Date: July 16, 2021
Place: Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Coordinates: 46.915892, -121.643680
Length: 4.8 miles
Level: mildly moderate
Sourdough Ridge Trail
After the smashing success of the two weeks road trip that I did with the chikas and their friends during the first COVID summer of 202 to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks I thought of repeating the experience on the following summer of 2021. After a year of remote schooling all of us were itching to get out on the road again. This time our trip was to the north - driving to Washington. We set out with only one of the chikas' friends this time. My plan was to drive north along the Cascade mountain range and drive south along the coast. My original plan was to have our first serious stop at Crater Lake National Par. We did stop there, but sadly we couldn't do or see much there because of a massive wildfire in the are that choked the entire park with smoke so thick that it was unbearable to stay there much. Wildfires chased us north pretty much all the way to Washington, so besides a short and lovely kayaking time at Lake Trillium below Mount Hood, we haven't seen much of the Cascades in Oregon. Our first real hike was at Mount Rainier National Park.
I've been in Mount Rainier National Park only once before, years ago when Pappa Quail and me visited a friend who lived near Seattle. The chikas were very young at the time and we didn't do much other than some sight-seeing, so when I planned our 2021 summer trip I made sure to add Mount Rainier to our itinerary. We finally arrived there after three days on the road and I was eager to see the tallest of the Cascade volcanos up close and personal.
When we arrived at the park the mountain was nowhere to be seen. I mean, the mountain was there but we saw none of it because a dense fog shrouded it on every direction. We drove to the north side of the park to the Sunrise area and went on a hike on the Sourdough Ridge, hoping that the fog would lift while we were on our hike.
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| Our hike as captured by my GPS |
The hike begins with a short uphill ascent northward. There was a thin line of blue sky right above the ridge so I was hopeful that the fog would lift as the day progressed.
At the mountain the bloom season is in summer rather than spring. Even before setting one foot on the trail it was clear that this hike would be a celebration of wildflowers. There was bloom pretty much everywhere I looked.
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Cusick's Speedwell, Veronica cusickii We started the hike with a mild ascend through open slopes of low shrubs that was dotted with small stands of dark conifer tree that looked like spruces. The clouds were hanging low and whiffs of fog drifted between the trees. The air was chilly, all of us were wearing our jackets. |
It was peak bloom season there and the entire open area was covered with the magnificent blossom of many wildflower species. The variety was staggering.
Bluish-purple was the dominant color in much of the bloom field, the color of the lupines, speedwell, and penstemon.
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| Arctic Lupine, Lupinus arcticus |
The second dominant color was yellow. There were more yellow-blooming than blue-blooming species, but they were generally smaller in size and fewer in number.
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| Alpine-lake False Dandelion, Nothocalais alpestris |
Of the yellow-blooming species I liked best the fan-foil flowers, which seemed to me much more elegant than the cinquefoil species I see in California.
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| Fan-foil, Potentilla flabellifolia |
Then there were the mountain paintbrush - a single red-blooming species that grew higher than the others and dotted the slope with its deep red blossoms.
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| Mountain Paintbrush, Castilleja parviflora |
On top of one small spruce the elder chika spotted her first bird of the hike - a male mountain bluebird. The bird kept alert but maintained its pose as we passed by.
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| Mountain Bluebird |
As we moved on I kept looking back toward where Mount Rainier was. For a few moments the fog drifted a bit to reveal part of the lower slopes and the clouds parted just a bit to show a hint of blue sly. Perhaps we would get to see the mountain after all.
The little blue hope soon disappeared, however, and the fog closed in, as dense as before. Still, every now and then we got a glimpse of the snowy lower slopes of the mountain, like a Victorian lady that teases by lifting her skirt just so to show a tiny bit of ankle.
Once we gained some altitude we also had a nice view of the chalet where the visitor center was, where we had started the day by gathering information. The visitor center was full of people when we were there but the trail was fairly empty. there weren't many other hikers about. I guess the weather deterred them.
We continued on up the trail, and soon we opened a gap - the youth were marching ahead while I lingered by the wildflowers.
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| Pyrola-leaf Buckwheat, Eriogonum pyrolifolium |
After looking at the most common and conspicuous wildflowers it was time to give a closer look at ther species that were less numerous or a bit more humble in appearance.
