Paradise Perfection

Soft afternoon sun warms my back and shoulders. Stiff muscles and sore quads let me know that I have done something today as I lounge on the porch at Paradise Inn, Mt.Rainier. I write this while Kate ascends to Panorama Point via Glacier Vista and fulfills her quest for this weekend. This sixtieth birthday from Mom Coop, has been both wonderful and invigorating

Paradise is so alive; animal, vegetable and even the mountains, mineral, seem to live and breathe a freshness and crisp aura of life. The weather, cold and stormy yesterday, is glorious today. Sun and cooling wind all are so welcome. The mountains, and especially this mountain seem to speak to Kate’s soul. Always sensitive to nature and its beauty, her heart seems to swell with the mountain scenery, the air, scents and sights. Her eyes flash brighter sand her pace quickens; she certainly outdistances me on the trail…but what is new? Where I am “done” after five miles, every new and untried path or bend in the route beacons her on, singing a siren song of mystery and adventure. She is tireless. Life, for her, has flowed very close to the surface these last two days. That in itself is a statement.

The human element at Rainier is amazing as well. A cacauphony of languages assaults one’s ear; a perfect babble. Myriads of tourists dressed in fine clothes push past hikers dressed for the trail and climbers loaded with steel to conquer the upper reaches of this edifice. Wonder and amazement show on many faces. On one trail we saw three bears the first day and Kate saw three more the second. Few people venture far out enough to see these shy denizens of the slopes. However, closer to the visitors center, a HUGE crowd is gathered around a volunteer ranger all pointing animatedly and whispering excitedly, “A deer, I see a deer!” Paradox abounds!

There is no gainsaying that Rainier is majestic, mystifying and magical. I have fallen under its spell as well. No matter how often you gaze up at the monolithic mountain, a different mood meets your eye. Orange and golden in the sunset, eerily frosted in the night with a phosphorescent glow, draped in haze and veils of mist in the early morning, it is ever changing. The many photo stops that Kate has taken, the many interesting plants, animals, vistas, scents and colors she calls to my attention, her obvious inner joy and very aliveness, add to a wonderful and phantasmagorical experience to remember forever.

10-2-2010