Wonderland Trail 2024
From having no permit and making a 13 hour drive (not including charges for my electric car), to having only one subpar choice when looking at the binder of open camp spots that sits out the night before, to having two subpar choices of campsites once the Rangers allowed me to camp in two different group sites, and finally one more campsite change while on trail putting me at a much better campsite on the last night…it ALL worked out.
Day #1 - 7/31/24
Daily Miles - 21.45
Total Miles - 21.45
Daily Elevation Gained - 6358 ft
Daily Elevation Lost - 5535 ft
A 729 mile drive from home. No joke.
A handful of charging stops in the electric car got me here with time to try to sleep in Kelso. Not much luck.
Arrived at Longmire Wilderness Information Center at 3am. The rangers leave a binder out overnight that shows what’s available for walk up permits. It’s slim pickings this morning and I only really have one option. A 4 night 5 day loop going counterclockwise. The only catch is that I’ll need to do 33 miles on day one and can’t start till after I get my permit at 7:30AM. And getting the permit is not a guaranteed kinda thing. I’m first in line but there are other ranger stations that open at the same time. Fingers are crossed that I get my loop and can be out no later than 8AM.
I’m set up in a comfy chair from home sitting in front of the Longmire Wilderness Center. Gonna try to nap a bit for a while before others show up.
No nap. One hiker showed up about 15 minutes later in the middle of his hike to try to change his permit. We talked for a while and passed the time. Two more hikers showed up about an hour and a half later. At that point, the Rangers had already shown up and were working inside the building. One Ranger came outside to give us some information and shared that if group sites had open spots, we could reserve those as well. That changed things a lot. It opened up two or three other options for me. In the end, I found one I liked and talked about it out loud. The two hikers who had just shown up asked, if it was possible with the Rangers, if they could camp with me at the two group sites. Of course they could! In the end, they have a permit, very similar to mine, staying in the same area with me on night one, different camps on night two, and the same camp as me on night three and night four. I was out of the Ranger station in about 20 minutes and on the trail a little after 8AM.
After a bit over 2 miles I remembered that I had read about a swarm of bees in the section I was doing today. At that moment I decided it was probably further up and to not take out my map to see where I had marked the exact spot. In that split second, I heard buzzing all around me. I felt a bee land on my leg, I brushed it off quickly, and sprinted about 50 yards. I’d made it through without a sting.
As I arrived at Kautz Creek a bit later, a couple in front of me had walked to the crossing and turned around. It was too strong for them to cross. They were doing a big day hike. I took a look, put my poles in my backpack and made my way into the water. There were three medium sized downed logs that I could use as a handrail to face away from the current. It was strong indeed, but I made it through without incident.
Later in the morning, I spotted a lone mountain goat up on a hillside and stopped to admire it. Still later in the day, I started experiencing what I can only call mini hallucinations. They were just really flashes, some only color while others were color and shapes of things just outside my field division. This confirmed I was very much in need of sleep. Two nights in a row with less than 2 hours sleep each night was taking its toll.
As I continued I walked through some beautiful wilderness in the afternoon. Klapatche Park and Camp were both stunning. I’d have liked to have stayed there if my permit would’ve allowed it, but this trail is very strict about staying in assigned campsites. Instead of stopping, it was an enormous downhill to the Puyallup River and the North Puyallup campsite. Not much as campsites go. It was in a deep forest with the Puyallup River far below. But that was fine as all I needed to do was set up camp, take care of myself and get a good night's sleep. There were three campsites at Puyallup. Two had been taken so I slid into the third.
Day #2 - 8/1/24
Daily Miles - 18.41
Total Miles - 39.86
Daily Elevation Gained - 4150 ft
Daily Elevation Lost - 3225 ft
What a wonderful night of sleep! A full night of sleep felt amazing. The first night on the trail was supposed to be the coldest and since I slept low, I was toasty all night long. Woke up refreshed and ready to go. Got my food off the bear pole first, a 12 foot pole placed so hikers can hang their food and keep it safe from the animals. Made some breakfast, packed up and on the trail by 7:30AM. Still a much later start for me than usual, but the planned 16 miles look a bit less challenging and my body feels way better.
