Mt. Rainier Photo Essay by Eneliin Niles

Today, we’re featuring a wonderful Mt. Rainier photo essay from film photographer Eneliin Niles. Scroll below to view the photos and read more from Eneliin about hiking the Skyline Loop and Camp Muir trails…

Analog cameras and films used: Minolta X-700 (Find at KEH Camera or on eBay) | Kodak Portra 400 (Find on Amazon)

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Mt. Rainier Photo Essay

By Eneliin Niles

Mt. Rainier National Park had been on my radar for a while. I like doing my research to make sure I don’t miss out on anything I would like to see and experience. While creating an itinerary for this trip, I kept noticing Camp Muir trail hike. I quickly read up on it, and after seeing that it was marked as strenuous and sitting at over 10,000 feet elevation, I decided It probably wasn’t the best hike for us. That’s why I decided on Skyline Loop trail, which is a three hour, moderate hike.

As we set out to do the Skyline Loop at 7 AM in the morning, the weather was unfortunately not the best. It was quite cold and very foggy, so we couldn’t see much. We were still happy to be there and ready to get in a nice little hike.

We started the hike at the same time as three older gentlemen. We would take breaks and pass each other occasionally and exchange a few words. At one point we came across a fork in the road. The men advised us to turn off the hiking trail and start hiking towards Camp Muir instead. They said to at least go past the clouds, so we can see the sun. We decided to do that and kept hiking, thinking we would turn around and go back soon. As we broke the cloud barrier, I looked around in awe. Dark, rainy and foggy weather turned into beautiful sunshine and a gorgeous rainbow. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The guys we met, encouraged us to keep going and hike to the top with them. They offered to share their food and water with us, so we agreed. The rest of the hike was easily the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. As much as I love hiking, I am definitely not used to that kind of elevation.

It felt like we could see Camp Muir in the horizon, but after hiking for a solid hour, I didn’t feel like we had made any progress. Giving up was not an option since we already had gone so far. We pushed through and made it to Camp Muir.

Camp Muir is as far as you can hike without a permit. It’s a place where climbers stay the night to acclimate to the elevation and summit Mt. Rainier the next day. We sat down with the trio – Andy, Randy, and Van. They shared their food and water with us and we had a nice little picnic in the snow.

Traveling down the mountain was also a unique experience. We had absolutely no gear for hiking in the snow, so I honestly lost count of how many times I fell and slid down the mountain. Although I was struggling, I still tried to savor every moment, knowing very well that I’m going to wish I could experience this all over again as soon as we got back.

It’s funny how fast you can get comfortable with complete strangers when you do something extremely difficult and uncomfortable together. Eventually we made it. We spent ten hours with these guys. Learning about their families, how they did the same hike together when they were teenagers, how Andy had been battling Parkinson’s and what actually is truly important in life. They were all local. Van is a guide who lives in a small town about 30 minutes from the park entrance.

They had so much insight about the history of the park and had plenty of recommendations for us. They truly made this trip so special, and I am so lucky I got to meet them.

This was the first time I could tell a story with my film photography. I look at these photos often to relive this day in my memory. I had never shot in snow before and Portra 400 did incredible. I was so pleased when I received the photos. I am definitely still a beginner when it comes to film photography, but this roll inspired me to keep practicing.

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