[kweb]

Full photo album in chronological order can be viewed here: http://s596.photobucket.com/albums/tt43/themtnfreak/Wonderland%20Trail%20%20July%206th%20-%2012th%202011/?start=all Originally this trip was going to be a little bit different as my buddy and I were planning on doing the Wonderland from start to finish at White River, then change from hiking to climbing gear and climb up the Emmons route and down the DC route. But with him and his wife adopting their second newborn just months before, he had to back out. I decided to continue with the Wonderland portion of the trip by myself. My first and only training hike for this trip was one week before when I hiked from the closed gate on Mowich Lake road (Paul Peak trailhead) to the Mowich Lake patrol cabin to drop off one of my two cache buckets (the other was mailed to the Longmire ranger station). That hike was 11mi RT with about 9mi of that in snow. I wore the same shoes that I was planning on using on the Wonderland. My calves were sore for days following this hike so I decided to switch from trail runners to my climbing boots. The most up to date information on Mt. Rainier’s website showed that the trail was still about 70% covered in snow, navigation would be very difficult and some of the water crossings were too dangerous to attempt. I prepared myself for the worst. My itinerary was for a 7 day trip. One day less than when I did the trail (starting on the same date) in 2005. Day 1- White River Campground to Indian Bar Camp (11.1mi 2925gain / 1925loss) Day 2- Indian Bar to Paradise River Camp (17.9mi 3470gain / 4460loss) cache at Longmire Day 3- Paradise River to S. Puyallup River Camp (15.4mi 4145gain / 3905loss) Day 4- S. Puyallup to Golden Lakes Camp (11.5mi 3450gain / 2465loss) cache at Mowich Lake Day 5- Golden Lakes to Eagles Roost Camp (12.2mi 2274gain / 2569loss) Day 6- Eagles Roost to Mystic Lake Camp (11.4mi 3980gain / 2090loss) Day 7- Mystic lake to White River Campground (14.1mi 1565gain / 3488loss) Day 1 begins with me checking in with two friendly rangers at the White River ranger station. One of them pulls up my permit and says, “Looks like you have some experience. That’s good. You’re going to need it.” She tells me that nobody has completed the trail yet. Most turn around before even reaching their first camp. The other ranger gives me some info on what to expect as far as snow conditions. One of the things he tells me is that the bridge to Indian bar is physically in but not usable as there is a ten foot wall of snow one either end of it. He recommended finding another crossing higher up. I let them know that I was prepared to fail and turn around if need be and that I’d check out with them regardless if I make it all the way around or only a few miles in. I’m on trail by 9am heading to Summerland then onto Indian Bar.

The trail is mostly snow free at the start but by 11am it’s more or less all snow and the hot sun is making it very soft. I can see a few boot tracks, some snowshoe tracks, and even some ski tracks as I head towards Summerland.

Just before 1pm I spot a team of 6 ascending towards Little Tahoma Peak.

At 1pm I reach the Summerland shelter where I stop for a quick lunch break and chat with a day hiker.

Back on trail at 1:30pm. At 2:50pm I’m traversing across to Panhandle Pass in the boot path left by two guys just an hour or so ahead of me.

I cross paths with them a little later and they ask where I’m headed. I tell them I’m camping at Indian Bar for the night. They wish me luck finding it as they have been having some navigation difficulties. It’s at this point when I realize this trip will be nothing like my trip around in 2005. The landscape is much different under all of this snow. Route finding gets difficult from here as the snow plays tricks on your eyes. I’m using a Garmin 60csx GPS to help me find my way but it’s pointing me in directions that are not safe to travel because of the snow. The hot sun is glaring off the snow, the air is dry and my water bottles are quickly becoming empty. As I wipe my nose, I notice it has been bleeding. This, added to the extra time it’s taking me to reach my camp, and my lack of water begins to worry me. Luckily I find some exposed rocks with some water trickling down them. I tank up and rehydrate. Felling much better than whatever animal just lost its life here

I move on. At 5:40 I’m finally on a ridge looking down toward the Indian Bar shelter. As I get closer, I can just see the top corners of it peaking out over the snow.

