I happened to be down south running errands today, so I decided - what the heck, hit Mount Rainier.  I went at it from the Enumclaw side.  Traffic was surprisingly light; I would have been disappointed but not surprised to find convoys of RVs and SUVs crawling along in long, unpassable trains.  But I was inexplicably lucky; I was able to go as fast as I wanted for long stretches before hitting any other vehicles, and they were scattered and easily passed.  I wasn't ripping along, though; it was a beautiful day, and I was just reveling in the sights and the smells.  Oh, the smells!  Earth and pine and wood and all good living things.






The tank bag was marvelous.  I was also testing out the Cortech Sport saddlebags I picked up, and I barely noticed there were there all day, which is good.  They hold a decent amount - not as much as my BMW panniers expanded, but they'll get the groceries home.
As I climbed higher, the road got rougher, and some snow appeared.  But it remained lovely, and the mountain just takes my breath away every time I see it.  I still wasn't sharing the road with all that many vehicles, although I had to take it easy in the turns - you get pretty big potholes in the middle of 'em.








I had to stop by Tipsoo Lake.  It is one of the loveliest views of Rainier there is.  It's a short hike to the best viewing area, and normally it's a swamp; but the snow hadn't melted yet, and it was just a walk through the pack.








The payoff:




Never trust anyone else to take a pic of you - they always come out blurry. :p




I turned and headed back down.  I saw so many bikers today!  And about 2 of them were wearing any gear at all beyond a helmet.




Doubling back around...








I continued on towards Paradise.  Not quite fair that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, while the road to Paradise is paved with rocks and gravel.










I went right past Paradise - tourist hell!  But just after Paradise, I found heaven - the roads were almost completely empty.  I had more fun than anyone has a right to on such short-term planning.  The only bad part was the roads at the end of the park, past Longmire - they are perfect, perfect roads, well-paved, nothing to worry about on the sides, and just the delightful quick left-right-left-right corkscrews that are my very favorite type of twisties.  And there was the dreaded unpassable line of van-sedan-sedan-SUV.  But all in all, I can't complain.  I filled back up after about 230 miles, with an average of 64mpg.  No, I can't complain at all.

Man, that sight is awesome. It must be a very cool place. You probably had an exciting day out there.

Killer pics!!

Yay, another GS rider in Washington!!

ok thats it lets roadtrip up there

breath taking pics.. damn those are gorgeous..

i cant imagine touring on a bike that's absolutely brand f%$king new.. but your cool for doing that.. woot!
thanks for the pics.. now i want to go senery shopping.

Go to Glacier NP.  Or Canada north of Glacier, to the Banff, Jasper areas.  THERE is some marvelous scenery.  We're heading there this summer.

But remember to look at the road occasionally too...

Roadster...  Not to take away from your post.  Yes, Ranier IS a beautiful area and you take a fine picture.

what's that ugly yellow thing blocking the beautiful scenery??  :mrgreen:

pictures looks awesome!

So lucky to live in such a beatiful part of the world.  

To stray a bit from the topic at hand - can you imagine some light (read: weekend, solo, camping) touring with a tank bag, the cortech sport bags, and the tail bag?

I have some really small backpacking gear that I might attempt to throw on my bike, but I'm debating luggage options. Seriously considering a givi topcase or the ventura rack/pack system, but bags would be a cheaper and less complex option.

Thoughts?

QuoteGo to Glacier NP. Or Canada north of Glacier, to the Banff, Jasper areas. THERE is some marvelous scenery. We're heading there this summer.

True. But it's cold.

Quote from: Ry_Guy

QuoteGo to Glacier NP. Or Canada north of Glacier, to the Banff, Jasper areas. THERE is some marvelous scenery. We're heading there this summer.

True. But it's cold.

Try britain, thats cold, what i see in them there pics is peace and tranquility, SNOW----WHAT SNOW?

Banff = not that cold. I used to live out there and the weather gets quite toasty in the summer. Have a nice ride, wish I could go too!

Looks cold not my style, but nice pics  

Beautiful. I rode out to Mt Baker a couple days ago when it was downright hot (high 80sF). That Rainier ride is next on my list. Looks spectacular.

Nice bike, too  

What kind of clothing are you wearing? Looks good. Comfortable?

Hey, what better way to break in a brand f*ing new bike?  

I think that with the Sport tailbag, you could do light touring no problem.  You'd want to shower and change when you got back, of course!

Despite the snow, it was very, very warm.  Hence the gear I was wearing - Firstgear mesh sport pants, Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket and Phoenix gloves.  The Shoei RF-1000 and the Alpinestars Roam boots are usual gear...

My only complaint about the sport pants is that the waist is too wide.  Everything else fits like a glove, so it's odd that that's off.  But it's easily fixed with a needle and thread, when I have a moment.

Quote from: JetSwingwhat's that ugly yellow thing blocking the beautiful scenery?? :mrgreen:

I get that from my wife, too.  "It's to give you a sense of scale," I say.

"OK, but why not take each picture twice - once with the bike and once without?"

"Uhhhh.... :dunno: "


Great pics, Roadstergal!  I was surprised by the thickness of the snowpack on Rainier, until I did some research and learned that the summit is nearly 3,000 feet higher than my local Mt. Timpanogos!

i like how the snow capped mountain looks like a volcano in a few of those pictures. Thank you for sharing.

Quote from: That guyi like how the snow capped mountain looks like a volcano in a few of those pictures.

Hmmm.  That may be because "Mount Rainier is the highest and third most voluminous volcano of the Cascade Range."  

Not only that, but "Mount Rainier is potentially the most dangerous volcano in the Cascades because it is very steep, covered in large amounts of ice and snow, and near a large population that lives in lowland drainages."  

(My source was this page from Volcano World.  Cool pictures and brief info.)

They're not predicting it to blow any time soon, but we've been surprised by volcanos before...  

People die every year attempting to climb Rainier.  It's beautiful, but it's serious business to scale it.

the nearest i get to a volcano is fart eruption in the bath, safe but smelly