Precisely a year before this image was taken on the eve of the Fall equinox, I had climbed up Fremont peak at Mt Rainier during a cloudy afternoon. The lookout at the summit had been socked in dense fog, reducing visibility to mere yards. And when all hope seemed lost, the inversion layer dipped below, and I was witness to one glorious sunset above the clouds.
I was hoping to repeat that this year, and with the dense smoke having finally receded, I was eagerly looking forward to a return visit. However, fire damage had temporarily closed the main access road to the area, and I turned to the next best fire lookout in the Mt Rainier area.
I started the hike in high spirits despite the foggy weather, hoping that the clouds would lift up just like last year. But as sunset approached, the snowy summit of Mt Rainier barely managed to peek through the thick fog rolling over the lookout. The glimpses of the inversion layer kept teasing me, prolonging the agony in the freezing cold. And just as I was about to turn around barely 30min before sunset, the clouds lowered.
I was now dropped into an ethereal landscape with the mist still clinging onto the nearby ridges and peaks, while the summit of Mt Rainier, towering over an alpine lake, managed to catch the last bit of alpenglow.
Mt Rainier National Park
WA USA