had.
timothy getting shot of Cougar Falls.JPG
shy Cougar Falls #18 waterfall.JPG
Ending off our trip was Falls Creek Falls, haha, there are so many of those. We really were lucky to have fall hold it’s breath for a day.
Falls Creek Falls #19 waterfall.JPG
sunset.JPG

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Sore Feet
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Re: Southern Mount Rainer waterfall trip 9/6 - 9/7

Post by Sore Feet » September 19th, 2013, 8:04 pm

Sounds like you turned around about 300 feet too soon to see Sluiskin Falls. When you're looking at Paradise Falls, keep going left along the Skyline Trail to the top of the next small hill and you'll see an obvious dirt area that leads about 20-30 feet to the edge of the cliff above the falls. I don't know whether the Rangers have a problem with people walking in there, and generally in the Paradise area if there is an obviously trodden area like that there will be signs if its someplace the park staff doesn't want people going. I've never seen such signs there, and it's all dirt and rock so there's little to no risk of stomping on fragile plants.

It's actually quite unfortunate about Sluiskin, there used to be a trail (or at least a well established route through the meadows) to the base of the falls and there are tons of old black and white photographs showing the falls from below that date back to the 1900s. The same holds true for Fairy Falls, though I don't know that there was really ever a trail down there (I assume it did start at Paradise since the Stevens Canyon Road didn't open until '57).

Also, fwiw, off-trail travel isn't prohibited in the park, just in the high-traffic areas in Paradise and Sunrise (and occasionally elsewhere where signs indicate so). It's certainly discouraged in other areas though.

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Rustygoat
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Re: Southern Mount Rainer waterfall trip 9/6 - 9/7

Post by Rustygoat » September 24th, 2013, 11:26 am

Sore Feet wrote:Sounds like you turned around about 300 feet too soon to see Sluiskin Falls. When you're looking at Paradise Falls, keep going left along the Skyline Trail to the top of the next small hill and you'll see an obvious dirt area that leads about 20-30 feet to the edge of the cliff above the falls. I don't know whether the Rangers have a problem with people walking in there, and generally in the Paradise area if there is an obviously trodden area like that there will be signs if its someplace the park staff doesn't want people going. I've never seen such signs there, and it's all dirt and rock so there's little to no risk of stomping on fragile plants.

It's actually quite unfortunate about Sluiskin, there used to be a trail (or at least a well established route through the meadows) to the base of the falls and there are tons of old black and white photographs showing the falls from below that date back to the 1900s. The same holds true for Fairy Falls, though I don't know that there was really ever a trail down there (I assume it did start at Paradise since the Stevens Canyon Road didn't open until '57).

Also, fwiw, off-trail travel isn't prohibited in the park, just in the high-traffic areas in Paradise and Sunrise (and occasionally elsewhere where signs indicate so). It's certainly discouraged in other areas though.


Thanks for that info Bryan about the Sluiskin Falls viewpoint and about the off trail rules. I could see a part of Fairy Falls from that Skyline trail and I was just itching to cross the meadow to get a better view. There was so much to see that I refrained myself and went on to the next hike. :P

I always thought that Mt. Rainer was too far away so I had never made it up that way until now. Very beautiful place that I would recommend...even if just for the day. We only hiked the Comet Falls Trail our first day there and saw everything else on Saturday. :D The drive home was a bit longer as we left from the east entrance of the park. There's lots more to see up there, I'll definitely be planning a longer trip for next year.
Tim

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