I left the Kautz Creek trailhead around 11am, destined for the slopes of Mt. Ararat, a 6,010ft minor summit just to the south of Mt. Rainier. A mile from the trailhead, I was pleased to find a new bridge over Kautz Creek. The "bridge" was only a roughly hewn log with a railing, but that's all one really needs.
I reached the snow line at about 3,500ft. The snow on the ground slowly got thicker as I continued to climb up the trail. At one point, I took a break under a huge fir tree as the cloudy sky produced a few new flakes. It got a little more difficult to locate the trail as it broke out of the trees and crossed open snowy meadows, but I managed to stay on track
At around 5,000ft elevation, the snow was thick enough for me to switch to snowshoes. I continued up to a snowy bench at 5,900ft, just below the top of Mt. Ararat. It was nearly 5pm, and just starting to get dark. I set up my tent, and settled in for a long cold night.