One of our favorite hikes to take at Mt Rainier is the hike to Comet Falls and then to continue walking up the steep one mile trail to Van Trump Park. All together this hike has a 2200 feet elevation gain and hiking six miles.  This hike starts out by climbing upward through the forest and follows Van Trump Creek which I thought was a river! As you walk you are in constant earshot of the thunderous sound of gushing water flowing through the narrow gorge of glacier-polished rock.

The pictures in this series include the first wild flowers of the season; a waterfall that is above the well known Christine Falls; picturesque sections of Van Trump "creek"; the three tiered Bloucher Waterfall; three views of the 300 foot Comet Falls,  vistas seen from Van Trump meadow including the cloud covered! top of Mt. Rainier itself,  Mt. Adams (located behind the peaks and partially covered in clouds) and Pinnacle Peak. Lastly, a picture of a clear view of Mt. Rainier taken from Longmire around 7:30p.m. when the "mountain finally came out!" as we say in Seattle.

Mt. Rainier is 14,000 feet high. Van Trump is at the 5860 feet point on Mt Rainier, 300 feet higher than Paradise.  Van Trump Park is named after P.B. Van Trump who, along with his partner Hazard Stevens, are credited with the first ascent of Mount Rainier in August 1870.