Just a few weeks ago I got to visit Mount Rainier National Park for the first time. Not to mention actually seeing the mountain for the first time. We had driven by the park once before several years ago but the mountain was shrouded in cloud. This time, however, was perfect. We only camped one night and had one day to do some hiking.
We picked Tahoma Creek Trail towards Mirror Lake because it has a suspension bridge. Andrew really wanted to walk across the suspension bridge...I didn't. But I went along anyway.
Right off the bat the trail is funny. The first mile or so is walking down a gravel road to the trailhead. You used to be able to drive all the way to the trailhead but frequent floods and, oh yeah, giant boulders kept getting in the way.
The trail(road) was easy until you get to this part, where the trail has been washed away. There was approximately 6 inches of flat ground/shale to walk along Tahoma Creek here. And below, Andrew reties his boot next to a raging river like a boss.
Like I said, gorgeous views.
I'm not sure when, but a few miles in the trail went from moderate to strenuous in a heartbeat. Climbing up steep trails with exposed roots and sheer cliffs. I guess, I forgot to mention that the trailhead does have a sign that says the trail is not maintained. However, Andrew read a lot of reviews online that said that pretty much meant it wasn't perfect, but was an ok trail.
There were actually a lot of bridges on the trail. Including the very broken one...
On our way back we just happened to see this sign... Remember how I said the trailhead said the trail was not maintained? Well, somehow those two signs send very different messages.
It was a fun trail, even if it was a tad bit challenging.
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