Mount Rainier – Longmire

August, 2018

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the mountain that brought people to Mount Rainier early on … it was the iron mineral springs at Longmire, a small settlement that is only part way up the mountain.  Although you can see the top of Mount Rainier from Longmire, the really stunning views of the mountain are to be had from further up the mountain.  But Longmire was the start of it all.

It was a few years after the popularity of the mineral springs waned that people finally started traveling in greater numbers by wagon and horseback up to what was informally called “paradise” to view the mountain.  Eventually a real road for real cars was constructed to get all the way up to a parking lot that was subsequently officially named “Paradise”.  But early on, the mountain wasn’t as interesting to people as were the mineral springs.

In summer months from 1899 to 1904, about 500 people a year visited the meadows where the Longmire family had settled after discovering the mineral springs.

These early tourists were seeking healing and refreshment from the mineral springs.  They came by train to Ashford, then took a 13-mile wagon ride (rain or shine) over a rough dirt track from Ashford to Longmire.  To house all those people, the Longmire family constructed a small hotel and had tents set up in the area.

Several websites state that visitors “enjoyed” the mineral springs, but I can’t find evidence about how they did that.  The original stone structures built around the mineral springs are still there.  On my hike around the area, the first above-ground hot-tub-like structure I found (photo below) might hold two people inside it, though that would be tight.

In the video below, you can see and hear the burbling of the water as the volcanic gases escape.  My visit here was in late summer, so there was significantly less water in the springs than there would be earlier in the year.

The second mineral spring structure I found is in the photo below and it was equally small.  Maybe people didn’t sit in the water for very long?  Maybe the iron in the water discolored their skin so people didn’t linger long?  Or maybe those people sat around the edges of those structures and simply breathed in the healing benefits of iron water?  Or maybe they just drank the water?

“Grandmother” Longmire at Longmire Springs, circa 1906.

In a number of places around the edges of this meadow, naturally rust-filled water bubbled up out of the earth.

Here’s a good description in the photo below (click on it to enlarge the photo) of how this warm mineral spring water is created.  Evidently it’s partly due to the heat of the volcano.  Remember that Mount Rainier was and is a volcano, and that it is overdue for erupting!

In fact, because of it’s volcano-ness, Mount Rainier not uncommonly has a unique type of soft, fluffy cloud above it that, they say, is caused by the heat/steam emanating from the volcano that lurks below the surface and that leaks up and out through the rocks at the top of the mountain.  And no I’m not kidding about this either!  Here’s a photo (below) that I took a couple of days into this camping trip that shows that soft, fluffy cloud.  That cloud isn’t always there, but it often is there.

As long as we’re on the topic of volcanoes, here’s more info about Mount Rainier and its status as a major world-class volcano:

And there’s lots more info HERE.

I vote for NO explosions or eruptions while I’m camping here, ok?  Yikes.

But … back to Longmire … today in 2018, Longmire has several very attractive log buildings … a lodge with overnight accommodations, a restaurant, a museum, park administration buildings, gift shop, housing for park employees and volunteers, and the original gas station from 1929 (no longer pumping gasoline).

There are a number of hikes that originate from Longmire, some short and easy, some longer and more difficult.  Longmire makes a great stop for a quick break or a meal or a longer stay to study the history or an even longer stay in the lodge … all on your way up the mountain.  There’s an old cabin in the area from the early 1900’s.  The museum is interesting although I was disappointed in the extremely small display of Native American history of the area.

I spent the day poking around the grounds at Longmire, taking a short hike through the meadow there, having lunch, reading up on everything in the museum, and then driving to Ashford to refill one of my propane tanks and get an ice cream cone.  🙂

On my way back to my campsite, I discovered something.  I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this.  This is pretty dumb.  I’d been in and out of the campground three times now, and had never looked up, just looked at the road in front of me.  This time I looked UP … holy smokes, the mountain!  I couldn’t see it from my campsite, but I sure could see it if I walked only 30 feet up the road from my campsite.  She was right there all the time, looking over me the whole time.  That was so very cool.

Tomorrow, I think I’ll drive up to the Paradise Visitors Center and see how much I can scare myself with the shear drop-offs during the drive.  I’m sure it will be worth the drive, but oh my nerves, I am afraid of heights.  Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!  🙂