Mount Rainier

"Of all the fire mountains which, like beacons, once blazed along the Pacific Coast, Mount Rainier is the noblest." — John Muir

MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. — For many visitors to this national park, a clear view of the massive glacier-covered peak of Mount Rainier is the highlight.

After two previous (and unsuccessful) attempts to see Rainier in its majesty, I was finally lucky on my third try, in early September.

"The mountain is out today," was my reward, as clear skies dominated — a rarity for the post-summer season here.

At 14,411 feet above sea level (sometimes also listed as simply 14,410 feet), Rainier is the tallest Cascade summit and ranks fourth among high points of the states, behind Mount McKinley (20,320) in Alaska; Mount Whitney (14,494) in California; and Mount Elbert (14,433) in Colorado.

Rainier is a lone wolf, a rare mountain that's not part of any range — it stands alone and rises almost three vertical miles above Seattle.

I was bedazzled by Rainier's uplift, its 26 glaciers that cover 35 square miles and its overall sheer size. However, height is another thing. At Sunrise, for example, two miles from Rainier itself, it just doesn't look like Rainier rises another 8,000 feet up to its summit. Obviously, the lack of trees or reference points — other than snow — creates an illusion in height.

Patty Wold, interpretive specialist for the National Park Service at Rainier, said comments about a supposed lack of height are fairly common.

"It just doesn't seem that high from close up," she said.

She also likes to remind tourists that there is more than the mountain here.

"It's not just about seeing the mountain," she said. "There's lots more to see."

This huge volcano has created a mountain wonderland southeast of Seattle with "dense forests, dazzling wildflower meadows, tremendous snowfields and rugged glaciers," according to the official National Park Service brochure.

Wold said Carbon River Valley in the northwest corner of the park is a rainforest, aided by the nearby Carbon Glacier that extends to extremely low elevation, 3,530 feet above sea level. The glacier is 700 feet thick in places.