Spring comes to Mt.Rainier National Park

Some think it looks like a great mound of vanilla ice cream. To others this slumbering volcano hosts a forbidding and harsh climate, covered with perpetual snow and glacial ice. The Native Americans called it Tahoma, "The Mountain that was God."

Rising from the forested Cascade Range to 14,411 feet, Mount Rainier is the tallest mountain in Washington state. It is so huge that on clear days it appears to loom within rock-throwing distance from Tacoma and Seattle--which it certainly is if it ever decides do emulate its sister, Mount St. Helens, also in the volcanically active Cascades and only a handful of miles to the south.

Not to worry though, since the last major eruption occurred over 2000 years ago. However, who would have figured Mt. St. Helens. . . but never mind that. Just be careful of the volcanic mudslides that periodically gush out of the ground just to let you know she's still alive.

If you're into changeable weather and wild places, you've found the right spot, especially in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall. The visitor center on more than one occasion has still been buried in snow when the rangers came to open up--sometimes as late as the first day of July. Then again it might be sunny and warm. It all depends on whether you've recited the right incantations and haven't done anything to upset the spirits of the great mountain.

In Spring the wildflowers bloom for their all-too-brief season. Not only do they have to survive the harsh climate, but also complete their propagation in the short two to three months of decent weather. With this short season, many of the flowers wait years before flowering. Since it requires about twenty times the energy to flower as it does to send out leaves and produce food, the plants must store up energy and grow strong until the big day.

"As hardy as these plants and flowers appear, the environment is still fragile considering how destructive people can be," warned a ranger, "like stepping on them and grinding them into the sharp volcanic rocks. Some of the heather plants on the mountain are almost a thousand years old, yet they can be destroyed in a heartbeat by careless or thoughtless actions."

Of the five RV campgrounds in the park, only Sunshine Point in the southwest corner, stays open all year, so check with the park for seasonal openings and closings. None take reservations, so on busy summer days plan to look for a camping spot by early afternoon.