In The Words of John Muir

"The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness." John Muir spoke those words and by wilderness implied all that is green and majestic in this world. The forests of Mt. Rainier, where those words are posted, certainly qualify as one of those paths. From Longmire meadow it may have well been the beauty of the universe we were looking at. Mt. Rainier towered in the sky ahead of us. From her crest spills 25 glaciers, more than any other mountain in the United States, outside of Alaska.

The Longmire family long ago discovered the beauty of this area and sought to bring it to others. In 1883, while on a climbing trip to Mt. Rainier, James Longmire happened upon a meadow and in the meadow, a mineral springs. The following year his family founded, "Longmire Medical Springs", and made accessible to venturesome travelers, the healthful qualities of the mountain air and the healing powers of warm mineral water. That medical spring is no longer around, but even now the smell of the trees and the soil, the soothing sound of falling water and the cold breezes off the glaciers around Rainier hold its magical healing power.