Mt. Rainier
Hi there. Team Craft just got back from a successful three-night camping trip in Mt. Rainier National Park. When I say "successful", I mean that we all slept relatively well, and our 2.5-year-old Bear rolled with a lot of new experiences without too much mayhem. It didn't hurt that we were immersed in some of the most epic, natural beauty I have ever seen. The park attracts a lot of tourists, but it's for very good reason. We haven't spent much time at Mt. Rainier because of that and because dogs aren't allowed in most of the park. But since Pal is slowing down quite a bit with age and we had our hands full with a toddler and a third trimester mama, we left him at home for this trip. I'm so glad we did, because we made some very sweet and lasting memories in those few days.
One highlight of the trip was our hike around Naches Peak Loop. Lakes, alpine meadows, more wildflowers than I've ever seen in one place, and epic views of Mt. Rainier for almost 2 of the 3.5-miles we hiked. There were a lot of people on the trail, which normally kills the joy of it for me. But it was so gorgeous that I didn't care at all. We were essentially giddy from the absurd beauty that surrounded us and so was everyone else. I also had a billion strong braxton-hicks contractions while we hiked, which only added to the rosy glow of things. Each one would cause me slow down and breathe a little. And as it faded away, I'd feel an overwhelming rush of bliss (i.e., oxytocin). It was basically like hiking through meadows and mountains on drugs but totally natural and a reminder of the miraculous life growing inside of me. Not a bad way to spend a day. Anyway, here we are in the splendor of Naches Peak Loop.
On the second day of our trip, we hiked the Snow and Bench Lake Trail. It was a little more challenging than our other hike, thanks to some decent elevation gain (hello, third trimester) and an exhausted bear who didn't nap very well on Papa's back this time. Alas, in the end, we soaked up some epic, natural scenes - including a picnic in another alpine meadow that overlooked Rainier.
p.s. More pics and stories of the rest of our trip to come this week.
One highlight of the trip was our hike around Naches Peak Loop. Lakes, alpine meadows, more wildflowers than I've ever seen in one place, and epic views of Mt. Rainier for almost 2 of the 3.5-miles we hiked. There were a lot of people on the trail, which normally kills the joy of it for me. But it was so gorgeous that I didn't care at all. We were essentially giddy from the absurd beauty that surrounded us and so was everyone else. I also had a billion strong braxton-hicks contractions while we hiked, which only added to the rosy glow of things. Each one would cause me slow down and breathe a little. And as it faded away, I'd feel an overwhelming rush of bliss (i.e., oxytocin). It was basically like hiking through meadows and mountains on drugs but totally natural and a reminder of the miraculous life growing inside of me. Not a bad way to spend a day. Anyway, here we are in the splendor of Naches Peak Loop.
10 minutes of serious sleep before the 'fitfuls' began.
p.s. More pics and stories of the rest of our trip to come this week.
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