Walking along the stream I approach the bridge that the ranger warned me about.

I can see why he recommended finding an alternate way across. I search up stream for a few minutes but at this point, it’s already after 6pm. I either need to cross now or set up camp and cross in the morning. With my next day being my longest mileage day, I decide to man up and cross it now. I climbed down the snow and walked along then climbed up the rocks to the bridge. Walked across the bridge and around the post and positioned myself between the trees and the ten foot wall of snow. Doing a combination of step kicking, tree climbing, and crazy acrobatics, I managed to top out onto the snow just where the picture cuts off. From there I hiked up trail another 10 minutes and began to set up camp. Just as I finished stomping out a platform in the snow for my tarp and bivy, something caught my eye behind a tree. I discover a few items tucked away that made my night just a bit easier (thanks NOLS). After setting up camp I had to walk back to the stream to get water for dinner and breakfast. The snow bank at the bridge crossing was out of the question so I had to travel about 400 yards from camp to find a lower bank. I filled up a gallon zip-lock bag with water, loaded it in the back pocket of my pack, and made my way back to camp. By the time I changed into my dry camp clothes and ate dinner, the 70+ degree day time temps had dropped into the lower 40’s. I settled down into my bivy at 9:40pm. GPS mileage: 14.2 miles Time from start to camp: 10hrs Day 2 I wake up at 4:40 am to perfectly clear skies.

I enjoy a quiet and relaxing breakfast, packed up camp, and was on trail at 6:20am.

The first part of the day continued on snow and offered some great views of Rainier, and the southern cascades.

As I descend into the trees, I found the snow a bit firmer and easier to walk on. Unfortunately for my shins, I also found that breaking through the crust and post holing will became all too familiar to them. Each time I broke through, my shins would scrap down on the icy crust and tear them up. At 10:27am I finally walk on a dirt trail again. I pass through Nickel Creek camp at 10:40am and Maple Creek at 12:15. About a mile or two past Maple Creek, I cross a pretty washed out area that left the trail very loose and less than two feet wide. Not a good spot for those scared of heights.

The section along Reflection lakes that parallels the road offered me two options: Option 1: keep traveling in the soft deep snow at 1 mile an hour Option 2: jump up to the road and walk the pavement at 3 miles an hour I chose option 2. In doing so, I reached my planned camp site at 3:50pm. Without even stopping, I decided to continue on another 4 miles to Longmire and try my luck at getting a room for the night. That move payed off. I got a room, picked up my cache, took a shower, had dinner at the Inn (pot roast, mashed potatoes with gravy, asparagus and tomato basil soup) and rested peacefully after a long day. GPS mileage: 24.1 miles Time from camp to camp: 11hrs 10min Day 3 I was on trail by 5:40am. I pass through Pyramid Creek camp at 7:20 and find myself somewhere in the vicinity of Devils Dream at 9:20. The trail there was under snow and in tree cover so navigating was a bit difficult. I spotted some random boot prints leading to nowhere. I assume it was from someone starting in Longmire looking to camp at Devils Dream. I continue on and walk along a stream for a minute on my way to Indian Henry’s.

I reach Indian Henry’s patrol cabin at 11am and stop for a snack on the front porch.

From here I begin to descend into the trees. Navigation gets tricky and for the next two hours, I bushwhack though the deep woods as any evidence of a trail is hidden well under the snow. I need to find the trail fast or I will be looking up at the Tahoma Creek suspension bridge. Finally, about a mile before the bridge, I’m on bare ground and back on the trail. As I approach the bridge at 1:30pm, I discover a bunch of blown down trees that might be blocking its access.

My initial though of course is, “I better be able to get across this thing.” Luckily, it wasn’t hard to scoot around the side and make my way onto it. From here the hike continues to gain elevation and I find myself crossing snow covered ridge after ridge.

I finally start to descend downhill and arrive at South Puyallup Camp at 5:40pm.

I rinse off in a stream feeding the river, soak up some wonderful late afternoon sun, then relax and eat dinner.

