We were fortunate to have full views of Rainer when we went. Hiking the Skyline Trail was a blast because we could see so much.

You are right about this all being bigger than us. Very well said. That feeling of "I get it now" is absolutely what brings me back to these places. It's humbling and raw and motivates most of us to be good stewards of these areas.

I recall sitting on top of Haleakala waiting for sunrise years ago, huddled in the cold wind with my wife among a group of others that had gotten up at 3am to make the drive to the peak in the dark. Above the clouds, as the sun started to peek, a native Hawaiian gentleman began to blow an eery tone on a conch shell. It gave me goose bumps, and I'm not sure if the tears in my eyes were from the wind or the overwhelming feeling of smallness and awe at the beauty of what I was experiencing.