alpine aster Archives • Michael Russell Photography

Wildflowers at Mt. Rainier National Park

May 26, 2015October 11, 2012

Tipsoo Lake Wildflowers

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Almost 2 months ago I went down to Mount Rainier National Park to view the wildflowers. Last week I posted some photos I made at Tipsoo Lake. Even on a weekday a National Park will be a busy place, so there were a lot of people hiking the trails and taking photos. For some compositions I waited for the people to be clear of my frame, but for others I tried to photograph what the people were doing on the trails. There was a lot of pointing and photographing this great display of wildflowers.

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Visitors to Mount Rainier National Park’s Wildflower display at Tipsoo Lake

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Wildflowers at Mount Rainier National Park

May 9, 2017October 5, 2012

Backlit Western Anemone or Pasque Flowers (Anemone occidentalis) at Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA

wildflowers around tipsoo lake at mount rainier national park in washington state usa

Western Anenome – Wildflowers at Rainier (Purchase)

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In mid August I went to Mount Rainier National Park to view what was promising to be an impressive display of wildflowers. As the weather at the Paradise area generally did not allow for viewing of the mountain itself, I headed to Tipsoo Lake to see the display there. I was not disappointed! While I have not seen a full display at Paradise, which is rumored to be a bit better, I was quite impressed with what I saw at Tipsoo Lake. The first photograph here is of some Pasque Flowers or Western Anemone (Anemone occidentalis) seed heads that were nicely backlit by the setting sun near Upper Tipsoo Lake. There are also a few Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), Broadleaf Lupines (Lupinus latifolius), Alpine Aster (Aster alpigenus), and Broadleaf Arnica (Arnica latifolia) in that photo.

Here are a few more wildflower photographs made around Tipsoo and Upper Tipsoo Lakes:

Wildflower meadows around Tipsoo Lake
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Sunrise / Yakima Park

January 2, 2015May 15, 2010

Sunrise (also known as Yakima Park) is an area near Mt. Rainier that has a different assortment of plants compared to the areas I had visited on earlier trips (Longmire through Stevens Canyon). A large part of this is likely due to elevation as the parking lot at Sunrise is at an elevation of 6400 feet or 1950 meters.

When I ventured up to Sunrise last September I wandered around the parking lot a bit wondering where to go next. From Sunrise Point I had seen the clouds approaching the Sourdough Mountains and thought I should likely get my shots of Rainier and the surrounding area in pretty fast (I was correct). A park ranger was looking at the clouds coming down over the Sourdough Ridge and suggested that I get a jacket on as the temperature was “about to drop and get ugly fast”. I said “thanks for the advice”.

The advice I ignored.

About 20 minutes later I think the temperature probably dropped 10° C, the clouds became darker and the top of the ridge was suddenly hard to see. It became windy. I retrieved my jacket. When I walked past her again she said “Hey nice jacket”. I think that comment had less to do with my jacket (which was nice) and more to do with the fact that we both knew she had been right. Maybe I’ll listen next time.