After a few miles, I caught up with TJ and Alec. These were the same guys that checked in with me and I’ll be camping with on the second and last night-basically tomorrow night and the next night. We hiked together for almost the rest of the day. They cut off at Mowich Lake where they were camping for the night. I had another 1.7 miles to Eagles Roost. It was beautiful, but no more or less than I’ve walked through. Spray Park will come tomorrow. I’ll walk through the whole park then. After saying goodbye I picked up some water, hiked it to the campsite and got set up. I did all my chores and even had a very early dinner. I decided I was going to go on an evening stroll to try to get a view of the mountain. I was mildly successful at getting that view, a very small view, but I did get to enjoy the full force of Spray Falls. This waterfall drops from the ledges above just over 800 feet down. It’s spread into smaller waterfalls in the middle and tiny waterfalls towards the bottom third. It appears very “misty“. Almost like a watercolor painting. I sat and enjoyed it for about a half hour before heading back to camp.
A Ranger checked my permit tonight. We chatted for a bit. She mentioned a hard to cross creek I’ll hit tomorrow.
My plan is to wake up at my normal backpacking time, 4:20AM, to be on the trail by about 4:45AM. Twilight is at 5:11AM and the sunrise at 5:46AM. My hope is to be up in Spray Park, 1500 feet above me for the show.
Day #3 - 8/2/24
Daily Miles - 20.59
Total Miles - 60.45
Daily Elevation Gained - 6873 ft
Daily Elevation Lost - 5643 ft
Up at 4:20AM this morning and on the trail by 5AM. I tried to be as quiet as possible since the campsites at Eagles Roost are very close together. It’s challenging to get used to camping so close to people in the wilderness. To maintain the trail and not allow it to become overcrowded, the permit regulations strictly limit the number hikers on the trail at one time and require backpackers to use their assigned backcountry sites. I’ve walked by many of these campgrounds thus far, and only one I would rate as spectacular was Klapatche. It seemed to have sites that were buried into the woods pretty well and at the same time it had a spectacular view over the pond directly at Mount Rainier.
My early start this morning gave me an opportunity to arrive at Spray Park for Sunrise. The colors and the wildflowers were everywhere. About 4 miles in, I found a pretty view and a flat rock to stop to make coffee and have some breakfast. I got back on the trail again and still hadn’t seen my first hiker until the Cataract Valley campsite about 5 miles into my day. A woman was quietly washing her dishes in a creek next to camp along with views and colors. I saw six or more deer this morning. All were very inquisitive and interested in me. One being so bold as to walk towards me and get pretty darn close. The beginning of today was quite strenuous. It started with a 2500 foot climb to where I had breakfast followed by a 3000 foot descent to the Carbon River.
I spotted a mountain goat on the trail in front of me and followed it for about 15 minutes. I came around the corner with a small waterfall and didn’t see it anymore. I looked up and it was staring down at me and immediately kicked a double fist sized rock down at me. The rock missed me by about 8 feet and the goat disappeared before I could get a picture.
I passed Rebecca and Kat at 10AM going the same direction as me. They were trying to offload food as they had packed too much. They were from Iowa and on a 12 day loop. We chatted for a bit and I went on. I didn’t take any of their food. In the next couple hours, I would see three groups of four. I stopped and talked to each one for a bit. In the afternoon I got to Winthrop Creek. This was the creek crossing the Ranger had warned me about last night after she checked my permit.
