Friday 14 September 2018
Granite Creek back to Sunrise
Amazingly enough we are all up early, fed, packed and on the trail by 8 am. I even had time this morning to re-bandage Shelley’s toes. She has an infection under one toenail – I advise her to have it drained as soon as she can when she is back to civilization.
O and I are more than ready to get to a warm and dry place. We spent a restless night in the tent crawling back uphill periodically. Although our tent has done a great job keeping rain and puddles of water out, we have a fair amount of condensation on the tent floor and lower wall due to the cold overnight temperatures and the very moist air. Today’s hike is along more gentle grades, first down and then back up as we climb to the alpine meadows about Skyscraper Pass. Here we pause for some snacks as we await a break in the clouds for a last view of Rainier before our descent. Again the weather has turned from an attempt at sunshine this morning to drizzle mixed with snow as we made our ascent.
We look back towards Rainier from the pass and – there it is! There really is a mountain around which we have been hiking. We all excitedly try to get photos before clouds close in once again. It is time now to descend, then climb and descend again on our way back to Sunrise.
We take our time hiking through the meadows, because they are beautiful, and because Shelley’s feet are very sore. We admire the late season alpine flowers still in bloom, and the Dr. Seuss-like seed heads of the Pasque flower. The pica call to us with their entertaining squeaks and yet another fat marmot runs across the hillside.
As we near the visitor center the number of day hikers increases exponentially. As we four laggards in the rear of our group straggle by, one man comments to his wife, “They look strong!” Finally back at Sunrise, we have our last lunch together, bid each other farewell and share final hugs before we go our separate ways.
