We had a leisurely start to the day, and left Edmonds around 8:30am. Our intention was to climb in the Snag Buttress area of the mountain, and check out some new (to us) routes in that area. Steve's main interest was in the route Touching the Sky, a 5.9 sport route accessed from Snag Buttress. That meant climbing the first pitch of Zig Zag (5.7) to get there. Once on the ledge, we determined that the down climb, and water seep on the route meant we did not want to do it. Instead we opted to climb up the ledge slightly above the top of Snag Buttress where there were multiple routes to chose from. We opted for the Ray Auld Memorial Route (5.7) which brought us up to the top of wall.
We hiked around a bit trying to make sense of the maps and crags. We stumbled upon a short blocky sport route which I am thinking might be A View to a Climb (5.6) on the Lumpy Crag. Hard to tell. We climbed it, and just west of the top we were above the Friction Slab area. After that, we played the typical Mt. Erie find the best way down game. We looked through the book and followed some weak trails down. (Made more fun by walking on slippery grass with rock shoes.) A free-hanging rappel off a Madrone tree and some bramble bushwhacking got us back to the packs.
It was a fun day. However, I seemed not mentally up to the climbing and had difficulty at times with moves/grades that are well within my ability. Also of note, was the generally crummy rock quality and lack of good protection in some areas. Plenty of relic pitons and old bolts around too.
Coming up Zig Zag (photo by Steve Machuga)
Steve leading up Ray Auld
Show off
I forget the name of this creek but it was only a few miles into the park and it was the first view I had of Mt Rainier. Breathtaking.
This is a little further into the park. When the roads were constructed through the park the engineers took into account the “viewing pleasure” of the public and I must say they did an excellent job in selecting the sites for the viewpoints.
A couple of close-ups of the top of the mountain.
Probably the most visited area of the park is in the south-central part. It was about 12:30 in the afternoon when I arrived in Paradise and, as you can see, the clouds had moved in. I spent some time in the visitors center at Paradise - looked at the exhibits, viewed the park movie, then looked through the telescopes and saw three climbers halfway up the mountain.
The mountain played peek-a-boo with the clouds, but they eventually completely blocked out the view. I joined some of the other visitors on a short walk along one of the many trails in the area.
Mount Rainier and me!
I first saw the Hi5 at OR last winter and was more than a little skeptical ofthe newLa Sportiva Hi5 or La Sportiva in particular for skis. But I did want a pair of thoseall carbon race boots the STRATOS!Any way, hard to miss a bright green, giant ski that resembles a retro water ski more than snow ski.Or so I first thought. It was a ski that stood outin the ski racks at two "ski bars" and ridingthe trams in Chamonix over the winter. And of the La Sportiva Hi5sI did recognise, all seemed amazingly LOOONG in comparison to the other skisbeing toted around the valley.(from a distinct mental note taken back in March...and obvious ski/mtn gawds riding them) 
Will Spring ever arrive this year? Looking at all the new snow on the trail as we braved another "spring ride," I began to seriously doubt it. Nonetheless, my Rivendell is back in action after a long winter.
Now, here's an admission: Although the Sam Hillborne is super-comfortable, when it comes to shorter rides without major hills I've come to prefer a more pared-down roadbike. In fitting the Rivendell with a front rack, decalleur, handlebar bag and good sized saddlebag, we made a conscious decision to optimise it for long distance travel and exploration at the expense of simplicity. Though individually each accessory is fairly lightweight, all together they do add heft to the bike and make it more difficult to take in and out of the apartment. And I find it inconvenient to detach and reattach the bags depending on what kind of ride I am taking, so I would rather just leave them on.
I have a routine 30 mile ride that I do whenever weather permits, and on this ride my ideal bike would be a lightweight single speed (fixed/free flip-flop hub), with a tiny saddlebag and no fenders. Currently, my Moser and Bianchi share this role, with the Moser being the fixed gear and the Bianchi essentially acting as the freewheel singlespeed, since the 2x6 gearing is so unfinicky that it allows me to forget it's there. By contrast, the 3x8 gearing on the Rivendell feels cumbersome on a ride where I don't need to shift gears.
I am not the first person to experience the epiphany that "for fast and short rides I prefer Roadbike A, while for long and hilly rides I prefer Roadbike B." Still, I was surprised to feel myself developing this preference - particularly the single speed and no fenders part of it. There is something to be said for just being able to throw a bike down on the grass and not worry, for pedaling fast and not playing around with shifters. At times I value this simplicity and ease more than I value load capacity, gearing, comfort, and yes - even keeping my clothes clean and dry. There, I said it!
