A last-minute location change worked in our favor for Max and Kathleen’s adventure photography engagement session at Mount Rainier. Clouds were expected most of the day, but getting up above 7000 feet, we were above the clouds and had absolutely gorgeous views of Mount Rainier! They both love to travel (having visited 7 countries in the 2.5 years they have been together!) and they are both avid hikers in the cascade mountains, so we definitely wanted to incorporate their love of the mountains here in the Pacific Northwest. And what better place to do it than “The Mountain!” And man, it was awesome!!! I loved Kathleen’s burgundy dress and they both looked amazing and perfectly at home in the mountains.

Starting off, the sun was out everywhere, but that changed quickly once we hiked up a ways. Fog rolled in and started obscuring our views of anything, but we kept at it and sure enough, there were some breaks in the fog. Once we got even higher, we found ourselves above the clouds with spectacular views! With the highest prominence of any mountain in all of the lower 48 states, Mount Rainier absolutely towers over everything around. Every time I see it up close like that, it always fills me with awe. And while photographs of it abound, you really have to get close and see it with your own eyes to get the full effect. The added 3-dimensioinal depth from using both of your eyes and the added context from your peripheral vision create an experience that no photograph can possibly emulate. It is simply breathtaking and easily the most magnificent natural wonder I have ever seen in person.

The trail often took us right into large snow fields that traversed steep, rocky, almost martian-like slopes, making the trek a bit treacherous in places, but we eventually emerged up above 7000 feet with breathtaking overlooks of Mount Rainier. The warm sunny day we had earlier down below didn’t really apply up there above the tree-line, with the wind cutting right into us and the temperature dropping quite a bit as sunset approached, but Kathleen braved the chill in her dress for some seriously jaw-dropping images! It was incredible! As sunset set in, we began the trek back down, this time bundled up in jackets or blankets. Traversing steep slopes with massive loose shale fields and snow fields along the trail, we made our way back down into the alpine forests and fresh green meadows below, full of excitement from such an amazing shoot.

I should point out that even at these higher elevations, wildlife abounds. We saw a mountain fox early on right in the middle of the trail (it wasn’t really scared of us at all!) and we also saw some deer as we made our way back down. But, every adventure needs one big story – something unexpected that helps set it apart. Ours came when we were just about half of a mile away from the parking lot. Enjoying conversation as we walked along the trail in the darkness, we suddenly heard something very large scurry and scratch its way up a tree right next to the trail, shaking the ground a bit along with it. My first thought? Ummm, that definitely sounded much bigger than a squirrel! We stopped, waved our poles and shined our headlamps at it, illuminating two yellow eyes staring right back at us. Max already had his bear spray out (man he’s fast!!) as we realized it was a black bear. Being on a slope just above the trail, the bear had the higher ground compared to us. We slowly walked by along the trail, keeping our lights shining in its direction and occasionally looking back to make sure we were not followed. I can only imagine how scary that might have been hiking alone… Thankfully, it appears that the bear was far more scared of us than we were of it!

So there you have it! An amazing adventure – one that we’ll all certainly never forget for many reasons for sure! 🙂 Thank you so much Kathleen and Max for the wonderful afternoon! You both make such a lovely couple and I can’t wait to photograph your wedding next April! Enjoy a sneak peek at a few of the many highlights!

A few scenes from early on in our hike up. Here comes that fog! Realizing we were going to lose site of the mountain, I grabbed a quick shot mid-stride!