[williswall]

Once again I am thankful to be healthy enough to pull off another 3 day transit of Mt. Rainier’s Wonderland Trail. Most of my past Wonderland hikes have been in the fall, so this circuit in July provided some significant contrasts. The longer days meant I spent most of my trail time sans headlamp, putting in 14-15 hour days. I was able to get 6 hours of rest both nights. The flower show was sometimes astounding, with entire meadows carpeted with avalanche lilies and hillsides bursting with myriad colors. The temperatures were mild but not too cold at night; my minimalist fastpack kit was just right for the conditions. I was fit enough to enjoy less suffering than last year and more time enjoying my surroundings. It had been a while since I did a CCW route, so the views were fresh. I also chose the alternate route over Spray Park, last done in 2015. The climbs and descents were different. Everything about this hike was a delight with the exception of occasional periods of persistent mosquitos, something I avoided in my fall hikes. Another downside: trail maintenance on the west side of the mountain was lacking. I encountered a fair number of blowdowns, some requiring crotch -stretching-bark burning gyrations to get around or under behemoth trees. The South Mowich River crossing was still lacking a bridge, requiring a ford (assisted by a steel cable strung across). With the rivers running higher as the day progressed, this posed a problem for people crossing the river later in the day. I crossed at 5:30 AM with mid shin depth, but one report from 8 PM had the water over the cable. For my almost 40 years in the park the stats for the Wonderland have been 93 miles with 22,000’ of climb/descent; this is what I based my days on. However, after tracking with GPS and Strava for a few years, the numbers for myself (and others reported on line) consistently come in higher. My totals were 101 miles with over 25,000’ of climb for the 3 days. I sometimes question the accuracy of Strava but I mention it here for people who are using these tools for tracking. My Strava stats: Day 1: Longmire to White River (CCW)-34.77 miles/8,787’…..Day 2: White River to So. Mowich River Camp-31.64 miles/8,198’…..Day 3: So. Mowich River Camp to Longmire-34.91 miles/8,720’. Adjust accordingly to mitigate surprises. See my previous blog article for my kit….with food I guestimate 13 pounds. I never needed to carry more than 20 ozs of water, always spiked with Tailwind; the mild temperatures surely helped with this, as there were only a few periods where I was actually sweating. I judge myself to be in decent shape from hiking, biking and skiing. However, my legs were barking at the end of day 1 due to lack of downhill training. Otherwise I had no physical problems. My feet needed no attention and my pack was unnoticeable. Last year in my video of hike #32 I made the statement “maybe these 3 day hikes will become untenable”…. this will surely happen as I get older but I am encouraged by the fact that, at age 66, this was probably my best 3 day hike since the 90’s. For this I am thankful and look forward to next year’s Wonderland Trail Hike #34, whatever form that may take. Happy Hiking! NOTE: the VLOG follows the photos (28 mins)

Avalanche Lilies

Caution

Nisqually River

Reflection Lake

Reflection Lake2

Louise Lake

Smashed

The View

Near Indian Bar

Ohanapecosh Park

Ohanapecosh Park2

Ohanapecosh Park3

The Green Tarn

Approaching Summerland

Summerland

White River

Skyscraper Pass

Winthrop Glacier

Mystic Lake

Carbon River

The Way

Spray Park

Spray Park2

Spray Park3

State of disrepair

Golden Lakes

Golden Lakes2

Sunset Park

Flowered path2

Aurora Lake

Wonderland sign

St Andrews Lake

Flowered path

lilly explosion

Emerald Ridge

Emerald Ridge2

Emerald Ridge3

Indian Henrys

Squaw Lake

Forest path

Ghostly formation

[zimmertr]

Congrats to #33! 3 days is no easy feat. Looks like you had great weather and didn't have any problems with wildfire smoke. Did you see anything new? Do you have any favorite moments from your 32 other trips around Wonderland that stand out? My girlfriend, a friend from Michigan, and I are starting our permit on 8/2. Hopefully we'll have similar conditions! Do you have any favorite side trips or tips you can recommend? We'll be doing it over 12 days so we'll have lots of downtime. I've had my eye on Cat Eye Lake below Flett Glacier and I definitely want to hike up to the lateral moraine of the Carbon Glacier. The South Mowich River crossing looks pretty terrifying but based on how wet your pants are at the end it might be a trick of the camera. Unfortunately we'll be coming from Klapatche Park that day so unless we get a very early alpine start I don't see us hiking the 13 miles to the river crossing before mid day. So that's going to be fun. Think we would get in trouble if we find it too sketchy to cross and set up camp on the river and cross the next morning? We would otherwise be camping at the South Mowich River Camp anyway.

[neek]

Excellent! I'd love to 3-day this sometime. Crazy kit you've got there. Strava does tend to overestimate; trouble smoothing certain types of jitter I guess. Kudos for being able to choke down pop tarts.

[williswall]

Zimmertr....side trips: yes, Cat Eye lake is cool but Echo Rock is unique and not as far as doing Observation, which is also spectacular. Skyscraper Mountain is close from the trail, and in the same area the Fremont Lookout has very nice views. Curtis Ridge (Carbon moraine) is one of my favorite places in the park. There are a couple of logs upstream from the So. Mowich crossing that were used by someone at 8 PM recently as the cable was under water. He said it's about .5 miles up river...not convenient but it can be done. As for getting in trouble, no...I didn't see one ranger on my trip but safety comes first, no one will give you grief for that. Who knows, by then they might have a bridge in...the current situation is pretty lame. I always see and experience something new on this trail. But this trip, being earlier in the season, was especially cool because most of my hiking was in daylight. I love early morning before the sun comes up and late afternoon....plus nobody else is usually on the trail....crossing over Emerald Ridge was especially cool. So many things, just can't begin to cover it. I hope you have a fantastic time on the trail and enjoy every minute, including the tough times.

[raising3hikers]

Way to go at 66. Keep it going. That 1st pic of emerald ridge is something amazing!

[Popcorn]

Beautiful pics and video, as usual! The Stevens Canyon Washout traverse looks pretty hairy. Do you know whether MORA people have any plans to improve or reroute it?

[Bernardo]

Wow. That is a feet/feat of hiking athleticism!! Congrats.

[MojaveGeek]

What a way to do the Wonderland! You are one strong hiker.