Mount Rainer Engagement // Kali & Colby

Pacific Northwest Adventure Photographer - Mount Rainier

Kali & Colby are big Seattle Sounders fans but wanted to go the extra mile for their engagement photos with something they really like to do together. Being avid hikers, that's just what they did! We went back and forth on a couple ideas for hikes in the Western Washington area. It was finally decided that we would do the Tolmie Peak hike which would have a good view of Mt. Rainier on a clear day. That's what we hoped for and exactly what we got, and then some!

This hike was new to me but they had done it awhile back before. We started the hike around 4:00pm hoping to get up there by 6:30pm to catch the sunset. Preferably we would have a little extra time to catch our breath, eat some snacks and get ready for photos. If you are not familiar, the hike is 7.5-miles round-trip with an 1,100 elevation gain at the 5900 elevation peak. Not bad, but add the 25 lbs of photo gear and lack of exercise prior to the hike.... it wasn't exactly a cake walk for your normal shoot. But I tell you what, it was totally worth it!

We got up there just before the sunset with 15 minutes to spare for a quick rest. What came next was absolutely mesmerizing! What began as a fiery red-orange sunset turned to a blue and purple colored atmosphere that engulfed us with extraordinary saturation. We spent that quick amount of time gathering as many photos as we could before it all vanished. Even to the end with the sun far below the horizon we got some amazing shots with Mt. Rainier as our most promised background! It was certainly an unforgettable sight to see and we couldn't have picked a better day or location!