Sunrise shines in the morning

Morning is the best time to visit Sunrise, whether that is your destination or you are on your way around Mount Rainier.

Since it is located on the northeast side of the mountain the sun hits there first in the summer, plus if you are early enough you can beat the crowd.

Cars were lined up into the distance waiting to get in before midday on a Saturday, July 9 visit, after you were able to enter with no wait by 10 a.m.

Also helping with the crowd would be an arrival in the middle of the week, especially after school starts and before it is closed by snow.

This year snow remains a factor even in July.

It has been cleared from the roads, but patches remain everywhere around the lodge and gift shop, adding to the view but blocking many trails.

The views of Mount Rainier are outstanding, particularly of the steep Emmons Glacier coming down from the crater on Columbia Crest. Other features like Steamboat Prow and Liberty Cap stand out to the right.

But not to be overlooked are the features to the left on the other side of the White River Valley across from Sunrise.

Jagged peaks stick up into the sky including that of Little Tahoma right next to Mount Rainier, or Mount Tahoma as it was known to the Native Americans.

Little Tahoma ranks among the tallest peaks in the state of Washington at 11,138 feet, but is dwarfed by the 14,410 feet of Mount Rainier.

Sunrise Day Lodge is open from July through the end of September and is located at 6,400 feet -- or 1,000 feet higher than the 5,400 feet of Paradise Inn on the south side of Mount Rainier.

How to get there:

Take Highway 410 out of Sumner, Highway 164 out of Auburn or Highway 169 from Renton and Maple Valley into Enumclaw where the three highways converge.

Follow Highway 410 east toward Chinook Pass, but veer right before you get there into the White River Entrance of Mount Rainier National Park.

From Yakima and the east, take 410 west over Chinook Pass and take a sharp left shortly thereafter into the White River Entrance.

The road to Sunrise switches back and forth up from the entrance and includes one wide parking lot and lookout at the point of the last switchback.  From there it's a short jaunt to Sunrise.

Thursday, Aug. 4 will be free admittance day for Mount Rainier and all other national parks in the United States.  The next free day after that will be Saturday, Sept. 24.

Private vehicle passes good for seven days are normally $30, while seven day motorcycle passes are $25.  The per person walk-up or bicycle fee is $15.

Annual Mount Rainier passes for a car, driver and passengers are $55.

Discover Passes are for state lands only and do not include national parks.

Call (360) 569-2211 for more information on Mount Rainier National Park.

Text and photos by Tim Clinton.

Step back into the Old West

You can almost feel like you are stepping back in time to the Old West when you visit Winthrop.

False fronts and wood paneling highlight the buildings downtown, giving them a late 1800s look.

The hillsides above the town in Central Washington's Methow Valley are even mostly barren with desert scrub brush straight out of a Western movie.

The only giveaways are that the streets are paved instead of dirt or gravel, and the wagons and horses have been replaced with automobiles that go by on Highway 20.

Of course the motif was designed to lure in North Cascades travelers and get them to stop and shop, or to stay and make the town a center of operations for outdoor adventures.

After all, Methow Trails maintains 120 miles of trails for cross country skiing in the winter or for hiking and mountain biking in the summer and early fall.

Most of the trails are snow free from early May through November, except for the higher elevation paths that are open from July through early October.

Heliskiing is also offered in the nearby mountains for the most adventurous.

Winthrop is only the permanent home of 340 people according to the 2020 census, but what the town lacks in size it makes up for in big events.

The biggest event of the slate is the July 15-17 Rhythm and Blues Festival that attracts musicians and visitors annually from all over the Northwest.

It is so big that onsite camping is allowed with portable showers provided for those unable to get standard accomodations in the area.

Winthrop also hosts tournaments during the winter on its outdoor National Hockey League-sized rink as well as up to eight teams for the Winthrop Snowshoe Softball Tournament taking place every President's Day weekend in February.

Scheduled for Nov. 25-26 of this year is the annual Christmas At The End of the Road celebration that also ranks among the bigger of many scheduled local events.

While much of the North Cascades Highway 20 to the west is closed for the winter and early spring, Winthrop and the Methow Valley can be approached from the east all year.

For more information on year round recreational opportunities, contact Methow Trails at (509) 996-3287.

How to get there:

From late spring through early fall the most direct route to Winthrop from Western Washington and Oregon is to head to Burlington on Interstate 5 and take the Highway 20 exit heading east.

A short cut from the south is to take the Highway 530 exit near Arlington and go northeast until the road joins Highway 20 in Rockport, where you take a right.

But the more scenic and year round route is from east to west on Highway 20.

You can get to it from Highway 2 (Stevens Pass for Western Washingtonians) from the west or east and turn north on Highway 97 or 97A, which reunite in Chelan and head further north.  Take a left on Highway 153 in Pateros and another left when you come to Highway 20 near Twisp.

Text and photos by Tim Clinton.