Strap on the snow shoes

Mount Rainier National Park rangers are taking visitors on guided snowshoe walks on weekends beginning this month and continuing the first three months of 2015. The walks, which are free except for a $5 donation to help with the cost of providing snowshoes, leave the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center in Paradise on Saturdays and Sundays and on holidays from Dec. 24 GÇô Christmas Eve Day GÇô through March 29. They start at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. It's recommended that participants register at the visitor center one hour before the start time. The snowshoeing route covers just under two miles and takes as long as two hours to complete. It's considered a moderately strenuous activity, so participants must be at least 8 years old, wear sturdy boots, dress in layers, and have a hat, gloves, sunglasses and sunscreen, rangers said. Participants can use their own snowshoes. More information is available at 360-569-6575 and nps.gov/mora. Here's some of it: " Group sizes. Each group is limited to 25 people. " Organized groups of 10 to 25 can reserve space beginning Jan. 3. These walks begin at 2 p.m. on the same days as the general public walks. " The park-supplied snowshoes are only for ranger-guided walks. A concessionaire rents snowshoes at the Longmire General Store for snowshoeing elsewhere in the park.

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