(And why were we hiking on a Monday night? The rest of the family was still in Portland so Treen and I had to do something to keep us out of trouble.)

Mason Lake is so refreshing and so wonderful on a hot, sticky night like this that we absolutely had to pick a peak with a swimming opportunity. Yes, there are other hikes that could have been winners, but it's hard to argue with the great night we had just 11 days prior.

The hike up was pretty much the same as usual. Road walk to the old trail. Beautiful old trail along the creek to the headwall. Steep climb up the unmaintained slope. A short, easy walk to the lake. Treen got a quick dip before we pushed ahead. In the big meadow visible from the highway I saw Eric take a detour up a gully. It was steep, but easy to follow and joined the summit spur just below the top. I think Treen liked it more than the usual dusty trail.

Views, views, and more views has been the chorus on almost all my trips lately and this was no exception. Even better was a remarkably clear and crisp view of Rainier. As the sun began to set I got one last shot before we headed down. Looking at the last picture of the Mountain the colors were amazing and beyond what I remembered seeing, but photos don't lie, right? (Only Photoshop lies and I don't use Photoshop. (I use Lightroom.))

Eric ran ahead to get some extra swimming time in so KC and I followed at a more reasonable pace. Treen was torn, but stuck with us in the end. She got her swim in before we donned headlamps for the hike back to the car.

There was nothing amazing or epic about this hike, just the opportunity to spend time in the mountains with friends and the dog. A great photo of Rainier was a bonus, but even without it I'd have enjoyed the trip immensely. Maybe that's a sign I'm getting old or finally growing up. I no longer need to do crazy things, I just need to do things.