Mount Rainier National Park - Day 1

Last weekend my friend Mike and I met each other in Seattle and then went to Mount Rainier NP to go camping and hiking for a few days. Our first day in the park was the best one weather wise. We did some driving around and took lots of pictures of the scenery. We saw Christine Falls, Narada Falls, and did a 2 mile hike to Carter Falls. We also found our campsite and set up camp. The highlight of the day of course was seeing the mountain. You know...THE mountain. Mount Rainier is at a whopping 14,000 feet...in a land that averages 3000 to 5000 feet. Looking at it was like seeing Mount Everest. But Mount Rainier is also amazingly elusive...as we would later find out. Clouds often hide the mountain, sometimes for days or weeks. The park itself is roughly about the size of Rocky Mountain NP. In fact, I would say Mount Rainier is a lot like Rocky in both scenery, look, and feel. The main difference however is of course the lushness of the park. Everything in Mount Rainier is incredibly green and vivid. The forests are thick and engulfing and almost jungle-like...thanks mostly to the consistent rains. Overall, we had a great first day at a great park.