And We’re Off!
Waking up with the sunrise, we broke camp and climbed up the Wonderland Trail towards Granite Creek. Our first steps were in the cool shadows and the ridge lines with lingering snow brightened by the sun. Lavender lupine lined the trail as we moved into sections with more vegetation.
We had 15.3 miles to cover today to our camp at Cataract Valley. Passing under the Burroughs trail we had done the night before, we observed the junction for Berkeley Park and Grand Park. At the pass off Skyscraper Mountain, we looked down at Grand Park in the valley below and I could see it would warrant a visit in the future.
Granite Creek
Then it was down into Granite Creek and campsites where the campers there were slowly crawling out of their tents at about 7:30am to start their day. We stopped at the creek and had second breakfast (I usually eat a few bars before getting on the trail, and then eat something more substantial a few hours into the day). In this case, it was some pumpkin and banana porridge with powdered coconut milk. Moving on towards Winthrop Glacier, we ran into our first fellow Wonderland hikers around 9:45am. The beauty of an early start usually means you have the trail to yourself until 9:30 or so even on crowded trails.
We began what seems to be the routine when meeting other Wonderland hikers on the trail. “Are you hiking the Wonderland?” “Which direction are you hiking?” “Where did you start?” “How many days are you taking?” “Where are you heading today?” “Boy, you are going fast…” “See you on the other side!” I soon realized that by choosing counterclockwise, I would be going the opposite of most folks and we would eventually run into them on the other side of the mountain. Kinda cool.
The summer heat had been melting snow packs with a vengeance and all the rivers and creeks were running high with beige colored water. You could feel the force of it vibrate the bridges was you walked over them.
Winthrop Creek
About a mile from the crossing at Winthrop Creek, the trail starts to run along the debris carpeted glacier as it drops down to the foot bridge there. The sun beat down on the glacier and you could hear rocks cascading as the ice lost its grip on the pieces it had been carrying most likely for centuries. I was disappointed that there was so much brush that blocked my view at times when the sound was quite thunderous. You can’t see the mouth of the cave in the glacier that spews the creek when you cross the bridge but views open up a bit past.
The terrain after the Winthrop Glacier reminded me of hiking near Mount Adams or Central Oregon on the Pacific Crest Trail with the trail twisting through younger volcanic activity with a few evergreens dotted among the stones.
Mystic Lake
The next popular spot we hit was Mystic Lake, just in time for a relaxing lunch by the water. We talked with a group camping there that had a short day, just heading to Carbon River for the night. Another group stopped to use the lake for rinsing off the dirt of the trail, but there were plenty of streams in this area so I was good for water. From here, we leapfrogged with a few other groups, including a pair of women heading to Cataract Valley like us.
The trail took us through meadows and more views of Mount Rainier. There were still a few flowers left for us!
Dick’s Creek and KK
Finding a shady spot at Dick’s Creek at 2:30pm, there was a hiker traffic jam at another log bridge as several groups gathered to replenish water. This camp area is small and the sites run along the angled trail as it approaches the creek. It is actually a cute little site. It was here that we first ran into KK (Ka Kin), a hiker from Singapore. I wish I had thought to take a picture of him here!
I could tell when he crossed the bridge over the creek and came over to chat that he was my kind of hiker. He was sporting beat up trail runners, a small pack and was ready to share trail stories. He was visiting the United States for summer vacation, visiting 12 national parks and he got a walk up permit to do the Wonderland. The Pacific Crest Trail came up; he hopes to do parts of it when he finishes his 4 year commitment to be a fire fighter in Singapore after college.
He also said that he had run into a 69 yr. old “triple crowner” doing the Wonderland. A triple crowner is someone who has done the 3 big long distance trails in the US: the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail. I love trail talk. Doing the trail solo in 8 days, starting at Longmire, we would most likely see KK on the end of his journey, so we wished him well and continued on our way towards the Carbon River.
Carbon Glacier
The Carbon Glacier was even more impressive than the Winthrop, the mouth of the river’s exit more gaping and raw, filling the valley with water rushing towards the upcoming suspension bridge we would need to cross to reach to the Spray Park alternate route. I was both looking forward to this and a bit apprehensive.
This would be our first suspension bridge on the trail. Some rivers see so much action during storms that they have to build the bridge high up in the air. The Carbon River was the scene of much destruction in 2006, devastating both trail and campgrounds. I’m not necessarily afraid of heights but who doesn’t get a little anxious walking over a raging river high up in the air on a few slats of wood that sway with each step? I thought I would be able to hold my poles in one hand and take pictures with other as I walked over, but that didn’t last long and I put my camera away so I could have both hands on the side wires.
Cataract Creek and Valley
From here we walked a short distance to the junction with the Carbon River campground, where campers were frolicking in the sunshine tinged waterfall of the Cataract Creek as it flowed down into the Carbon River. The last 2.6 miles to up to the Cataract Valley camp are a brushy, steep climb that were not helped by the 80 degree temperatures.
I rolled into the wooded campground and choose #2 at 5pm, set up camp and went to look for water. Unless you get site #3, it looks like your water is across a foot bridge to the group site, which is also the trail to the toilet. Cataract Valley had a bear pole and composting toilets and the sites had a fair amount of privacy.
I had a strange moment coming back from the bathroom where it appeared that the folks had site #3 had a fire going because there were flames shooting into the air high enough they were visible from where I stood. Even the hiker in site #5 was peering over to see what was going on. Imagining what I would say as I walked past since there was a fire ban, all I could see was a guy trying to cook dinner with his plain old backpacking stove. Not sure how he got the fuel canister to give off an orange flame that had to have been at least 5 feet tall, but it probably made for a good story in his camp.
Steve showed up shortly after, set up his tent and we called it a night early because tomorrow is our longest day at 20+ miles. I suggested we start at 4am to give us less pressure for getting to camp before dark and Steve was game. I wanted to be up at the Seattle and Spray Park area with the sunrise and the climb out of camp would be easier in the cool of the morning, even if we had to start out with our headlamps on.
Today’s Thoughts
Some of today’s observations are that because we are in a national park where animals are protected, they are accustomed to the human presence and thus more out in the open. They also know to hang out at popular spots because someone will eventually leave food behind. It is strange to when you come upon wildlife to not have its first instinct be to run away to never be seen again.
Also, this was the beginning of a trail covered with berries. I realized that although I was sad about missing the wildflowers due to the early snow melt, it meant hitting the Wonderland in peak berry season. Thimbleberries, blueberries, serviceberries, huckleberries, salmonberries and logan/gooseberries would abound for the rest of our trip. Yum!
Another tip for those thinking about moving to hiking lighter and longer days, one thing you begin to learn as you go along is how to pack your stuff each morning to be more efficiently during the day. Thinking about how you use your gear and what you will need when leads to thinking in terms of “systems” and how to group things so that if you need something in the middle of the day you don’t have to complete “explode” you pack because you put that one thing way down in the bottom of your pack. This is something that most new backpackers struggle with, having to dump out your pack on a regular basis because something is inconveniently packed. The more mornings you wake up on the trail, the more efficient you will become.
An example: your headlamp. When are you most likely to use it? Could you put it in the pocket of your puffy jacket that you put on when you get in to camp? Another: your trowel. Do you have a “bathroom” bag with all those things handy on the outside of your pack so when the urge hits you, you are ready? This is something that develops over the days of your hike, but you can give it thought beforehand so you start out a bit easier until you learn what really works for you.
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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