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| Tundra Aster, Oreostemma alpigenum |
At some point I looked up and saw that the youth were waiting for me at the first trail junction. I picked up my pace and went up to catch up with them.
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| Fescue sandwort, Eremogone capillaris |
At the trail junction we turned east and continued ascending toward the crest of the Sourdough Ridge. Once again the fog seemed to be lifting a little, and another patch of blue sky appeared on the north.
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| Sourdough Ridge Trail |
I turned my attention once more to the southwest where Mount Rainier was, and still saw very little. If anything, the fog was becoming even denser.
Among the wildflowers that adorned that slope nearest to the trail were many flame like fruiting heads of the white pasqueflower, a plant of the buttercup family.
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| Arctic Lupine, Lupinus arcticus and White Pasqueflower, Pulsatilla occidentalis |
We reached the Sourdough Ridge Trail and had our first glimpse of the other side. We were looking down a deep alpine valley with little ponds that were snow patches until recently, a few stands of dark spruces and not much vegetation coverage otherwise.
Up on the ridge different wildflowers were blooming. These were smaller plants, well adept to the harsh conditions of the exposed mountain ridge.
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| Partridgefoot, Luetkea pectinata |
The pink mountainheath was familiar to me. I know its relatives from my hikes in the mountains of California. I had seen it before on the Sauk Mountain Trail in a previous trip to Washington too, but I didn't remember it at the time.
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| Pink Mountainheath, Phyllodoce empetriformis |
Most of the Sourdough Ridge Trail however, is below the ridge crest itself, and is somewhat more protected. We saw the white pasqueflower there too, but at the ridge trail it was still in bloom and not yet fruiting like the others I saw at a lower altitude down the trail.
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| White Pasqueflower, Pulsatilla occidentalis |
Where there were so many wildflowers I expected to see many butterflies as well. There were a few butterflies about, but not as many as I expected. Perhaps they too were waiting for the fog to lift.
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| Snowberry Checkerspot butterfly |
The trail narrowed. We moved on east through stands and lines of spruce trees. Most of the time the youth were ahead but whenever they lost sight of me they would wait for me to catch up. There were very few other people on the trail, so for the most part we were on our own.
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| Sourdough Ridge Trail |
For a little bit we would once again hike as a group but soon enough I would linger behind again, as I was identifying more and more species of wildflowers along the Sourdough Ridge Trail.
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| Alpine Yellow Fleabane, Erigeron aureus |
It wasn't only wildflowers that had my attention. In one place I saw what looked to me very much like the California cornlily. That plant was of the same genus, as it turned out I wasn't far off.
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| Green False Hellebore, Veratrum viride |
We arrived at another spot where the trail came right up to the ridge crest and we got a view to the north, to the other side of the ridge. The valley below looked very pretty. I thought that it would be great to backpack there.
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| View North |
There were areas of exposed scree rocks along the ridge. On one of the rock piles was a solitary Cassin's finch. The bird kept close to us, as if hoping we would treat it to some food (we didn't).
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| Cassin's Finch |
A bit further up the trail the elder chika spotted another bird - a hermit thrush that was perched atop a bare, dead-looking tree.
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| Hermit Thrush |
Up on the crest I saw another species of paintbrush - the great red paintbrush which I already knew from California.
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| Giant Red Paintbrush, Castilleja miniata |
Ahead of us rose a thin peak that was part of the Sourdough Ridge. That peak was part of a large rocky wall that was the southeast boundary of the valley below. It was very steep, and it didn't look like there was any trail going down to the other side of it.
The Sourdough Ridge Trail that we were walking on went right up that crest towards the peak, although it did drop below the peak on its southern, less steep slope.
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| Sourdough Ridge Trail |
The youth wanted a break so we found a place to sit where we had a splendid view of the valley on the north, and pulled out the water and snack from our packs.
As we were munching away the elder chika noticed a couple of marmots sunning themselves on a spire of rocks not too far away from where we were sitting, and she took some photos of the cute rodents. They were indeed sunning themselves and for a short time so were we, because the sun broke through the clouds for a little bit.
