Mt. Rainier

[Martin Hash]

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My wife, Gwynne, and I have been to 100+ countries but are embarrassed to admit we haven't been to all the sights of our own State, Washington. For example, we'd lived in the Pacific Northwest for 36 years and never been to Mt. Rainier, even though we can see it from the roof of our house; so Gwynne took me to the famous Rainier Lodge for my birthday. She had to book it a year in advance because it was the lodge’s 100th Anniversary. To make the trip even more memorable, she ordered 8” of snow as a present even though it was the first time in the lodge’s history they'd had snow in the middle of June, and we were driving a Prius. Plus, even more memorable, there was no water nor electricity in our rustic and high-priced room, certainly no Internet; I lost my 300+ day streak on Duolingo studying Spanish. Bad food too.

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However, on the plus side, because of the anniversary, the lodge had nature author’s reading from their books about the era and place, which was a pleasant surprise; and there was no snow at just a few hundred feet less elevation so we hiked for hours on the fabulous forest trails, where we saw a famous PNW giant Banana slug for the first time in a while. Best of all, I finally had my first taste of Rainier beer even though I've been around it for decades. It’s exactly the kind of beer I drink; a truly American beer: light color, light taste, light calories. You can have 5 Rainier beers and still tell a police officer you haven’t had anything to drink.

Tree Root Arch.jpg

Banana Slug.jpg

[brewster]

My son interviewed to be a pro guide on Rainier this spring, but didn't make the 1 of 3 cut in a strong group of older applicants. He was real disappointed, but his 2nd choice was guiding on Matanuska Glacier in Alaska, where he is now. He hopes to re-apply to the Rainier based company, which operates worldwide, in a couple of years.