Sugar Mountain

This image was taken in August of 2004. The locals call it “The Mountain” an active volcano encased in over 35 square miles of snow and ice. Standing at an elevation of 14,411 feet, Mount Rainier is the tallest mountain in Washington. Acclaimed naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club John Muir writes “of all the fire mountains which, like beacons, once blazed along the pacific coast, Mount Rainier is the noblest.” When I arrived at the park it was overcast and there was no mountain in sight, and for several days it stayed that way. I remained in the park for about a week and had only caught a glimpse or two of the mountain. I looked outside just before dawn on this particular morning not expecting to see the mountain and saw that there was not a cloud in the sky. I quickly went to the spot that I had previously scouted out and got this shot, there was hardly even a breeze, the lake was calm, the snow was fresh, and the mountain was as majestic as ever.