Sherpa

On Friday, the weather was amazing, so Sarah, Grace, and I hopped in the car and rode up to Mt Rainier National Park. We had borrowed a kid-carrier from our neighbors (thanks Kevin & Cindy) so that I could be a modern day sherpa for Grace, and planned on hiking around the Paradise Lodge area.  Paradise is the step off point for many climbers intending to summit Mt Rainier.  I have been there many times in late July and found the trails near there quite nice.  What I forgot was that we had a La-Nina year, so lots of snow - and even though it's nearly August, Summer has barely peaked it's warm head into the Pacific Northwest.  This resulted in the trails at Paradise being still covered in about 5 feet of snow.  We were in need of a quick plan B.

As it tuns out, our plan B worked quite well.  We stopped by Reflection Lakes, which weren't reflecting much that day, seeing as there was a nice breeze. 

 After the photo shoot, we headed down to lower elevation where the snow had melted clear.  From Cougar Rock Campground, we hiked along the Wonderland Trail for over a mile before stopping for lunch and then heading home.  

 Grace seemed to love the kid-carrier, as long as she was on my back.  Once I set her down, she quickly grew frustrated and wanted out.

This was our first (that's right, FIRST) time hiking sine Grace has been born.  It was a delightful experience for all and I think we all look forward to doing it again sometime soon.