In 2015, I set out to complete the Wonderland Trail in 6 days. The 93 mile loop circumnavigates Mount Rainier and is a rite of passage for many Pacific Northwest locals and backpackers from around the world. I had already completed the Washington State section of the Pacific Crest Trail (and 200 miles of the Oregon section) so it only seemed like a formality at that point. I had originally planned to go by myself but a last minute impulse had me request a permit for 2. A random conversation in the parking lot at the Sunrise trailhead later after I had won that permit connected me with Steve who had always wanted to hike the Wonderland. Two months later I set out with a stranger who probably hadn’t backpacked since the days of cassette tapes and acid wash jeans to do just that. My next few posts will be to share that story with you!
Arriving At THE Mountain
Although I debated back and forth about taking two cars so I could leave a cooler at Longmire, I finally just decided to take one car. Getting up at 4am on Sunday, July 19th, I loaded up my pack and resupply and headed down to Steve’s house where we left my car and took his for our drive down to the national park. I did bring a cooler so we would have cold items before starting out at Sunrise, as well as fresh fruit for when we got off trail at the end.
When you receive your confirmation letter for your permit, it tells you that you need to pick it up by 10am on the day of your hike. They also prefer that you pick it up at the ranger station closest to your starting point. I had called them the Friday before to tell them I would be picking it up at Longmire because that was our resupply. You can also call and let them know if you are going to pick up after 10am so they don’t turn your permit over to walk ups. I still wanted to get there by 10am because it allowed us more flexibility that day for side trips, etc. It is a bit of a drive from Longmire to Sunrise, and you never know about construction or tourist traffic.
We arrived at Longmire at 8:15am and made our way over to the Wilderness Information Center located right next to the trailhead for the Wonderland Trail. On the way down to the park, Steve had asked me if we could ask the staff to add the Summerland camp onto the end of our trip because it is his favorite place. This was a test of my flexibility, something I am constantly working on.
The distance between Indian Bar (the last campsite on my reservation) and Summerland is a measly 4 miles, but Steve assured me that Summerland was worth it. Not having plans on that next Sunday, I agreed. I really didn’t think it would happen because it was Summerland and a Saturday night. Everyone knew how they were overwhelmed with permit requests this year and had publicly announced they weren’t going to be able to fill all the ones for Summerland and Indian Bar. I didn’t think our odds were good.
Everyone knew how they were overwhelmed with permit requests this year and had publicly announced they weren’t going to be able to fill all the ones for Summerland and Indian Bar. I didn’t think our odds were good.
Steve asked right off about Summerland when we walked in the door and we were both amazed to hear that it was available for Saturday night. There was a gentleman next to us working with another ranger on his walk up permit and we crossed our fingers he didn’t take the coveted campsite Steve wanted.
We signed over our resupply box and waited as our ranger added Summerland to our schedule. Although I was a little disappointed that I would not be completing the trail in 6 days (7 seemed so, well, ordinary), I would look forward to this amazing place called Summerland (you may detect a tad bit of sarcasm).
Here is where I admit that the extent of my hiking in Mount Rainier National Park is limited to where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses in and out of the park by Chinook Pass and where I have gotten out of the car on our trip driving through the park. My expectations are based on the experiences of others and I am using this opportunity to have a sampling of Rainier and figure out where my favorite spots are so I can go back and do day hikes and loops later.
After checking in, we walked over and surveyed the lodge and gift shop before using the bathrooms and getting back on the road towards the Sunrise Visitors Center. I had already listed the breakfast and lunch hours for the Longmire lodge restaurant on my phone, a treat for our resupply day.
Sunrise Trailhead
As we drove around the mountain, it was fun to point out the different interest points we would be hiking through in a few days. There were Wonderland Trail signs along the way, marking our expected interactions with the day hikers and tourists.
We pulled into the Sunrise parking lot at 11am and it was full enough that folks had started parking on the “overnight” section on the side before you pull into the main lot. We took a spot and made our way over to snack bar/gift shop to see what it had to offer.
There was not the same selection as Longmire; just the burgers and hotdogs grill with one cold refrigerator with a few deli options and drinks. I did pick up a new Wonderland magnet for the fridge, my son and I collect those from our travels.
I walked back to the car to get the salmon salad I had brought, along with my hiking clothes to change into. I was glad that I had gotten up as early today as I had because being Sunday and a beautiful day, the rangers were already out directing cars to park in lines down the road.
Steve and I had lunch in the picnic area behind the bathrooms and next to the ranger station. This is actually a well maintained area in the trees with tables and a view of the mountain. We watched families walking around on the short trails leading off from the parking area and talked about the adventure we were about to have. Steve and I had managed to get a few training hikes in before today but this would be the real deal.
There was a strange moment when a small cloud seemed to descend out of the otherwise clear blue sky and hover over us like an alien spaceship. You know, when you are up at higher elevations and the clouds appear to come at you? This lead to a few jokes about why we might be singled out for abduction. I telepathically told the invaders they had to wait until I was done hiking the Wonderland and the cloud slowly dispersed back up into the sky.
There was a strange moment when a small cloud seemed to descend out of the otherwise clear blue sky and hover over us like an alien spaceship.
After lunch, we headed back to the car for a final pack shakedown. I stopped in the bathrooms to change into my hiking clothes and brush my teeth with the luxury of running water. I also filled up two water bottles in the snack shop water fountain the national parks have started to provide in order to reduce the use of plastic.
