DJ's Journal: Fireballs and Ice, but no Rain on Mt. Rainier!

Mid August 2013

Milky Way, No Snickers though!

I got a late start leaving Mount Saint Helens, but as long as I got to Mt. Rainier (www.nps.gov/mora) by nightfall for the Annual Perseid Meteor Shower I couldn't complain. Driving through the park and scouting locations around this, the tallest peak (14,410') in the Cascade Range, I made it as far as Reflection Lakes and decided that it was probably as good a place as any on this iconic mountain of the Pacific Northwest to set up for the night. Judging by the group of other photographers there for sunset it was evident that it was a prime location. Normally I find myself all alone in some remote spot shooting photos late into evening, which is fine by me. However, this night would be a welcome change as a bunch of us crazy photographers chatted about gear, inquired what camera settings we were choosing and recounted our latest expeditions while subtly patting each other on the back for making the effort to stay up late and take advantage of the meteor shower.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't cooperating very much as fog banks kept rolling in obscuring Mt. Rainier and the surrounding skies. One of the bunch, Jason, drove down the road and came back to say it was totally clear. So Sherry and I packed up and followed him down there only to set up and have it fog in after about 15 minutes. I did manage to get a few "Milky Way" shots between the moving fog banks. Pretty quickly those two called it quits and I returned to Reflection Lake. Still fogged in, I was getting ready for a nap when I was surprised to see Jason pull back in, this time saying it was clear in the other direction. I decided I was done chasing breaks in the clouds and opted for the nap. Awakening at 2:30am I looked out to see clear skies. It took me about 2 minutes to set up and by the first shutter click the fog was back!

Caught one Meteor Streaking over Mt. Rainier

The last two summers I was skunked by bad weather and cloudy skies during the Perseid shower and it looked like the third time 'wasn't gonna be the charm', but in the end I did wind up catching one streaking meteor as it tangoed with Rainier. Content that I wasn't giving up empty handed, I took another nap at 4 am. Then I was awake again at 7am for some sunrise shots with some nice reflections of Mt. Rainier in the lake. With the mystery of the name "Reflection Lake" solved I could move on.

It usually wouldn't take much to motivate me towards Paradise, but this morning being short on sleep I needed to perk some coffee to energize and propel me towards it here at Mt. Rainier where it happens to be the epicenter of the park. There are many different trails to explore from there as long as you can find parking at this extremely popular spot. Otherwise your first and probably longest hike of the day will be from wherever you eventually park your car, back up to the trail heads. I walked a couple of them and was rewarded with very nice views of the mountain capped with glaciers, framed by waterfalls and adorned in vividly colored wildflowers. There was also a bit of wildlife including deer, elk and wabbit.

It's sort of pretty up there!

Sunset found me once again at Reflection Lake where the water was calmer and the skies clearer than the previous night. Tonight it would be only Dave from The Dalles and myself holding down the fort. The clear skies had great potential, but unfortunately the meteor shower had already peaked and I wasn't able to catch any more still frames of flying fire rocks hurtling in from space. However, Dave had "app" which enabled us to predict two orbits of the International Space Station so I was able to photograph it streaking across the sky which when shot with a long exposure, incidentally, looks very much like flying fire rocks hurtling in from space.

That nights nap started at 3am and ended at 6am awaking once again for some more lovely morning sunrise shots. This morning provided us with the remnants of a large lentricular cloud hanging on top of Rainier. Bad news for the climbers up there trying to summit, but good photography fodder for us.

And with that it was time to beat the lava rush and take my leave of this wondrously immense active volcanic bulge reaching high into the heavens.

With all my recent sleep deprivation experience and training I was starting to feel very adept at it, almost expert. So what better place to head to and test my mettle than the Olympics!? Luckily I wouldn't have to wait 2 or 4 years for them to come around, all I had to do was drive a few more hours northwest to the Olympic Peninsula.

And just like with most Olympic hopefuls, your donations go a long way to covering training and travel expenses. They are greatly appreciated and graciously accepted ! ;)