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| Hoary Marmot |
Other birds came out of the woods to enjoy the precious sunshine. These birds were little pine siskins, which moved about the spruce trees in search of food.
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| Pine Siskin |
The sunshine bliss didn't last very long. In too short a time the clouds closed in again. We got up and continued moving east along the trail.
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| Sourdough Ridge Trail |
There were more wildflowers blooming in the most exposed places along the ridge. Among them was the aptly named, tundra aster.
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| Tundra Aster, Oreostemma alpigenum |
For some time the sun was playing hide and seek with us. On the moments that it was out we were even warm enough to take off our jackets. It was nice to see the wildflowers illuminated well.
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| California Jacob's Ladder, Polemonium californicum |
Then, shortly after, the clouds closed in again. The sun would disappear and we had to don our jackers on. The wildflowers too looked somewhat dimmer.
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| Mountain Bluebells, Mertensia ciliata |
As if the clouds were not enough, the fog descended and closed in on us. The dark gray fog made a contrasting background for the more colorful ridge flowers, the mountain paintbrush among them.
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Mountain Paintbrush, Castilleja parviflora and Partridgefoot, Luetkea pectinata High on the ridge and deep ing the fog we could no longer see the valley on the north. In fact, we couldn't see more than a few yards down the northern slope. |
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| Fog |
Huddled in our jackets we continued up the crest deeper into the fog. The youth started wondering how long we shall continue so I checked the map and decided that we'd go up to the view point on Dege Peak, which wasn't too far from where we were, and turn back from there.
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| Sourdough Ridge Trail |
All of a sudden the fog would lift somewhat, and the clouds parted just enough to let some sunshine through again.
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| Bracted Lousewort, Pedicularis bracteosa |
The sunshine was very spotty. We could stand in a patch of sunlight and a few yards away was still dark and wet in the fog. It was easier to photograph the wildflowers when they were better illuminated.
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| Coast Range Lomatium, Lomatium martindalei |
We passed another area of exposed scree rocks. My knowledge of geology is limited, but these rocks looked like old basalt, of different colors.
Another small rodent was active between these colorful rocks - it was a yellow-pine chipmunk, and it didn't cooperate much with the camera, showing us only its backside.
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| Yellow-pine Chipmunk |
The clouds parted again as we left the Sourdough Ridge Trail and started going up to Dege Peak. Even that far into the hike I was still seeing more new species of wildflowers.
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| Sickletop Lousewort, Pedicularis racemosa |
We had another break atop Dege Peak. We were fortunate that the clouds moved a bit when we were there and we got some really nice view of the valley below and the large, green meadow at the base of the ridge.
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| Dege Peak view norheast |
I looked with envy at that beautiful green meadow. I would have loved to be there, but it was out of reach.
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| Meadow |
The clearer view was to the northeast. To the southwest it seemed like the clouds got even more dense than they were before. It was in that direction that we needed to return.
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| Dege Peak view west |
We still didn't have any luck with Mount Rainier. Even the lower slopes that showed a bit earlier were now shrouded completely by the fog.
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| View southwest |
Up by Dege Peak I found yet another species of Mountain Heath. This one bloomed in white, not the pink I was used to.
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| Yellow Mountain Heath, Phyllodoce glanduliflora |
Eventually it was time to continue. As I promised the youth, Dege Peak was our turning point. We pulled our jackets around and started downhill, returning back to the Sourdough Trail and taking it west, into the fog.
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| Sourdough Ridge Trail |
The young chika, who isn't into birds like her older sister, kept her eyes on the ground, where she was the quickest to spot little creepy-crawlies.
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| Koch's Wolf Spider |
When she found some bug she would call me with excitement and stand by the little critter until I arrived to take a photo. She asked me to photograph even the most common bugs such as the black beetles.
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| California Broad-necked Darkling Beetle |
Since part of the way we were returning on the same trail I got the opportunity to look at wildflowers that were less colorful and conspicuous. The white-flowering sitka valerian was one of them. The valerian I remembered well from our previous trip to Washington. A close relative of plant is traditionally used to sedate and promote sleep. I never tried it but it would interesting to know if local native people were similarly using the sitka valerian.
