Mt Rainier: A good place for accidental finds
My stay in Mt Rainier did not exactly go as planned. My flight was canceled more than once the first time while I was onboard, the second time after I awoke early in the AM to head back to the airport. After switching airports and airlines, I was finally able to get to Seattle around midnight, only my hotel forgot to leave the key taped to the office and no one answered the after hours line. Eventually, I was able to get in as they fortunately left the room door open and after wandering the hallways I saw it. On the drive up the road to the hotel there were numerous deer and one large elk in the road. Early the next morning following a couple of hours of sleep, I headed to sunrise to look for wildlife. There in the rock scrambles were pika. A short distance later I encountered goats at frozen lake. I went back to the hotel and had a delightful lunch at the top of the gondola before going back to sleep and moving to Paradise side the next day. The paradise side is a bit of a disaster as it’s completely overrun with people but still there is wildlife there. First I found a bear on the High Lakes trail. Unfortunately it was 3pm or so and I was not expecting wildlife so I had to use a wide angle lens. The bear has little interest in moving out of the way and I eventually walked around her. On the skyline loop I saw a number of deer and very tame marmots and other rodents. I had only looked into the hiking part of it so I was pleasantly surprised to have several animal encounters.
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wildlife_watcher
Hello max, the chipmunk I think is called yellow pine chipmunk. There is also a ground squirrel that is very common there, too. Both of them will try to sneak up on people who are sitting on rocks eating. Yes, two pictures of pika which are one of my favorite animals. I used to always look at them in the audubon field guide when i was a kid and dream of one day seeing one and the last few years I’ve finally went places where I can do that. Overall, I was impressed with Mt Rainier both in terms of wildlife and natural beauty,
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Max Taylor
You had some really terrific luck on your Mt. Rainier excursion. Those are some lovely photos. What kind of chipmunk is that or ground squirrel? And is that another pika on the picture after that one, or something else? The pika in the last photo is making a priceless expression.