Castle 1st Mother
 After a nice warm-up hike from Mowich Lake, Jody, Shannon, David and I arrive at the base of Fay Peak, and decide to scramble up the gully to the summit. |
 We will head to the base of the (false) summit block, traverse around the left, then up a slab leading to the top (the rounded bump on the left). |
 David is beginning the traverse. In the background, you can see the trail leading to Castle Peak (hidden). |
 David at the top of the slab. The final push is a fun rocky scramble to the top. |
 Jody and Shannon are scrambling to the base of the slab. We will follow the ridge in the background, then, just before the nasty horn in the upper left, make a steep descent to the main trail. |
 Our summit photo on Fay Peak. As in most summits in Mount Rainier National Park, the Mountain dominates everything around it. |
 Making our way to First Mother along the ridge, we can see several more peaks that are fun to scarmble: L-foreground: Pleasant Peak. R-foreground: Hessong Rock. Mid-background: Observation Peak. |
 From the far end of the ridge from Fay Peak, First Mother (and Second Mother) rise from the valley. |
 After the decent from the ridge, we found the main trail to the top of Knapsack Pass, from where we will head toward First Mother. |
 Here you can see Mowich Lake, the trail, the gully, false summit, and Fay Peak. |
 Shannon, Jody and David at Knapsack Pass. Fay Peak is in the background. |
 The trip to First Mother was uneventful, the path easy to follow ans we soon found ourselves at the top of FIrst Mother -- our second peak for the day! |
 From First Mother, Mt. Rainier, yet again, domiates the views. Beyond Pleasant Peak, and before Echo Rock and Observation Peak, is Spray Park which is a beautiful place to view wildflowers in the summer. |
 One of the rocky buttresses we pass as we left First Mother. |
 This is what the trail looks like leading to/from First Mother/Knapsack Pass. |
 From First Mother, we did a fair amount of bushwhacking to find the 'trail' that lead to Castle Peak. In the end, we eventually found a ridge that circumnavigated a large basin. |
 The basin ridge we were following was filled with these rocky pillars that we scrambled up and down. Halfway along, we discovered we were being watched by the 'guardian of the ridge'. |
 Finally, after a rather enjoyable scramble over and around the rocks, we found a real trail. |
 In this photo, First Mother is the rounded peak on the left. The ridge with the 'guardian' is along the right edge. |
 Castle Peak is on the right. We will follow this trail (first seen in Image -003) along the base of the cliffs, to the summit. |
 Same view, with me and David, eager to get moving! |
 These meadow walks are most relaxing and enjoyable. Fair weather, wonderful scenery, and a fun destination! |
 David, at the base of the cliffs. From our vantage point in the previous pic, it was difficult to discern the actual route. But as what usually happens, once you get closer, the way becomes obvious. |
 At the bottom of the basin is a pond created by the melt-off from the steep slopes. Here we are treated with a unique sight - the pond is perfectly heart-shaped! |
 On peak number 3, Castle Peak we take a well-deserved break to rest tired feet, and let the smiles return to our (or, my) face! |