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

I’ve been on quite a few adventures these past years since moving back to the Pacific Northwest and while all have been amazingly beautiful in their own unique ways, somehow every visit to Mount Rainier always manages to leave a lasting impression on me. I remember driving into Longmire, shortly after we moved back here and seeing The Mountain (up close and in person for the first time in many many years) just towering over the trees at the far side of Longmire Meadow, lenticular clouds hovering like flying saucers over its peak. My eyes immediately started welling up with tears – it was just so immense, awesome, beautiful… And I’ve seen quite a few beautiful things, from breathtaking coastlines, gorgeous forests, pristine lakes, awesome city scapes, wildflower meadows, and the list goes on… But I’ve never been struck so suddenly and profoundly by anything in nature as I was on that day. Seeing it in person with my own eyes lent a 3-dimensionality to it that no image or video could ever adequately capture. And there are thousands and thousands of gorgeous images captured of Mount Rainier, so many of them in perfect light, at the perfect time of day, from the best locations, with the best editing, etc. etc…. Every single one of them falls short of seeing it for yourself. It truly is something you just have to see with your own eyes absolutely towering over everything else in the landscape and then perhaps you’ll know too…

Originally, our plan was to meet in the North Cascades! But when the first storm of the season knocked out power, Jess and Michael couldn’t stay up there as planned, so drove back home to Portland and we started thinking about where else to go, literally the day before! Long story short, we were all glad that our original plan was cancelled because when the clouds parted late that afternoon (as the forecast predicted), the views we had of Mount Rainier were simply breathtaking. And the fog we had early on was great too, wrapping everything in a soft, romantic light… Getting there proved to be the biggest challenge my 2-wheel drive Tucson has ever faced (I know, 2-wheel drive around here – what was I thinking? But I got this car before we moved up here and rest assured, my next will be AWD!). The dirt/rock road up there pretty much meandered along the edge of cliff and was almost as gnarly as any trail you’ll face around here. And then I got to drive back down that same road in the dark later!

Jess and Michael seemed to fare much better in their AWD than I, but once we set out on the hike, I forgot all about that harrowing white knuckle drive and we had an absolutely amazing time out there! She rocked it in her dress (and heels much of the time too!) and we captured this lovely couple in absolutely gorgeous scenery! They really are a sweet couple and were laid back and easy to work with too!

Thank you both for the amazing adventure! It was so much fun and I’m so glad our original plans fell through! Enjoy a sneak peek at a few of the many highlights!