30th June 2013 Granite Mountain : Knee Buster With Amazing Views

Sunday Morning 7 AM already 72 c ( 20 C) it is going to be an amazing but scorching day...
30 min drive from home and ready at the trail head by 9 AM.
Granite Mountain Trail
Rated 5/5
Difficulty 5/5...
Distance 8 Miles (13 km)
Elevation gain 3800 feet ( 1150 m).....
Top elevation 5630 feet ( 1700 m)
Duration 5h30
Temperature 93 F ( 32 C)
Wildlife : not much a couple marmot
Flowers : a lot at the base not yet at the top... snow

Trail head 9 AM Pratt Lake Trail, conditions are good...

The summit is still far far away...

Mt Rainier starting to appears to the south of Granite Mountain

Flowers along the way

Starting to see the top but argh no more trees to protect from the sun...

Panoramic view halfway to the top, thanks to my Olympus WG 2... best companion ever

Hiking in the snow to the top

Fire Lookout on top of Granite Mountain... still the boulders to pass

View from the Top

 Mt Rainier, the almighty

 Panoramic view from the top

 The lookout, still in operation

Your host...

Happy trails, next update July 4th... Stay tuned Biz a tous