Mount Rainier is not a mountain that you view casually. At 14,411 feet it rises more than two miles above the lowlands of Puget Sound, a huge, ice-capped volcano with some twenty-five named glaciers, visible on a clear day from Seattle, Tacoma and as far away as Portland. The Puyallup and Nisqually people called it Tahoma or Tacoma, and the name Rainier was given by Captain George Vancouver in 1792, in honour of a friend in the navy. It is considered an active volcano, and the scientists who study it keep a close watch, because the ice and mud on its flanks could flow in great lahars down the valleys to the suburbs below.
On a clear day the white dome appears above the green hills, and the sight can be startling when you come around a bend. The weather in the Cascades is a gamble, and the mountain is often hidden by cloud for days, so a clear morning is worth taking, especially in summer and early autumn.
The roads of the foothills are quiet, narrow and forested, with moderate bends, and pavement that varies from smooth to patched. Moss and fir needles can make the surface slick, and the damp lingers under the canopy. Logging trucks use some of the roads, so give them room. The nearest fuel is at Eatonville, about thirty-eight kilometres away, a small town with a pioneer feel, and at larger towns toward Tacoma, so check your tank. Cell coverage can be patchy.
Spring and autumn are rainy, and the best time for a view is July to September. In winter, snow closes the high roads, and the white cone dominates the horizon. Wildlife includes deer, elk and black bears, and in the old forest you may hear the call of a pileated woodpecker. Pack water and a layer, since the air cools quickly in the evening.