We started planning early this year as you have to reserve your daily campsite early. Thanks to Pam sending me their itinerary, I had something to work with. I plotted out our trip, including one night in a hotel located in the park, sent in our reservations, and received a confirmation a few weeks later. We were all set to go!
We did quite a few training backpacking trips in to the Sierra's, close to our home, dailing in our systems and getting our packs as light as possible. We read many books on ultralight backpacking, consulted quite a few websites, and watched a lot of YouTube videos in preparation. And the ultimate in geeky - we weighed each item in our packs, including our pack, and recorded it on a spreadsheet. Yeah, I know, but we were determined to go as light as possible.
Finally, the time came for us to go hike our trail and we could not wait! Here are excepts from the diary I kept while we hiked:
August 13 - Day 1
Sonya's pack weight, including water/food: 26.5 lbs
Kate's pack weight, including water/food: 22.8 lbs
Kate's pack and sleeping bag were both lighter than mine which is why her pack weighed less.
Ready to go!
Start: Paul's Peak Trailhead
Finish: South Mowich
Distance: 4.3 miles
Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Peak elevation:
Net elevation change: -945
Gross elevation gain: 220'
Gross elevation loss: 1,014'
We accessed the Wonderland Trail via Paul's Peak trail - partly because we could not get reservations at Mowich Lake and also because we wanted to add some mileage to the hike to make it a full 100 miles.
This was a very easy day, mostly downill. I was hoping to hike off the two Krispy Kreme donuts I ate this morning, but I seriously doubt that happened. The first mile and a half of the trail was woodsy and cool and then we descened a steep hill (switchbacks, lots o' switchbacks) with our first views of Rainier.
Rainier from Paul's Peak Trail
This was a nice, leisurely way to kick off our trip and we enjoyed our day. We arrived at our campsite fairly early, with enough time to relax and read (me) and for Kate to make tarp tent configurations, which gave her hours of enjoyment.
Kate's creations - amazing what you can do with your rain poncho!
Group shelter at the campsite.
There were bear poles at every campsite - so much nicer than carrying a bear cannister.
The last 4-sided privy we would see for a while...
Rock art next to the river.
April 14 - Day 2
Start: South Mowich
Finish: Eagle's Roost
Distance: 6.1 miles
Time: 4 hours, 13 minutes
Peak elevation:
Net elevation change: +2,037
Gross elevation gain: 2,516
Gross elevation loss: 476'
Another fairly easy day, but lots of uphill. We did not mind it, though, and really enjoyed the scenery.
We never had a problem finding water - it was rather abundant throughout the trail.
The trail was really nice until we decided to make a side trip to check out Mowich Lake. Unbeknownst to us, it was "National Parks Free Admission" Day, so it was completely mobbed with people. We easily passed 60+ people who were returning to Mowich Lake after hiking to Spray Park.
Mowich Lake
Eagle's Roost is a really nice campsite and we once again arrived early enough to have some nice relaxation time.
Eagle's Roost viewing area
Somehow a mouse managed to get up the bear pole and chew a hole in my bag; however, he did not make it to the "goods" inside!
Two-sided privy.
April 15 - Day 3
Start: Eagle's Roost
Finish: Dick Creek
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 5 hours, 45 minutes
Peak elevation:
Net elevation change: -700
Gross elevation gain: 2,303'
Gross elevation loss: 2,713'
Spray Park was AMAZING! It was a little bit crowded, but with views like that, who cares?
Entering Spray Park
It was peak wildflower season and their vibrant colors were everywhere
Rainier was magnificent!
The path to heaven...
We crossed our first snowfield, which was uneventful.
Snowfield in Spray Park
We eventually started to descend out of Spray Park, still with amazing scenery. Eventually, we came to our first suspension bridge.
Yikes!
We crossed with no problems and eventually we saw our first glacier - Carbon Glacier. We had to hike about a mile or so uphill to get to our campsite at Dick Creek - there was a pretty steep drop to our right, where Carbon Glacier is, and we heard several rockfalls on the Glacier - scary! This last mile was brutal as we were in the direct sun, with temperaturs in the 80s.
