tipsoo lake

Historic Longmire Area of Mount Rainier

   I have been catching up on editing some older images I made in 2010 at Mount Rainier National Park. Below are two images of historic buildings in the Longmire Historic District. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ve been to Longmire since I made these photos back in 2010. I tend to enter the park from the Stevens Canyon entrance now due to its proximity to Tipsoo Lake, Sunrise and relatively quick access to the Paradise area. Sadly, Longmire gets left out most of the time now.

   This is the entrance to the historic Longmire Administration Building built in 1928.

the historic longmire administration building at longmire in mount rainier national park

Historic Longmire Administration Building

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   This is the Longmire Service Station which was built in 1927.

lower falls and gold creek with a flowering streambank arnica

Longmire Service Station

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   Between Longmire and Paradise lies a small loop road at Ricksecker Point. I have photographed many of the views from Ricksecker Point including this telephoto image of the peak of Mount Rainier itself. The glacier on the right hand side of this photo is the Kautz Glacier, which in part forms Kautz Creek many will be familiar with crossing if entering the park from the Nisqually entrance.

rocky snow and ice on the peak of mount rainier

Snow and Ice on the Peak of Mount Rainier

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You can find over 200 photographs from Mount Rainier in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.

Tipsoo Lake on a Cold Fall Morning

A cold October morning at Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA

view of mount rainier and tipsoo lake from tipsoo lake viewpoint

View of Tipsoo Lake and Mount Rainier (Buy Print)

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   On the last day of my 2010 trip to Mount Rainier National Park I got up early and attempted to photograph sunrise at Tipsoo Lake. In what became a learning experience I did not confirm the hotel alarm clock was set to the right time. Consequently I got out of bed too late despite setting the right alarm time which made me miss sunrise. Well, if only I had – I was forced to watch the entire sky turn orange from my car before I had reached the lake. Despite this, I did enjoy walking around the lake, alone, in below freezing temperatures with frost on the now dying wildflower plants. I didn’t really appreciate how peaceful this was until I visited Tipsoo a few years later in the Summer during the peak of the wildflower season.

   This photograph was made from the viewpoint along SR 410 above Tipsoo Lake. On the right is the edge of Yakima Peak, the Cowlitz Chimneys, Barrier Peak and Governors Ridge can be seen in the center.

You can find over 200 photographs from Mount Rainier in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.

Mount Rainier from above Tipsoo lake

Early morning sun lights up Mount Rainier from above Upper Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA

sunrise view of mount rainier from above tipsoo lake in mount rainier national park

Mount Rainier sunrise from above Tipsoo Lake (Purchase)

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  Another from my trip to Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State earlier this month. While not as flashy as many of the photos I have with more wildflowers and pink skies (coming soon), I quite like this one made above upper Tipsoo Lake early in the morning. I am not a morning person, so getting up at 5am to drive the distance to Tipsoo lake was an accomplishment. I wonder if this is easier for the coffee drinkers? Every other time I’ve successfully dragged my butt out of bed that early – Rainier has only welcomed me with overcast skies. While the really great pink light on the overhead clouds did not happen on this morning, there was some good alpenglow on Rainier before the sun came up over Naches Peak behind me.

  So if you are in some location far from home (or even close to it) – get your butt out of bed for sunrise. That is as much of a reminder for myself as it may be for you. 😀

Lupines and other Wildflowers at Mount Rainier

Lupines, Paintbrush and other wildflowers around Tipsoo Lake at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State, USA

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

Wildflowers at Mount Rainier (Purchase)

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   Broadleaf Lupines (Lupinus latifolus), Western Anenome seedheads (Anenome occidentalis) and Common Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata) in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State, USA.

   Earlier I made a few posts showing various wildflower scenes from Mount Rainier National Park. Having edited most of my wildflower images from that trip at this point, I have to say that so far this image is my favourite. It doesn’t show a field filled with wildflowers, but more of an up close perspective. The Broadleaf Lupines (Lupinus latifolus) are certainly the highlight but I like the single Common Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata) flower and the Western Anenome seedheads (Anenome occidentalis) on the side. The yellow flowers which are most likely Broadleaf Arnica (Arnica latifolia, while not in focus – do help add some color to the scene overall.

   Perhaps another reason I like this image is that it was rather difficult to actually make happen. It was windy at Tipsoo Lake that day, and the stems of these flowers aren’t rigid enough to resist swaying in the breeze. So I required a lot of patience to make this particular photograph, but I liked the composition a lot so I stuck with it!

Wildflowers at Mt. Rainier National Park

woman takes a cell phone photo of wildflowers around tipsoo lake at mount rainier national park in washington state usa

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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hikers and wildflowers around tipsoo lake at mount rainier national park in washington state usa–two hikers observe the wildflowers around tipsoo lake at mount rainier national park in washington state usa–a photographer kneels to photograph wildflowers around tipsoo lake at mount rainier national park in washington state usa

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

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Wildflowers at Mount Rainier National Park

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:

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

Wildflower meadows around Tipsoo Lake
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wildflowers around tipsoo lake at mount rainier national park in washington state usa

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

Yakima Peak at Tipsoo Lake

yakima peak tipsoo lake frost

   This shot of Yakima Peak behind a frosty Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park was yet another learning experience. I learned that if you set your alarm on a hotel clock radio, check that the time is set properly. As a consequence to my lack of due diligence, I missed sunrise, but I did see Tipsoo Lake for the first time so it wasn’t all bad.

   On this particular morning I estimate that it was about -10°C (14°F) which was a bit chillier than I had anticipated. All the frost had heaved up the soil on the trail a few inches which made walking on it a bit tricky in spots but I think the crunching sound helped wake me up a bit. Sometimes I wish I could stand the taste of coffee. This turned out to be a bit late in the season for good fall colour at Rainier but I still like this shot of Yakima Peak rising above Tipsoo Lake with the foreground of frosty wildflower stems and leaves. A week later and this area had about 2 feet of snow. I can only imagine how much must be up there right now.

Mt. Rainier from Tipsoo Lake Lookout

mount rainier from tipsoo lake lookout

9 exposures stitched, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 IS USM @ 97mm

Mount Rainier with the Cowlitz Chimneys, Barrier Peak and Governors Ridge in the foreground (L to R). I shot this panorama during my last trip to Mount Rainier National Park from a spot along SR 410 near my other Tipsoo Lake panorama.