Flood damage forces limited opening at Mt. Rainier

MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK — Mount Rainier National Park work crews have spent thousands of hours trying to repair the extensive damage from a freak November storm, and they’ve just barely accomplished enough to open a portion of the park this weekend.

This could be a long summer for both the mountain’s admirers and its laborers.

“We have some obstacles to overcome,” said Dave Uberuaga, park superintendent.

“Every road, every campground, every trail throughout the park was damaged to some extent,” he said. “Facilities that had not been damaged in the whole history were wiped out.”

The storm in early November broke records for precipitation, with 17.9 inches in 36 hours. The 41.3 inches that fell that month easily broke a park record for monthly rainfall, 32.4 inches in November 1990.

Then the gates were shut for the longest closure in park history.

The floodwaters and debris wiped out dikes, bridges, campgrounds and trails parkwide, and in the high country, high winds tore roofs off lookouts and ripped down trees.

Expect road closures and construction this summer.

Those traveling on foot will find surprises as well. By this time of year, the National Park Service has usually booked 60 percent of the hiking permits for the popular Wonderland Trail, a 93-mile meandering route through lowland forests to subalpine meadows.

Some segments of the trail will be impassible. Other paths have substantial damage and receding snow is revealing more problems.

“If you’re coming from the East Coast, and you’re thinking this is the year you want to do the trip of a lifetime, the Wonderland Trail, this is the year you might say, ‘I’ll wait until next year and see how it is,’ ” Uberuaga said.