A quiet Autumn Sunday arvo in the Pacific Northwest, a light drizzle is forecast, not much has to be done. Where to go and what to do? A motorbike ride, for me, is nearly always the right answer. Fortunately, my pillion riding mate agrees. She often suggests it when I'm still scratching my head with foggy indecision. Bonus.


A recent sunny day view of the famed peak from right near our house.

Mt Rainier, a massive mount that spreads for miles at its base, and a frequent destination for me, is right round the corner in a manner of speaking from where I live. I can be at its base in well less than an hour.

We donned our cool weather gear which includes heated jacket liners as the temp was gunna be hovering round 12c (54f) and a fair bit cooler at about 1500 metres (4929 feet) of altitude, and headed towards the NW corner of the national park near Carbonado, Washington. The route taken follows the Puyallup and then the Carbon rivers through small towns like Puyallup, Orting, South Prairie, Wilkerson and Carbonado, on narrow but smoothly paved two lane roads through farmland, pasture and eventually dense pine forest. The road to the lake is over 15 miles of packed gravel on frame-cracking, shock-leaking, tooth filling-loosening corrugation (called washboard locally and afar) Some of the forest is clearcut like a haircut on a bad hair day, all on public lands adminstered by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). Weyerheauser corporation, the last tree standing in the lumber bidness round these here parts, gets the lion's share. I watch out for tree bark fuzz on the slick, wet road surface and bend into tight turns on the Mighty K as welcome blue patches appear above in the low hanging cloudcover.


Heavy grey cloud partially obscures the view of the not-so extinct volcano, still covered in glaciers (though slowly melting) and with the first fresh snow of the coming Winter season.


Part way up the gravel road leading to the pristine and magnificent Mowich Lake. The rangy wheelbase of the K12 lends it self to an easy climb up the winding gravel road. While no GS on knobbies it never felt vague or out of shape over the slick surfaces or plowing into the heavier gravel. A light grip on the 'bars with a slight, ongoing acceleration is the key.


Mowich Lake sat clear and glass-like just before the rain began to lightly fall.