SEATTLE — On a clear day, Mount Rainier is visible south of Boeing field.
But it's hidden the day we're slated to go on Kenmore Air's Mount Rainier & Mount St. Helens Volcano Tour, meant to show off the iconic mountain.
"Basically we'll take off out of Boeing Field, we'll take an hour and a half flight, we're going to go down around Mount Rainier, kinda take a loop around Mount. St. Helens, we should come back around Rainier again, see the other side and work our way back into Seattle,” explains Captain Scott Kanlyn, a Chief Pilot with Kenmore Air.
The missing mountain doesn't worry Captain Kanlyn, or today's pilot, Captain Ken VanWinkle.
"For most of the day even when it's cloudy you get up there, and the clouds usually stop right around 8000 feet. The Mountain goes all the way to just under 15,000, so we can usually go find it even if you can't see all of it. There's a lot of mountain there,” said Kanlyn.
As the Cessna Caravan climbs, it pierces the clouds that have been sitting over Seattle. Suddenly it's a sunny day, and the Mountain is out.
This view of Rainier is unlike any other, "So It's the only tour in the lower 48 that goes around glaciers."
Washington has more glaciers than any state in the lower 48 – Emmons Glacier, clearly visible on this flight, is the biggest in the continental United States.
Mount Rainier is massive this close -- especially when you consider that the tiny looking peak on its flank, Little Tahoma, is the third tallest peak in Washington. The second tallest peak, Mount Adams – is also clearly visible on this tour.
The scenic flight goes all the way to Mount St. Helens -- the rim and crater barely visible today, thanks to the high cloud cover. Then it loops back -- to take in Mount Rainier one more time, "The view never gets old. I have thousands of pictures of Mt. Rainier, but I always take more."
After slipping back under Seattle’s cloud cover and landing, we figure out why Kenmore’s scenic flight is so popular. People come for the mountain views -- and stay for the vitamin D.
Kenmore Air offers a variety of scenic flights including a Mother's Day Brunch Experience at Kiana Lodge.
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