Mt. Rainier. By Ivan.
At 21,000 feet Mount Kailash is far from the highest peak in the Himalayas. It is a beautiful pyramid and towers over its neighbors, but it remains to this day an unclimbed peak. That is unusual. Western explorers and climbers travel to every corner of the Earth to conquer a mountain. An unclimbed mountain is especially tempting. A first ascent ensures your place in the history books.
But for the peoples who have lived beside a mountain for millennia to climb one is unthinkable. The top of a mountain is not a place for man. So it is with Mount Kailash, considered the most sacred mountain to the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. Pilgrims travel to Mount Kailash every year. Rather than seeking to climb they walk around it. Circumambulating the mountain is a spiritual act, believed to bring good fortune.
For the Nisqually, Puyallup, Skokomish, Duwamish, Cowlitz, and Yakama tribes who live in Mt. Rainier’s shadow it is also taboo to climb above Rainier’s snow line. But the tradition of circumambulation around Rainier is not theirs. It is a new one, arising from the Wonderland Trail.
The Wonderland Trail
The Wonderland Trail was created to link the original ranger stations within the national park—allowing rangers to patrol the park. Some of these cabin outposts are still manned. This 93 mile backpacking trail has become one of the most beautiful hikes in America. Over 10 days we covered additional side trails pushing our mileage over 100. We gained and lost a total of 30,000 feet. Every day the same. Go up 3,000 feet. Go down 3,000 feet. The trail travels up into alpine meadows, skirting the 13 major glaciers that blanket this mountain. It travels down into steep forested valleys and glacier-fed rivers.
Due to the sensitive ecosystem and the high demand, access to the Wonderland is limited through a lottery. We were unlucky with our application, but the park reserves a small number of permits for walk-ups. In September 2019 we traveled to Rainier National Park without a permit, hoping our luck would change. Like concert goers, we slept on the porch of the ranger station to make sure we were first in line. We got our permit and began our clockwise trek at Mowich Lake.
The Whitman, Ingraham and Cowlitz glaciers in the background. By Ty.
T’komma
Mt. Rainier dominates the horizon for much of Washington State. It is clearly seen from Seattle, a 100 miles away. Even at that distance it looks huge. It is such a constant presence that its image adorns every state license plate. At 14,400 feet it is the tallest in the Cascade range, a string of volcanic peaks stretching down the centre of the state. Unlike the Rockies, which form an unbroken spine of mountains, the giants of the High Cascades stand alone. An indication of their creation by different geological forces.
I read Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest by Ella Clark as I hiked. The traditional folklore of these mountains isn’t what you would expect. I expected dramatic creation stories in keeping with the stature of this mountain. Rather the stories of their creation are quite domestic. For the Puyallup and Nisqually tribes, these mountains began as quarrelsome wives. Constantly fighting, they felt confined. So they left home, taking with them their stores of fish and berries. They found a place within sight of each other, with plenty of room to spread out. They settled in and scattered their fish and berries around them. So Mt. Baker in the north, Mt. Adams & Mt. Hood in the south with Mt. Rainier in the centre are grumpy wives who still occasionally quarrel, shooting fire, lightning and thunder at each other.
The Emmons glacier in the background. By Ivan.
A Garden of Eden
The last trip I took with these three friends was to Big Bend National Park in Texas. The contrast between the two national parks couldn’t be greater. In the desert we carried three days of water at a time. On Mt. Rainier a 1-liter bottle sufficed because water was everywhere.
The traditional names of Mt. Rainier—Takkobad, T’komma, Tahoma—all reference the mountain as a mother of waters. The mountain has the largest collection of glaciers in the lower 48 states. It spawns five major rivers. Water pours out of every hole. The effect is a lush landscape with every shade of green imaginable. Certain scenes were so perfect I worried my mere presence was a contamination. We saw deer, mountain goats and bear. We camped with chubby marmots playing around us. Including what had to be the King of the Marmots—a huge rodent with golden shoulders. A Grizzly in miniature.
By Ty.
The ordinary quality of Rainier’s creation stories might be a feature of the hunter-gatherer life. In Sapiens: A brief history of humankind, Yuval Harari contrasts the spiritual beliefs of hunter gatherer societies with communities based on farming.
When humanity domesticated plants and animals we gained power over them. We changed them to suit our needs because we controlled how they bred. As such we placed ourselves above them. Yet while we controlled life in this small way we recognized that there were powers beyond our control. After all humans cannot create life from nothing. And so a hierarchy formed with things below us and gods above us.
But hunter-gatherers societies, like the indigenous tribes of Mt. Rainier, are more egalitarian in their societies and worldview. The Earth, without human interventions, depends on a web of interdependence, not a hierarchy of importance. The deer, the bear, the berries, the fish, the trees are equally important. The mountain, equal to the marmot. Each has its own spirit. You can see these values reflected in the legends of the Pacific Northwest. I assumed indigenous people would view Mt. Rainier as a god, instead they see her as a grumpy wife.
The Emmons and Winthrop glaciers. By Chelsea.
To spend 10 days walking around a single mountain was a new experience for me. To spend so much time looking at this massive silent presence and its many faces. But how does 10 days compare with those who have lived for generations with this mountain?
However eternal the mountain may appear she is fragile and fading. Her glaciers are melting fast. It is projected that by the end of this century Rainier’s glaciers will be gone. She will no longer be the mother of waters.
But the mountain, like a wife (say like my wife Safira), is unpredictable and a new history might begin before then. The remains of Rainier’s sister, Mt. St. Helens, lie 90 miles south. Her eruption on May 18, 1980 destroyed her glaciers and rivers. A blizzard of ash burnt her green slopes for miles.
Mt. Rainier is classified as one of the 16 most dangerous volcanoes in the world. It has a high probability of eruption in the near future. A volcanic eruption would destroy in an instant what climate change is slowly eroding.
It was a gift to see Rainier in all her perfection. I wouldn't want to be the backpacker hiking the Wonderland when she erupts. A grumpy wife indeed.
The Carbon and Russell glaciers. By Ty.