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Bluey and I made a last minute decision to run up to the mountain last night and started off by hiking in to Bench Lake. When we arrived it was overcast and the wind was making any attempt at a reflection impossible. After about a half hour of clowning around the skies began to part and the wind calmed down enough to get some great shots there before hiking out and heading for the paradise area.

The 2 mile hike up to Panorama Point is well worth it and affords you great views of the mountain, the Tatoosh range, and the valley to the west of the park. The clouds stuck around and afforded us a nice little sunset. It was a great day of shooting, but more importantly, a great day out on the trails with Blue.

On an unrelated side note, you can pick up all kinds of authentic Aaron Reed Photography Mt Rainier gear now in the gift shop inside Paradise lodge. You can get magnets, a baseball, a shot glass, a coffee cup, a recyclable book bag and even a snow globe with official Aaron Reed imagery on them. Now who can say they have never wanted their own snow globe? Ha!

All images are copyrighted by Aaron Reed. Do NOT use my images on blogs, personal or professional websites, or any other digital media without my explicit permission.