There's a quote by John Muir etched into the steps leading up to the network of trails in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State: "...The most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings." Muir must have seen this spot in the late spring or early summer, when the wildflowers were beginning to reach their peak. Do you think he ever saw this spot in the autumn as well, when the huckleberry bushes turned shades of brilliant red and orange? A visit in September or October, perhaps early in the morning when you can see your own shadow because of the bright moonlight, with mist wreathing "The Mountain," creates an autumnal garden worth getting up early to see.
Autumn Moonlight And Mist Over The Mountain, Mount Rainier National Park
Rebecca Latson
Saturday, October 9, 2021
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Good question. I love the flowers though I am very allergic to them. Look forward to Spray Park next spring as Mowich blew my mind for the first time this year! The pic is sub-alpine as you probably know, I never hike alpine areas since I love the trees and don't like snow.