Subtle Silence (In Explore 08/05/2022)
Mount Tahoma (Rainier) and Little Tipsoo Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Some sunsets announce themselves with with a blare of color, painting the sky in vivid shades that demand the eye's attention. Others whisper with the faintest of hues and are seen, and felt, mostly with the heart. This was one of the latter.
As detailed in my previous post, Racing Sunset, my friend and I were trying to finish a hike in time to watch what we hoped would be a spectacular mountain sunset. As we were slowly and carefully picking our way down yet another snowy slope on the trail however (no time to stop and put microspikes back on!), it became clear that we were unlikely make it to our originally planned viewpoint. So we quickly formulated a backup plan. When I had hiked in this area last summer, I had found a boot path trail that went up the hillside above and around this small lake, and the high point was above the trees enough to have a clear view of Tahoma. The tricky part was finding the cutoff to the trail in an area that was still snow covered. But we managed to scramble up through the snow to a point where the narrow dirt path became visible, and quickly made our way up the hillside above the lake. From that vantage point we did have a great view, and enjoyed bonus of having our viewpoint all to ourselves, since there are other much more accessible sunset viewing locations for those with better timing :-)
As for the sunset itself, apparently someone hit the mute button on the sky, as it did not light up in brilliant colors nor illuminate Tahoma in a rosy pink sunset glow. This was about as colorful as the sky ever got that evening. [The photo was taken as we were hiking back down the other side of the lake and the gleam of yellow light reflecting on the water caught my eye.]
And yet there was still a profound beauty to it. As the sky faded toward dusk, a hush enveloped the landscape, and on a perfect summer evening it felt truly special to be in the presence of Tahoma's majestic grandeur.
[Note: You can see a few photographers and their tripods down below at the edge of the lake.]
Subtle Silence (In Explore 08/05/2022)
Mount Tahoma (Rainier) and Little Tipsoo Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Some sunsets announce themselves with with a blare of color, painting the sky in vivid shades that demand the eye's attention. Others whisper with the faintest of hues and are seen, and felt, mostly with the heart. This was one of the latter.
As detailed in my previous post, Racing Sunset, my friend and I were trying to finish a hike in time to watch what we hoped would be a spectacular mountain sunset. As we were slowly and carefully picking our way down yet another snowy slope on the trail however (no time to stop and put microspikes back on!), it became clear that we were unlikely make it to our originally planned viewpoint. So we quickly formulated a backup plan. When I had hiked in this area last summer, I had found a boot path trail that went up the hillside above and around this small lake, and the high point was above the trees enough to have a clear view of Tahoma. The tricky part was finding the cutoff to the trail in an area that was still snow covered. But we managed to scramble up through the snow to a point where the narrow dirt path became visible, and quickly made our way up the hillside above the lake. From that vantage point we did have a great view, and enjoyed bonus of having our viewpoint all to ourselves, since there are other much more accessible sunset viewing locations for those with better timing :-)
As for the sunset itself, apparently someone hit the mute button on the sky, as it did not light up in brilliant colors nor illuminate Tahoma in a rosy pink sunset glow. This was about as colorful as the sky ever got that evening. [The photo was taken as we were hiking back down the other side of the lake and the gleam of yellow light reflecting on the water caught my eye.]
And yet there was still a profound beauty to it. As the sky faded toward dusk, a hush enveloped the landscape, and on a perfect summer evening it felt truly special to be in the presence of Tahoma's majestic grandeur.
[Note: You can see a few photographers and their tripods down below at the edge of the lake.]