The Cascade Pass hike was very pretty (and a lot less terrifying than Red Gap). Just the view from the parking lot was amazing, and it got even better. Pretty meadows and glaciers and jagged peaks surrounding us all the way up. It was the most enjoyable hike so far on this trip since we didn’t have full packs, just water, snacks, and an extra layer of cloths on our backs and we flew up the trail!

The view from the pass was beautiful and we had a little snack, grabbed some pictures, and headed back down. Robert was pretty single-minded about getting down. I can’t blame him with his knee, but I tried to get him to stop and look around every now and then. Especially when we startled a Hoary Marmot right next to the path. It was so fluffy! It was just hanging out in the foliage, munching away, completely unconcerned about a us people standing a few feet away. It reminded me of a cross between a guinea pig (because of the way it was munching on leaves) and a sea otter for its body and feet. We grabbed a bunch of pictures and left it to its foraging. After what seemed like a very long 3.7 miles, we got back to the car and started west and then south towards Mt Rainier.

We got to see some nice sunset views of Seattle, Mt Rainier, and the olympic range, and we ended up staying the night in Enumclaw, WA, about 40 miles from Mt Rainier NP. I washed some dishes, blogged, and spent a while laying around while Robert got some work done in preparation for his work phone call in the morning. Fortunately the bed was very comfy.