We have been up this trail many times.The profusion of wildflowers this time of year is always a draw. A combination of shadowy forest and rocky open slopes over 1600 feet of elevation change creates a myriad of habitats and bloom times. We saw at least 66 different types of blooming flowers. I’ve detailed our 2017 hike here. Some standout views for today:

Shady forest

View to the top

The knob

First view of the ocean beyond the knob

Steep chicken wire lined rocky trail up the cliffs

The saddle

Bistort, Mt Rainier

Flowers all the way to the top

View to Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens and Mt Adams from the summit

View to Astoria from the summit

Looking back to the sea and the summit on the return hike

Notable flowers:

nodding onion, arnica

vanilla leaf

saxifrage

mallow

Hooker fairy bells

Olympic onions

ble eyed grass

anemone

tufted saxifrage on a cliff

tufted saxifrage

Columbian lewisia

prairie smoke

This was hike #27 for 2019, 6.8 miles, 1900 feet.