Skyline trail up towards Camp Muir, back along Mazama Ridge. Fabulous day. Can even see Mt Hood in the distance. I still cannot believe how warm it was. I was wearing T-shirt at 7000ft in early March! With all the snow, Mt Rainier regains its grace and majesty.
Saw a group learning to make snow caves against a slope, a guy on a bike fixed with skis instead of wheels, a couple of (Roosevelt?) deers on the way out of the park. Lots of kids around 5pm doing slides and tubing near the parking lot. Peeked into 3 $1.2M houses (build in 2008) by the little Lake Clear in Eatonville along RT161, on the way there.
Logistics: The road between Longmire and Paradise closes at 6pm. 2.5 hrs drive. Hiked from ~12:40pm for 4 hours. Quite some lodges open at the west end. Paradise Inn is still mostly buried in snow.
Skyline trail up towards Camp Muir, back along Mazama Ridge. Fabulous day. Can even see Mt Hood in the distance. I still cannot believe how warm it was. I was wearing T-shirt at 7000ft in early March! With all the snow, Mt Rainier regains its grace and majesty. 
Saw a group learning to make snow caves against a slope, a guy on a bike fixed with skis instead of wheels, a couple of (Roosevelt?) deers on the way out of the park. Lots of kids around 5pm doing slides and tubing near the parking lot. Peeked into 3 $1.2M houses (build in 2008) by the little Lake Clear in Eatonville along RT161, on the way there.