She reminded me that crossing it as late in the day as I would would mean much higher water from the glacier runoff on a hot day. When I got to Winthrop Creek, it was obvious that there was no clear and safe path across without getting in the water. I walked upstream on a side bank that would collapse on itself with every footfall. After passing a couple possibilities, and taking the time to stand there and really look at the possibilities, many of which were not safe, I found a place that would do. The crossing itself was probably a six or seven on the difficulty scale. For the remainder of the day, I spoke to every oncoming hiker, giving them proper beta to make their crossings a safe one.
About 1PM I got stung by a bee. He got me just on the outside of my knee and it hurt like hell. I decided to keep walking and just keep an eye on the leg and any other symptoms since I used to be extremely allergic to bees. The bee sting hurt a lot as the day went on. I got to the Sunrise Group Camp about 4PM and got set up. A little while later a couple with a 10-year-old boy showed up. They had been assigned the group site as well. I’m really not sure how the group site works. I thought it was for single groups to reserve but it seems like they are filling the spots. Anyway, I really enjoyed talking with them and Bob, the dad, gave me some ointment for my bee sting. He also gave me a couple Benadryl just in case. Later, Janet, the mom, let me know that just above the campground was a trail that leads to something like an observation deck. She said the views were spectacular. After dinner, I walked up and was truly amazed. The view was close to 360°. I had it all alone for quite a while and then people started showing up. My camping neighbors showed up as I was leaving and we chatted a bit more. I headed back to my campsite and am planning to be at the Sunrise Ranger station tomorrow morning to try to get a different site for the last night. I was assigned a campsite 1.5 miles off trail and 800 feet down. I’d like to change it to stay on the actual trail if possible.
Day #4 - 8/3/24
Daily Miles - 22.82
Total Miles - 83.27
Daily Elevation Gained - 5236 ft
Daily Elevation Lost - 7615 ft
Good night sleep. Woke up a few times, but was able to fall back asleep pretty quickly. Last night the air felt cooler than the other nights. It wasn’t cold, just cooler. TJ and Alec were in the campsite once I got back from the overlook. We chatted for a bit and said good night. I was up early and out of camp long before the sunrise. I flew on the one and a half miles to the Sunrise Visitor Center. I didn’t see a Ranger station, so I waited in front of the Visitor Center until about 6:15AM. That’s when I noticed the Visitor Center said it didn’t open till 9AM. I walked over and found the actual Wilderness Information Center (WIC). There was no opening time on the window, but I assumed it opened at 7:30AM with the rest of the WICs in the park. There was a volunteer at the trailhead asking people if they had questions and I finally went over to verify that the Ranger station opened at 7:30AM. He told me it didn’t open till 9AM. That was a real bummer! Not only had I wasted a lot of time at sunrise but it also wasted a little over a mile. I walked back over to the Visitor Center where there was Wi-Fi and immediately started trying to call the Longmire WIC at 7:30AM. They didn’t pick up. At 7:35AM a Ranger came out of another building and I asked if he could do anything to help me. He got on his walkie-talkie, called the White River WIC, and was able to work with another Ranger to get me my last night at a campsite that I could see was available by looking at rec.gov. I was good to go. That would mean that I wouldn’t have to hike off trail a mile and a half and 800 feet down to a campsite tonight. It’s also a shorter day tomorrow to get out. But it’s also going to mean a much longer day today and I'm not too concerned about that seeing as though the section I’m going to go through today is one that I’m very excited about, mostly because it rained the whole time when I was here 19 years ago and I had no views. I plan to keep a good solid pace most of the day and maybe eat dinner before I get to camp somewhere like Indian Bar, and then be able to set up camp quickly and get some sleep before tomorrow. Today’s gonna be a wonderful day because just as the Seattle family told me, the wind changed overnight and we all woke up to clear skies. That will mean beautiful views on a beautiful section of a beautiful trail.
I ran back into TJ and Alec at White River Campground. We talked a bit and then I went on. It was a long gradual climb until the very end at which it turned steep up to Summerland. Was spectacular with all the wildflowers and the mountain’s glaciers. This again was something I didn’t see in 2005 because it was raining.