I settle down that night just after 9pm. My bivy has a mesh window to allow for ventilation but I still like to leave it open 2-3” so I can fell the cool night air across my face. At 1am however, I learn that leaving it open wasn’t the greatest of ideas. In 2005 when I did this trip, I also did the tarp/bivy combo. But on all but one of the nights, I just slept under the tarp and didn’t get inside the bivy. On most of those nights, I would feel mice running over my hands. Creepy, but not a huge deal. Well, this time was different. I feel something hit my forehead and I immediately swat it away thinking, “Damn mice.” As I fall back asleep I begin to wonder if that was just a dream. It wasn’t. Just a few minutes later I feel that thing crawling around at my feet, INSIDE MY BIVY SACK! I resist the urge to jump up because I’m still zipped inside the bivy and I don’t want mice guts all over me. I calmly unzip the bivy, crawl out, and give the little critter a minute to find its own way out. In the meantime I run my hand over my face again. Gross, the darn thing pooped on me. I go over to my bivy and shine my headlamp inside. No sign of him but he left plenty of little droppings for me to clean out. After turning that bivy sack inside out 4-5 times and shaking it, I’m back inside and FULLY zipped up at 1:40am. GPS mileage: 15.3 miles Time from camp to camp: 12hrs Day 4 starts off with a side trip to see “the devils pipe organ” which is conveniently located directly across from the toilet.

I’m on trail by 6:15am and heading uphill towards St. Andrews Park (5,800’). Today involves some long stretches of snow travel on various slops. The trail itself which is under snow, involves switchback after switchback. I opt for a more difficult but direct line and shoot right up the steep slope. From the top of one ridge I glance down and see the remains of a cornice that broke loss from the ridge across the way.

I find out a few minutes later that the Wonderland goes directly through the debris. I search for an alternate route but every one of them will add an hour or so and expose me to avalanche prone slopes. Luckily it was still fairly early in the morning (9am) and the sun had just reached the path I needed to take. So I glissade down the first slope, move quickly to the next, and then drop down and through the debris.

Twenty minutes later the views of the Sunset Amphitheater keep drawing my attention.

At almost 11am I look back and can still see the slope I glissaded down almost an hour and a half ago.

The long snow travel is starting to tire me but with another descent and ascent up to Golden Lakes, I needed to keep moving. Three miles and over two hours later I’m passing through N. Puyallup camp.

During the ascent up to Golden Lakes my GPS loses its signal. I’m standing in a snow field mostly out of tree cover and I still can’t get a signal. Luckily I know I have about a 3/4mile stretch of traveling in a fairly straight line. I get a compass reading and start heading from one point to the next. About a half hour later my GPS locks in a signal again and I’m within 20’ of the trail. I continue on with my GPS in one hand and a trekking pole in the other. I keep expecting to see the Golden Lakes Patrol cabin at any moment but it never shows itself. The snow was consistent but not deep enough to cover the cabin. And I’m traveling exactly where the GPS says the trail is. At 6:20pm I pop out from some tress and I’m standing fifteen feet away from one of the lakes.

I continue to look for the cabin for another hour but don’t see it anywhere. In 2005 when I passed through here, the cabin was just off trail and the lakes were out of view behind it. I don’t know how this time I’m right on the lake but can’t find the cabin. At 7:40pm I finally decide to just set up camp right at the foot of one of the lakes (I think I found three in all).

I’m settled in and ready to sleep by 9:40. That night was expectedly cold but I stayed plenty warm. GPS mileage: 14.2mi Time from camp to camp: 13hrs 25min Day 5 I sleep through my 4am alarm and wake up at 4:30. No big deal. I can snack on the trail and find a warmer spot to eat a real breakfast later on. I’m off and moving by 6:15am. From Golden Lakes I begin the 6 mile descent down to the Mowich River. I reach the South Mowich shelter at 9:20am and sit down for breakfast.

