The Flood

Unless you’re an ardent National Park watcher, you probably aren’t aware of the excitement that’s been going on around here. In November of last year the park got 18 inches of rain in 36 hours. Not surprisingly, this triggered a HUGE flood. Mt. Rainier was incorporated as a National Park in 1899 (the fifth National Park in the US). Last November was the largest flood since that time. It closed the park for 6 months, the first time that has ever happened as well. The park only re-opened last month. Roads and campsites were literally washed away.

Virtually every place we’ve gone thus far has been affected in some way. For example, the Grove of the Patriarchs is closed to visitors because the suspension bridge (which they recommended only one person at a time on even in its best days) leading over the river to it was damaged. It’s too bad, too, because the grove apparently contains trees over a thousand years old. We considered fording the river but decided against it and later we were glad because we read that the boardwalk within the grove itself was damaged and the entire area was filled with four feet of silt.