Carbon Glacier snout
We were grateful to finally arrive in our camp, rehydrate, and set up our tent from which we had an excellent view.
View from the tent
Time to do some laundry
No walls on this privy, but a very pleasant view!
August 16 - Day 4
Start: Dick Creek
Finish: Granite Creek
Distance: 8.1 miles
Time: 5 hours, 41 minutes
Peak elevation:
Net elevation change: -90
Gross elevation gain: 3,004'
Gross elevation loss:
Start: Dick Creek
Finish: Granite Creek
The trail started our fairly level and there are not many level sections of the Wonderland Trail - you're usually hiking up or down, but not straight very often. The views were amazing.
We then passed Winthrop Glacier and once again heard and saw quite a bit of rockfall. It is cool, but can also be a bit unnerving.
Winthrop Glacier
There was a bit of a steep climb up to Granite Creek, but it was well worth it as it was a beautiful campsite and probably my favorite one. Okay, one of my favorites. The creek was beautiful and bubbly and we dipped our toes in to the shockingly cold water to wash off the trail dust. I took the opportunity to wash my Injini socks.
My secret weapon against blisters (thank you Canadian Karen)
Kate had plenty of time to work on her tarp creations.
A vestibule she created
Plenty of room!
Then it was dinner time. We usually ate vegetarian freeze-dried meals or Ramen - simple and lightweight.
Ramen - a staple in Kate's diet when we are backpacking
August 17 - Day 5
Start: Granite Creek
Finish: White River Campground
Distance: 7.2 miles
Time: 4 hours, 25 minutes
Peak elevation:
Net elevation change: -1,421
Gross elevation gain: 1,345'
Gross elevation loss: 2,785'
Today was a big day for us as we were hiking to Sunrise, a big tourist area with a restaurant and ranger station. It was also where we were picking up our first food drop. However, we were most excited about eating "real" food.
View of Rainier from the trail to Sunrise
A marmot guarding the trail
Sunrise from a distance
We arrived at Sunrise, checked to make sure our cache was there, and headed in to the restaurant. We ate boca burgers, potato salad, and root beer. We topped it off with a little dessert.
Yes, some real beer as well - it tastes good with cake
We picked up our cache and sorted out all the items we didn't need, as well as some out of our pack to make our loads even lighter and the staff at Sunrise was kind enough to mail the container back home for us. We made one tiny mistake in mailing our cache - we forgot to add water purification tablets and we did not have enough for the next four days. Surprisingly, the small Sunrise store does not carry these, but luckily, an off-duty ranger had some in her car, so we paid her for them and all was saved!
We then hiked 3.1+ miles down to White River Campground - it seemed a very long ways down. My knee was starting to ache by the time we arrived, but we had plenty of Advil on us to stave off the pain. The campground is nice, but more of a car-camping area. The W.T. hikers campsite was away from the public sites and, while all the other campsites had fire pits, we did not, so we got to watch other people have campfires. Oh well, we didn't have marshmallows anyway. It was nice to have running water and flushing toilets for a night.
August 18 - Day 6
Start: White River Campground
Finish: IndianBar
Distance: 11.2 miles
Time: 5 hours, 50 minutes
Peak elevation: 6,585'
Net elevation change: +814
Gross elevation gain: 3,163'
Gross elevation loss: 1,368'
Wow, what a day! Today was the toughest day so far for me, in more ways than one. First, I miscalculated the mileage for the day - I thought it was a 9-mile hike, but it is actually over 11 miles. The first few miles were level and we really enjoyed the reprieve from all the up and down. We then headed up to Summerland, which was absolutely beautiful.
