Quick question before we go....

We were planning on doing the whole of the Cascade Loop, before driving up to Vancouver, but got stuck in all the problems in Heathrow, our flight to Seattle was cancelled and they lost all our bags.

Anyway, we're HOPING to fly out later today, but have had to drastically reduce our itinerary (and scrape together our remaining clothes!).

I think we've got time to do one National Park from Seattle, and just wondered whether it should be Mt St Helens or Mt Rainier - or even somewhere else if you think it would be better.

Thank you,

Chris

Chris_UK,

First off, so sorry about all the snags you have had getting here to th PNW. My choice would be Mt. Rainier!!
The views from every spot can't be beat.

Tom

So sorry about your troubles with Heathrow! What a bummer! Glad you are going to get to come, though.

I'm with TRSW. Mt. Rainier. I totally enjoy Mt. St. Helens. It is very interesting and educational. However, if I had to pick between the two, I would choose Mt. Rainier for its beauty. Mt. Rainier must be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Mt. Rainier on condition that the weather is clear. When you cant see the mountain due to clouds or mist I would not go.Paul

Mt. Rainier. Too bad your time is being cut short, as Mt. St. Helens is also fascinating, but it will take you quite a bit longer to drive there, and it won't be as breathtaking as Rainier.

Interestingly enough, I ended up taking a visitor on a foggy day one time, and it was such a different experience, and beautiful.

Another vote for Ranier- its spectacular

Mt. Rainier is the most popular day trip from Seattle; however, as tovarich warned, it is not worth the trip when the mountain is shrouded in clouds.

Fortunately, in that case you have many other options. For instance, you could do the Snoqualmie Pass (I-90), Blewett Pass (97), Stevens Pass (2) loop. Points of interest along the way include Snoqualmie Falls, Leavenworth ("Bavarian" town), and Deception Falls.

Hopefully you'll miss this message because you'll be safely on a big ole 747 en route. We're looking forward to our trip through LHR next week (...not...) so will await the telling of the tale on your walkabout bags. Note, however, that there are several "outlet malls" (discounted major brand apparel etc.) within easy driving distance of Seattle, so if need be you can help improve our economy even more. And, sad to say (from a personal viewpoint) the £ is doing very well at the moment against the $.

Anyway, you can include a Mt. Rainier visit with the Cascade Loop plan you concocted earlier, simply by continuing over the mountains on US 12 after visiting the mountain. US 12 ends up in Yakima, from which it's a quick motor up to the junction of US 97 from which you can continue north toward Canada or wherever else you're heading. In fact, it's quite a pleasant drive and a good alternative to the I-90 or US 2 eastbound portion of the "loop" (of which there are several.)

You can drop south of Mt Rainier and in a few hours be on the east side of Mt St Helens. If possible visit both, we did this summer.
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/WebCa...am/moracam.cfm

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

I am sorry to say that some of these itineraries are the vacation equivalent of a death march.

A few years back in late July, we hiked Mt. Ranier up to where the snow was (motivation for the kids, as we live in Texas). It was so gorgeous...a new beautiful view around every corner, wildflowers, babbeling brooks. It was like hiking in a nature calendar. (Of course, we could see Mt. St. Helens.)

If you do happen on a sunny day, BRING SUNSCREEN. I was expecting clouds. We got sun and the back of my legs were so burned...it's not like we could just take the elevtor down and grab the sunscreen from the car.