I went on the longest hike I've ever done. What we thought was going to be an 11 mile round trip, turned out to be 1/4 mile shy of 15 miles round trip. Zoinks! Jinkies I was pooped. But super happy. Below is a photo of me at the summit, Gobbler's Knob Fire Lookout which is located on the west side of Mount Rainier National Park.
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In the photo at the top and one in the cluster below, you'll see that I'm wearing the Sewing Cake Espresso leggings I've heavily modified to be capris, etc. And I also wore my XYT top as a base layer (under the pink shirt) for decent support. It worked GREAT! I loved the comments from other hikers. "I've seen bright shirts, but bright pants are new. You'll be easily found if lost!" Or "I want to hike with you, you'll never be lost!!" Ha ha ha! Brilliant. You've understood my plan. My work here is done!
The other huge thrill of this hike was the multitude of wildflowers in bloom. There were so many unique varieties in just the last 1000 ft to the lookout that it blew me away. Well, not off the peak it didn't. The avalance lilies were gorgeous and there were fields and fields of them. It was amazing to see the yellow violets, and then to stumble upon the purple ones was ... joyful. Beargrass was in bloom, plus wandering phlox, and so many more that I've never ever seen in person, only in guide books. The clouds were few, but made lovely formations, we saw Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens, and many other peaks. It's a long day (8.5 hrs for us slow photographer types), but totally worth the trek.
The other huge thrill of this hike was the multitude of wildflowers in bloom. There were so many unique varieties in just the last 1000 ft to the lookout that it blew me away. Well, not off the peak it didn't. The avalance lilies were gorgeous and there were fields and fields of them. It was amazing to see the yellow violets, and then to stumble upon the purple ones was ... joyful. Beargrass was in bloom, plus wandering phlox, and so many more that I've never ever seen in person, only in guide books. The clouds were few, but made lovely formations, we saw Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens, and many other peaks. It's a long day (8.5 hrs for us slow photographer types), but totally worth the trek.
All photos above (c) 2014 Gwen Gyldenege.
Photo by Mark Landrigan. www.pbase.com/markland
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