At the car, Steve let me assess what he had in his pack. He had done pretty well; I just suggested he reduce a few of his stuff sacks. He did have quite of things still in their original packaging, not much to do about that at this point.
Taking items out of the store packaging and repacking just what you need into sandwich/snack Ziploc bags is a great way to save weight. I have told many a folk, there is no reason to take the whole roll of toilet paper. If you are like me and worry about the use of plastic, you can wash and reuse bags or they now make the biodegradable versions of sandwich bags.
Steve’s biggest debate was his footwear. He had picked up trail shoes like I had suggested but he was still married to the dogma of having hiking boots. He went back and forth but ultimately decided to bring both, just in case. It’s true what they say, you carry the weight of your fear.
It’s true what they say, you carry the weight of your fear.
I checked and rechecked my pack to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, as I have a tendency to do. I also went back and forth about how much food to bring. Or more to the point, I did not want to bring too much. When we added another night to our itinerary, I had taken some food from the first section to leave in the resupply box for the second. After my Oregon PCT section where I carried way too much food, I had pledged not to do that again. I have never run out of food and knew that we could eat at Longmire, so I left a few more food items in the car.
I did leave the parking lot with my 2 liters of water, even though it was such a short distance and the camp had a lake. I am learning not to count on lake water, especially so close to civilization. A little of my own fear, I suppose.
Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and know that you have prepared enough to handle whatever comes your way. We are so used to having our needs met instantly; we are uncomfortable with the idea of going without. Here was an example of me not heeding this advice.
Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and know that you have prepared enough to handle whatever comes your way. We are so used to having our needs met instantly; we are uncomfortable with the idea of going without.
Shadow Lake and Our First Night
Deciding we were as ready as we were going to be, we asked a woman getting out her car with her family to take our picture and then headed the 1.3 miles down to the Sunrise camp. The trail was crowded with folks both coming and going, dusty and wide.
After .5 miles, you see a junction to the left indicating where we would be coming up from White River and Summerland in a week as we finished our journey. We had Mt. Rainier for a backdrop as we made the .8 miles down to camp from there, arriving in just 45 minutes.
Being so close to the parking lot, there were bear boxes and an outhouse along with the campsites hidden in the trees next to Shadow Lake. This area intersects with the Burroughs Mountain trail, as well, and many people had hiked down from the parking lot to enjoy the lake. After setting up camp, I walked down to the water to a scene similar to a day at the beach.
The lake was populated with 20-somethings opening cans of beer they brought in their packs, families carrying coolers, the chatter of different languages, and children wading and swimming to cool off from the heat. I sure was glad I brought water with me. I sat and watched tourists and hikers filter in and out for a while, then filled a water bottle so I could wash my feet later and headed back up to camp.
Dinner on Second Burroughs
Around 5pm, Steve, who has hiked in this area before, said we should hike up the Burroughs Mountain Trail and check it out. I grabbed dinner and we started up to see how far we would get before we ran out of daylight (we brought our headlamps just in case).
Several groups of parents with young children passed us coming down, reporting mountain goats up ahead. Stopping briefly at First Burroughs, where we could see them off in the distance under the trail to the Mt. Fremont lookout, we carried on to Second Burroughs for higher views.
Finding the rock bench shelter off to the side of the trail empty when we got there, we sat for dinner and fought off the local wildlife that have clearly become adapted to edible scraps given intentionally or left behind unintentionally at this popular stop for snacking.
Approaching the crest, I had disturbed a little guy vying for a dusty red gummy bear no doubt dropped by a distracted child. Momma chipmunk looked on with pride as her two little ones brazenly darted up to us looking for handouts or unattended nibbles. Sorry Momma, your babies won’t get any food from me.
The wind began to pick up and I decided to save Third Burroughs for another day and we headed back down towards camp. We could see the path of the Wonderland Trail to the left that we would be following tomorrow as we started our counterclockwise journey in earnest around the mountain.
The mountain goats we had seen earlier had moved up and nestled on First Burroughs but pictures would have meant walking on “Meadow Restoration” so we left them to their late evening gathering as we passed by Frozen Lake.
Back at camp, we settled in early. Deciding to be on the trail by 5:30am, I was leaving us plenty of time to reach our next campsite. From the very beginning I had told Steve that we didn’t have to stay together but his job was to just make it to camp each night. We briefly made plans for our first day of hiking towards Cataract Valley on the Spray Park alternate route and I drifted off to sleep wondering what the week would bring.
For you backpacking aficionados, my base weight was 13lbs. With food and water, I was about 21-22 lbs. You can find out more about my gear on this page. Anyone reading who wants to get started reducing their pack weight, I recommend the book by Mike McClelland, Ultralight Backing Tips. Even a few changes can make a big difference. I wore the trail running shoes, Altra Lone Peaks, which set me apart from most hikers on the Wonderland that year. I did not carry a stove, and I made most of my own dehydrated meals. Because I was not sure how the water would be on the trail, I carried both my Steripen and the Sawyer Mini Squeeze filter. Due to this only being a week-long trip, I didn’t carry my solar charger and charged my phone in Longmire during my resupply. My resupply held mostly food, as I didn’t need to swap out socks, batteries, etc. I used the Opsak by Loksak for my food and smelly items as I usually do and utilized the bear poles and boxes available at each campsite. The sacks allowed me to be able to set my pack down without worry that little critters would start to munch.
You can read my tips on increasing your chance of getting a Wonderland Trail permit here. If you would like to be notified when the next day is posted, subscribe here. You can read here to learn more about planning a hike on the Wonderland Trail.
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