After breakfast, I refill my water bottles, pack up and begin the 2,400ft climb to Mowich Lake to pick up my last cache. At 1:45pm I’m reaching in the big metal box at the patrol cabin and grabbing the only bucket in there (my cache). By 2:15 I’m all supplied for the rest of the trip and headed to Eagles Roost. Shortly after leaving the parking lot (now covered in 8 feet of snow instead of the 9 feet from a week and a half ago) I cross paths with two rangers. One of them makes a comment about this being the first time he has had to check a permit this year. We talk for a few minutes about the conditions on the trail. As we part, I ask if they can call my wife and let her know all is well. Being 7 months pregnant and home alone with our 3 year old is stressful enough. By 4pm I’m unpacking and setting up camp at Eagles Roost.

This is the earliest I have arrived to camp and I take advantage of it. I make the trek back uphill to the nearest stream and rinse off. Back at camp I plop myself down and just stare at the mountain partially hidden behind the trees. I watch it change color as the sun moves across the sky.

Just as I’m getting ready to eat, a ranger drops down to my camp and we chat for a bit. It’s funny how they are asking me what the trail conditions are like and not vice versa. I stuff my face and relax a bit more before hitting the sack at 9:30pm. GPS mileage: 16.8mi Time from camp to camp: 9hrs 45min Day 6 starts with me on trail before 6am. This time I planned to miss breakfast and enjoy it somewhere near Spray Park. I find a big rock in the middle of a snow field to sit down to enjoy my 6th freeze dried scrambled eggs with bacon and red and green peppers. The view directly across from me was great. Blue skies peeking out from behind the thin upper clouds. And a low cloud making its way up from the valley below.

I move slowly from Spray to Seattle Park taking in the views. I stop to compare foot prints with a critter that must have just missed me.

At about 10:30am I approach a pretty wide stream with no obvious crossing point. Luckily there are a number of 20lb rocks nearby to toss in and walk across. As I descend down the snow, I follow the trail by arrows painted on exposed rocks rather than my GPS

And I soon find myself wishing the trees lower down were painted to show the way as well. Descending from Seattle Park to Cataract Valley gets to be very challenging. My GPS is pointing me directly over cliffs and into valleys. Maybe there is a trail under that snow but I’m not about to drop 1,000 feet thanks to an unplanned glissade. There are a few short sections that level out where I am able to do some standing glissades.

I zigzag back and forth until the tree cover begins. The snow slowly gives way to bare ground as I continue to descend but the trail is nowhere in sight. My map shows the trail follows the river so I give up finding the trail in the immediate area and decide to just descend alongside the river and keep a lookout for the trail. Awhile later I finally see a log that has been cut with a chain saw and know that the trail is close by. I’m smart enough to know that Mother Nature does not down trees and clear paths with chain saws. I’m back on trail and loving life again. At 1pm I cross the Carbon River junction and begin ascending steeply up along the Carbon Glacier. There is a mild breeze but it’s not nearly enough to cool the hot afternoon sun while climbing up almost 4,000ft. As the beads of sweat are now pouring off of my head, I begin to day dream of taking a refreshing dip in Mystic Lake. After two steady hours of climbing, I didn’t even realize the sun had disappeared behind the clouds. The trail is now changing to snow as I pass 4,700ft.

The clouds are getting thick and the fog begins to roll in. I can feel the moisture in the air. My dreams of cooling off in Mystic Lake are now a distant memory. My energy level has also changed. My stomach feels sour and each step is getting more and more taxing. I still have a couple more miles to go before I reach Mystic Lake but it feels like it’s getting farther away. Finally, at 5:30pm, I reach camp in a slight drizzle. I set up camp and head out to grab some water. After dinner, I find myself looking for anything else to eat. Seems my sour stomach and lack of energy was simply extreme hunger. I guess 6 straight days of 15+ miles is finally taking its toll on me. But now that I have been well fed, I feel better and take a few minutes to lay back and relax a bit.

By 9pm, I’m settled in and ready to sleep. GPS mileage: 15.1 Time from camp to camp: 11.5hrs Day 7, my final day, starts of cold and wet. I do all of my packing from under my tarp this morning. For the last 6 days, the only purpose my rain pants have served is as a pillow inside a stuff sack. Finally, this morning, I put them on and hit the trail at 5:40am. The day starts off with a descent into the tree cover. The combination of light rain and greenery is quite refreshing. Especially when I catch a whiff of the most delicious scent I have smelt in over a week. At first, I honestly thought it was women’s perfume. I soon realize it’s coming from a bush along the trail. I’m not sure what type of plant it is but each time I pass one, I stop and take in the aroma.

