Saw it only along the drive in the morning. Paradise in completely foggy. Sometimes the visibility is only 10 meters. An interesting effect, at least it blurred the thousands of visitors. Very strange weather this year. Colder than when I came early March this year. Lots of flowers: avalanche lily together with bear grass, heather and lupine. Took the shuttle up from Longmire. Caught the 2nd last coming down.
Comet Falls is tall and loud. A very pleasant hike for 1.6? or 1.9? miles. A little over an hour of steady slope, a good short workout. The grade tapers off after the bridge. Starting from the cute Christine Falls, shaded, all along many water cascades, and one bridge. Tumbling 320 ft over a cliff, water splashing onto the meadow across, lots of white flowers. On a hot summer day, it would be lovely to get closer.An uneventful 0.6 miles later, the trail forks left to the Rampart Ridge Trail. Continue straight for Van Trump Park.
View opens, and flowers emerge in earnest. Winding up in the meadows. Steep at time. 2200 ft gain total. The trail continues long after the sign of 'end maintained trail'. Lots of flowers. Much less people. Saw only 2 groups. No running water. One couple camped by some snow patches. Turned back there. (Looks like just a bit further up is Mildred Point, which I didn't know. Maybe next time.) The weather cleared a bit around 5:30. Some mountains close by showed up. Mt Rainier is still in hiding. Too cloudy to see Adams or St Helens. It was a wonderful view last summer when I came (but forgot to bring camera. This time, I almost lost my camera.) Total round trip: 3.5 hours (including breaks).Went to a buffet place on the way back to Seattle. Probably gained more calorie than what's spent during the hike.
