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Here we are beginning our hike to the Grove Of The Patriarchs.

"The Grove of the Patriarchs in Mount Rainier National Park is a grove of ancient trees protected from fire for more than 1,000 years by its location on an island in the Ohanapecosh River. The most impressive things about old-growth trees are the time and space they represent. A gnarly red cedar might grow to 15 feet wide at the butt over 1,000 years, its trunk splitting into multiple spears poking the clouds 200 feet up. The bark of a 500-year-old, 280-foot-tall Douglas fir can grow to a foot thick, and its needles -- if laid flat side by side -- would cover three-quarters of an acre."