Karen Sykes of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer went to see how bad the recent rains had damaged Mount Rainier National Park.

From the entrance, the first mile or so of road is in good shape, as if nothing had happened. The silence was thick and almost oppressive. When we passed a lone hiker, he seemed surprised to see us, as if we’d wakened him from a dream. We began to entertain hopes that maybe conditions weren’t as bad as we had heard.

There it was. Or wasn’t. The road, that is. It’s simply gone, taken over by a channel of the river. A cairn marks the beginning of the washout, but experienced hikers can carry on. Rangers have flagged a route through the mess of toppled trees, piles of gravel and sand, which are interspersed with surviving road — some good stretches, others undercut and eroded.

Sykes cautions that hikers should contact the park before planning any treks there.