Summerland Hike

Due to the pandemic it had been over a year since I've done any outdoor adventures with Matt so we got together for daddy daughter hike to Summerland at Mount Rainier. We did the hike back in 2008 when Rachel was 3 and I carried her up the entire trail. This time she did the hike on her own along with Matt's daughter Vanessa. Though the weather was better than the rainy 2008 trip it was still far from summerlike. Clouds covered the upper section of Rainier so the only views we had were the forest and the beautiful meadows around the Summerland camp area. We hiked a little further up nearing Panhandle Gap. Usually this area is covered with snow, but in the late summer it had melted off revealing a rocky area with streams and waterfalls all covered in fog. It was scenic in a unique sort of way. While hiking back Matt with his eagle eyes spotted a bear eating away in the bushes. We didn't bother it and it didn't bother us so we continued hiking down. Near the end Matt's boots started to disintegrate with the sole of one boot falling off. He made it back to the car safely, but he'll definitely need new boots for our next trip.