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Picture 17 of 29
Lake Cushman at the base of Mt. Ellinor Carlos, Jeremy, Amy, Bruce and I thought the 3.2 mile round-trip hike would be a cinch I believe the peak in the center of the photo is Mt. Rose and the one to the right is Mt. Ellinor Checking out the route before starting. It was a nice 70 degree sunny day! A gray jay "bird man" Bruce feeding the jays Almost to the halfway point Enjoying the view at the halfway point The birds really liked Bruce You can see some of the areas where trees have been cut for lumber A lot less trees near the top, we eventually got above the tree line Around 5000 feet up, there were a lot more wildflowers, but nothing like Paradise near Mt. Rainier It was bitterly windy and cold at the top, plus being sweaty didn't help Mt. Rainier, about 90 miles away Patches of snow left over from last winter and probably won't melt before winter comes again We finally made it to the top -- it was insanely windy, just look at our hair Might as well go to the top if you've come this far - 5944 feet Some soldiers from nearby Fort Lewis This hike was like doing the stair master for 2 hours; it was tough. But now we're prepared for our next hike: Mt. Rose