On the way to Summerland
Eating lunch at the Summerland shelter
View from Summerland - we have to go over the pass, called Panhandle Gap
Today we had to cross many snowfields, most were easy to cross, but they did slow us down. In Panhandle Gap, we had to cross over the pass and to do this, we had to ascend a steep snow traverse, with a sheer, nasty drop on our right with rocks at the bottom. You did not want to slip here! It was scary, but we ascended it slowly and carefully and soon we were over the top. I wish I had a picture of this, but I think I was too nervous to remember to take one! This was truly the crux of the entire Wonderland Trail, but it was not that bad at all.
We were very lucky to cross Panhandle Gap in good weather because the views were breathtaking.
Pretty little stream on the way to Panhandle Gap
Snowbowl
I believe this is Mount Adams off in the distance
We eventually started descending a long ridgeline in to Indian Bar. The stone shelter came in to view after a few miles.
The ridge leading to Indian Bar
Stone group shelter at Indian Bar
August 19 - Day 7
Start: Indian Bar
Finish: Maple Creek
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 5 hours, 36 minutes
Peak elevation: 5,774'
Net elevation change: -2,224
Gross elevation gain: 1,677'
Gross elevation loss: 3,888'
The next morning we woke up to our first gray sky, heavy fog, and light misting.
Chilly morning
We didn't mind the weather - once we got started, we warmed up quickly. It was actually quite beautiful and somewhat ethereal.
We even caught a glimpse of the elusive "alpine chickens..."
Alpine chicken
By noon, the sun was shining brightly. We hiked through good tree coverage, downhill most of the way to our campsite and had a restful, uneventful evening.
August 20 - Day 8
Start: Maple Creek
Finish: Paradise Creek
Distance: 7.8 miles
Time: 5 hours
Peak elevation: 5,338'
Net elevation change: +1,201'
Gross elevation gain: 2,927'
Gross elevation loss: 1,745'
We thought this was going to be a fairly easy day, but it turned out to be not quite. The first few hours of hiking was pretty much all uphill, but the cooler temps (as it was cloudy in the morning again) made it bearable. We then hiked close to the road for a while.
Cars!
Pretty waterfall
Reflection Lake
In all her glory
The lure of boca burgers proved to be too tempting to us, so we made a side trip, and an additional 1,000' of elevation gain, to Paradise visitor center. It was a beautiful place and very relaxing to hang out at and have a nice meal - well worth the extra elevation gain.
Paradise
I'm happy!
Kate's happy!
We watched a short interpretive film about Rainier and it had absolutely amazing cinematography. We learned so much from it regarding the history of mountaineering as well as the geological aspects of Rainier as I think we sometimes forget it is very much an active volcano.
We got the weather forecast while at Paradise and a cold front is moving in, but should be gone in a couple of days.
August 21, 2010 - Day 9
Start: Paradise
Finish: Longmire
Distance: 3.6 miles
Time: 2 hours
Peak elevation: 3,940'
Net elevation change: -1,211
Gross gain: 23'
Gross elevation loss: 1,184'
We had a pleasant hike this morning, all downhill, in to Longmire, where we had reservations at National Park Inn for one night.
Morning coffee
Remains of old wooden water pipe - metal coil surrounding it
Nisqually River crossing
Arrived in Longmire - first order of business, coffee beverage for Kate
Kate admiring the vehicle they used to transport passengers from Longmire to Paradise
Ahhhh, relaxation!
We had a nice meal, checked out the museums, picked up our second food cache (and promptly removed half to send home), checked the weather, and then headed to the room so I could take a nice, long soak in the tub. Horror of all horrors, the hotel did not provide a blow dryer, so my hair went au naturel, i.e., frizzy/curly q-tip. Oh well, this is trail life, so who cares? Despite the lack of blow dryer, the inn is very quaint and comfortable with good food, albeit on the expensive side. It was a nice break from the trail.
Rain is forecasted for tomorrow...
