If you're planning to tackle the Muir Snowfield during a late-summer trip to Mount Rainier National Park, be sure to pack your crampons and ice axe, as deteriorating snow conditions are making this hike a little trickier than normal for this time of year.

Life is not easy for salmon in the Pacific Northwest. They’re born inland, usually in a stream far from the ocean. Then, when they’re old enough, they have to swim all the way to the ocean, hopefully timing it right so there will be plenty to eat when they arrive. Some years later, if they’ve managed to avoid the Pacific’s predators, they have to retrace that journey to return to where they were born so they can mate. And then they die.

For twenty-five years in the 1900s, a Kenworth Touring Motor Coach transported visitors to Mount Rainier National Park. It made its last trip in 1962, but thanks to a generous donation, the historic vehicle is returning to the park to stay.

Thanks to some help from ole Sol, two loops of the Cougar Rock Campground in Mount Rainier National Park will be open this weekend.