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| Sitka Valerian, Valeriana sitchensis |
An even more humble wildflower I saw there was the Davis' knotweed, a common mountain plant that I often encounter in the height of the mountains in California.
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| Davis' Knotweed, Koenigia davisiae |
Naturally, there were plenty of the spreading phlox - another common plant of the Alpine zone. It was nice to see the phlox in full bloom. Being one of the early bloomers I usually get to see it past its peak season.
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| Spreading Phlox, Phlox diffusa |
In some of the slopes areas the blooming phlox not only provided the main color, but was almost illuminating it with the nearly fluorescent quality that its flowers have.
The fog, which receded when we were walking east, was now returning with a vengeance. The ridge 'windows' through which we were able to peek to the valley north of the ridge, were now dimmed by the fog, giving the valley the look of a ghost-haunted place rather than that of a heavenly alpine gem.
Not spending too much time looking below at the valley, I turned my attention again to the ridge wildflowers in which I now identified the small-flowered penstemon, another pretty species that I see in the California mountains too.
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| Small-flowered Beardetongue, Penstemon procerus |
The trail meandered up and down the ridge, most of the time below the crest on the south side. It certainly had a different air now, that the fog had returned, and the feeling was considerably colder. Thankfully, it wasn't windy.
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| Sourdough Ridge Trail |
In lieu of the sun above, the trail was 'illuminated' by the little 'suns' below - the yellow blooming aster and arnica flowers.
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| Broadleaf Arnica, Arnica latifolia |
The Fan-foil potentilla flowers seemed to be larger up on the ridge, as if they were trying also to make up for the dimmed sunshine, helping their sunflower meadow-mates.
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| Fan-foil, Potentilla flabellifolia |
I also got the chance to take a closer look at the white pasqueflower fruiting heads, which were no less beautiful than the flowers themselves.
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| White Pasqueflower, Pulsatilla occidentalis |
We arrived at the junction with the trail that we came up on but decided to keep going west and loop our way back, returning on a different trail. It meant going deeper into the dense fog.
At a close enough distance the fog didn't impede photographing the birds. The elder chika was happy to see that many little birds were still active even in the foggy, damp weather.
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| Mountain Chickadee |
Most of the birds we saw there however, were of common species that we encounter frequently in California. The elder chika was yearning to see a lifer species.
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| Yellow-rumped Warbler |
We were walking fairly fast now, the youth going up ahead and me bringing up the rear. I was still seeing new wildflower species at each leg of the way.
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| Lanceleaf Springbeauty, Calytonia lanceolata |
I even found a species of violet that I was not familiar with, which was almost hidden bellow taller plants.
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| Western Roundleaf Violet, Viola orbiculata |
The trail was going up the ridge crest again, and for the first time on this hike we came up close to a snow patch. Normally my elder chika would have been thrilled to jump right in it and make a snow angel but the day was cold enough already so she settled for merely looking at the old snow, just as all the rest of us did.
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| Snow Patch |
Moving on, once again the youth got ahead of me, and soon enough they all disappeared in the fog and were lost to my sight.
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| Sourdough Ridge Trail |
When I caught up with the youth I found the elder chika all ecstatic - she had spotted a lifer bird species. The bird was there still, but it was too far for me to see without binoculars, which I didn't carry on me at the time. The bird was a red crossbill, and I don't recall ever seeing it again after that time.
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| Red Crossbill |
After the bird sighting we reached the turn of the trail where we started descending back from the ridge south toward the trailhead. We found a place on the way were we could sit down for a short break, and during that time an insect nymph crawled on the chikas' friend's sweater.
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| Great Grig |
We made our way back through the field of lupines and stands of spruces. By that time there was no longer any hope of seeing Mount Rainier at all that day. We were already discussing what to do next, and the youth wanted to get off the mountain to someplace sunnier, as would be fitting the month of July.
As I followed the kids down the slope I reveled in the beautiful wildflowers hike and also lamented the missed chance of seeing Mount Rainier at its might. I haven't gone back there since but it sure is itching.
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| Snowy Sedge, Carex spectabilis |
The fog followed us downhill, closing in on the trailhead as we finished our hike. There were much fewer people now even in the visitor center. The mountain preferred its privacy that day.
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