The low clouds mixing with the beautiful green is a nice change from the sun bouncing off all of the snow that has mostly dominated the trail.

The downfall to all of the trees however is that when the wind blows, they can fall. And it must had been windy in the days prior to me hitting the trail because there was about a two mile stretch in which I had to climb up, crawl under, or climb around about 20 fallen trees that were blocking the trail. The first encounter involved 5 trees that came down together lengthwise on the trail.

Climbing up towards Granite Creek, the trees again thinned out and the familiar sound of the snow crunching beneath my boots had returned. The terrain starts to head up hill one last time as I head towards Sunrise. And the further up I go, the less visibility I have.

I make my way up through Sunrise and don’t see a single soul. Plenty of boot and snowshoe tracks, but not another person in sight. I begin my final descent into the trees and for the last time, It’s back to the guessing game of, “I can’t see the trail, I wonder how close to it I really am?” Occasionally I would get surprised when through the snow, I would see evidence that I was traveling exactly where I should be.

I can hear the sounds of the White River below me in the valley. My body starts to feel light and the aches and pains in my knees begin to fade. I am almost done. What an amazing trip this has been. Every single day involved challenge after challenge. From dangerous snow crossings to having absolutely no idea where the actual Wonderland trail is, I have overcome everything that was put in front of me. I traveled over 100 miles, spent each night alone in camp and broke trail each and every day. At 4pm on day 7, my trip ends exactly how it began. It’s just me in the parking lot, with a huge smile on my face.

GPS mileage: 14.2 Time from camp to finish: 10hrs 20min Total GPS mileage: 113.9 From speaking with the Rangers on trail and when I checked out post hike, they believe I am the first one to successfully complete the Wonderland trail this year. The winter like snow conditions have turned away a number of parties before me. Most made it to their first camp and decided not to go any further. Some turned around just hours into the hike. For me to be the first almost sounds humorous. I am either an incredible bad ass, or just plan crazy. Whatever the case, this is one adventure I will not soon forget.

[Tomlike]

Bravo!

[blackdog102395]

Strong work!!!!!! Great report.

[silence]

bad ass great tr .. and awesome pix .. way to hang in there .. congrats on a job well done!

[stever]

Great job and great trip report. You rock dude! SR

[Hiker Diva]

Fun report.. Congrats

[Hikingqueen]

Way to go! I would have freaked at the mouse thing, it was bad enough they were in my car pooping, Ekk! I'd say Bad Ass for sure.

[Bandanabraids]

This is a great TR I'm gonna go with incredibly crazy bad ass. The mouse thing--totally gross. I would have freaked. Congrats on your totally amazing epic trip!

[grasshopper]

A Wonderland trip report in nearly solid snow. Wow! Trip Report of the Year 2011. Awesome job!

[Slugman]

Let's vote on the scariest part. I'm torn between the steep snowy slopes, that crossing of the bridge with the snow cliffs, and the mouse thing. Awesome report. What an epic journey. And to be the first, that's awesome. Someone has to be first every year, but I'll bet it usually isn't that hard.

[williswall]

My congratulations on an epic trip...my hat's off to you! And thanks for posting this report, it will be of tremendous help to others who are freaking about the trail this year.

[Ziploc]

Inspiring. Thanks for the TR That's a great looking picture of Indian Bar Shelter with just the corners sticking out.

[Wallabee]

Thanks as well for the awesome trip report! I'm still trying to judge whether our group can do a much smaller section (only from Mowich to Longmire) starting July 24th, and your trip report is helpful.

[JimL]

Superb report on a terrific adventure. Having done the Wonderland several times I have a good idea of how tough a trip this was. Well done.

[the Zachster]

FANTASTIC report!!! Congratulations on an awesome and successful trip!