August 22 - Day 10
Start: Longmire
Finish: Devil's Dream
Distance: 5.7 miles
Time: 3 hours, 5 minutes
Peak elevation: 4,754'
Net elevation change: +2,073'
Gross elevation gain: 2,379'
Gross elevation loss: 351'
After a somewhat sleepless night (go figure) at the inn, we woke to gray skies threatening rain and cooler temperatures. The weather forecast was for scattered showers through the evening and then back to sunny skies. If we only had to deal with one day of truly bad weather, I feel we were very fortunate. We had a wonderful breakfast of blueberry pancakes (me) and scrambled eggs w/cheese (Kate), washed our laundry, and then hit the trail around noon.
The clouds parted briefly for a glimpse of Rainier
Most people start or finish with this shot - we've still got 4 days of hiking
Eventually, it started raining, but it was a fairly gentle rain. We were prepared and finally were able to don our fine-looking ponchos that so far had only provided evening amusement to Kate as tarp tent set-ups.
Kate makes this look good!
I just look silly - we affectionately nicknamed my poncho the banana slug
Colorful berries next to the trail
We each had daily camp duties and Kate's was to set up the tent while mine was to put it away in the morning, so she had the pleasure of setting it up in the rain while I snapped the obligatory photos.
Kate putting spreading out our ultralight tent footprint, which is actually a lightweight space blanket - worked great and weighs next to nothing.
August 23, 2010 - Day 11
Start: Devil's Dream
Finish: Klapatche Park
Distance: 10.1 miles
Time: 6 hours, 21 minutes
Peak elevation: 5,807'
Net elevation change: +584
Gross elevation gain: 3,885'
Gross elevation loss: 3,320'
Today was the highest elevation gain so far, but it wasn't that difficult for us - I guess we're finally getting in to shape! The day started off beautiful, crisp, and sunny and the scenery was amazing.
A little bit of frost to start off the morning
Beautiful wildflowers
Indian Henry's
Signing the register to say "hi" to other hikers
Crossing the suspension bridge over Tahoma Creek - we are old hats at this now
Kate
The trail quickly climbs high above the bridge
The terrain becomes more rugged
And then we arrive to the beautiful Emerald Ridge, aptly named
Looking down from the bridge at South Puyallup River
At times the foliage was so thick across the trail you almost had to bushwack
Kate at the top of another ridge
Sunset from our campsite at Klapatche
Kate preparing dinner
The moon rising
When the moon rises, so do the shadow demons (aka Kate's fork with the tine broken out of it)!
August 24 - Day 12
Start: Klapatche Park
Finish: Golden Lakes
Distance: 7.8 miles
Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes
Peak elevation: 5,400'
Net elevation change: -469
Gross elevation gain: 1,795'
Gross elevation loss: 2,264
Today was a fairly short hike with very gradual elevation gain, which was quite pleasant.
Banana slug!
Hiking ridge that burned years ago
One of the Golden Lakes
Views from our tent...
Another tarp tent configuration
August 25 - Day 13
Start: Golden Lakes
Finish: Paul's Peak
Distance: 10.3 miles
Time: 4 hours, 55 minutes
Peak elevation: 4,905'
Net elevation change: -1,178
Gross elevation gain: 1,260'
Gross elevation loss: 2,438'
Today was our last day on the trail and we both had mixed emotions. We were excited, happy, and proud that we will have completed the trail, but also we were sad to be finished as we had loved every moment of it. It was wonderful to get away from everything - internet, phones, work, responsibility - and live a very simple life, with everything we needed on our backs. Lightweight, of course.
One of the Golden Lakes
This section of the trail was not the most scenic - it was mostly tree-covered which was great because the temperatures were back up in the 80s.
For nostalgic reasons, we wanted to stop at our first campsite, South Mowich, on our way out to reflect on how we felt on our first day/night on the trail, all of our experiences, and the wonderful people we met along the way.
Our last view of Rainier from Paul's Peak trail as we hiked out
The last bridge to cross
Back to the beginning
Kate headed to the car
This is not the end, but the beginning of many backpacking trips to come as through this adventure, we learned more about ourselves, nature, and simplicity and we felt a true sense of being "home."
Thanks for taking the time to share your story. Great read and photos. Hoping to do the Wonderland this summer.
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