Day 12 - Mt. Rainier

The weather couldn't have been better today. After yesterday's battle with the clouds and rain at Mt. St. Helens I figured today would be more of the same. Instead, the sky was clear and while chilly, it wasn't unbearable. Did a fun hike today that went from the visitor center at Paradise at 5400 ft to Panorama Point at 6800 ft. From there, you can see several other peaks in the cascade range including the elusive St. Helens from yesterday. I met some really cool people on the hike as well today. In particular, I met a woman today named Nancy who is almost doing my same exact trip in reverse (or I'm doing hers in reverse) while on a leave of absence from work. You really never know what kind of people you're going to meet but so far, the people I've met on this trip have been great. After descending from Panorama Point, I ended up on another trail with some other people I met and ended up running into a bear cub. Luckily, there were no signs of the mother so I was able to get some pretty spectacular shots. I also saw deer, marmot, and chipmunks while hiking. All in all, a pretty action packed day. Enjoy.