Tons of day hikers today, more than even yesterday, around Sunrise. I think this is how it’s going to be all the way past the Paradise entrance as that’s supposed to be one of the most popular spots. That means today should have a lot of day hikers as well.
Played leapfrog with a bunch of different day hikers today. Climbed to the top of Panhandle Gap around noon, which is the high point of the Wonderland Trail at 6700 feet. Not long after, I saw a group of five walking in front of me and after about an hour, I caught up to them. They were a family with three teenage kids from some little town in Washington that I can’t remember. The mom and I talked for a bit. She told me that they were camping at Indian Bar. I told her I’d be having dinner there before moving on. Her response was, “Meet you at the Bar.“
The two mile descent to Indian Bar was the hardest descent yet. It was steep with uneven steps which pounded the body. When I arrived, there were a couple kids and two men in the group shelter. Turns out they were hiking the whole trail in 12 days. The girls were 15 and 11. We talked for a while until the family I met earlier showed up. They had indeed reserved the group shelter. I asked if I could stay and cook and eat my meal and they said of course. They were a fun group to talk to and they even let me borrow their water filter since mine is not working right. I had about 6 miles left to get me to the Nickel Creek Camp spot. It was going to start with a steep uphill, then some rolling terrain and finally a steep descent to the campsite.
At about 5PM, I met an Argentinian man coming towards me. He yelled, “A human finally“ when he saw me. Turns out he’d gotten pretty lost. He was doing a big 50 mile loop on an off of the Wonderland Trail. His phone died and he didn’t know where he was. I pulled up my map and we immediately figured out where he missed his turn which was behind him. He and I walked together for the next 45 minutes or so chatting about Central America, education and all kinds of things until we found his trail. He was happy beyond measure.
TJ and Alex showed up about 6:30PM. I was in my tent and cozy. After they got set up, they sat down for dinner and I came out and joined them. We had a nice talk and spoke deeply about relationships. It always amazes me that when I go in the backcountry with other people, conversations end up going much deeper than in the front country. It was a good night.
Day #5 - 8/4/24
Daily Miles - 14.49
Total Miles - 97.76
Daily Elevation Gained - 2795 ft
Daily Elevation Lost - 3478 ft
Woke up to a lot of condensation. Really only on the fly of the tent as most everything else was dry or just barely damp. The beauty of waking up on the last morning is that those things aren’t quite so bothersome. This trip on the other hand is a bit different because I’ve got back to back adventures lined up. My hope is to get really cleaned up in between the first and the second. I’ve got 14 miles to do on this last day without nearly as much elevation change as the past four days. I’m looking forward to the last few views I’ll have of Rainer. Even though it was raining and I couldn’t see the mountain 19 years ago, I still have happy memories in my head of Reflection Lake where I’ll be in just a few hours.
Well Reflection Lake wasn’t all it was cut out to be. It was pretty, but there were sooooo many people. I moved through pretty quickly. The rest of the hike from there is pretty uneventful with some day hikers here and there.
A bit later I crossed paths again with Ben. I met Ben on day three on the exact opposite side of the mountain. We both had the same schedule of five days and four nights. It was fun to catch up with him again and chat a bit.
I got to my car around 12:30PM, cleaned up, repacked the car, left a note for TJ and Alec and hit the road.
It was a 2 hour drive to Kelso where I planned to charge my car but instead, I did some shopping because the chargers were full. Then I drove to the town of Sandy, Oregon, got my charging done, food eaten and laundry done. I was in the Timberline Lodge parking lot by 7PM. My plan was to run the entire loop counter-clockwise the following day and then meet my friends the day after that to do a 4-day backpacking trip around the mountain going clockwise.
I shuffled some things into my backpack that I’d need just for sleeping and headed away from the Lodge and up the hill. I found a collection of pine trees that I had read about before with a bunch of tents. I found an empty spot and nestled in. I was quickly asleep.
