Wonderland Trail

[Shutterbug]

Malto, just an update. You should not have any trouble getting a permit next weekend. The rains that arrived this week have driven most of the hikers off of Mt. Rainier. You should have your choice of campsites.

[Malto]

Malto, just an update. You should not have any trouble getting a permit next weekend. The rains that arrived this week have driven most of the hikers off of Mt. Rainier. You should have your choice of campsites.

Thanks, I'm sitting on a plane in DC waiting to head on out your way. Had my fingers crossed for days on good weather. Looks like there will be decent weather for ALDHA-West. Been looking forward to getting back there since I hiked through there in '11.

[HeartFire]

the photo is a ground squirrel not a chipmunk. Ground squirrels get a bit bigger than the chipmunks and do not have stripes on their face.
http://www.volcanolands.com/how-to-t...ound-squirrel/

[Shutterbug]

Thanks, I'm sitting on a plane in DC waiting to head on out your way. Had my fingers crossed for days on good weather. Looks like there will be decent weather for ALDHA-West. Been looking forward to getting back there since I hiked through there in '11.

Malto, I did some hiking on the Wonderland today. I did the Whiteriver, Glacier Basin, Burrows Mountain, Wonderland loop.

Trail condition is great. It has rained enough to hold the dust down, but not enough to make the trail slick.

There is some snow above 6,000 feet, but not enough to create a problem.

The trail is empty. I hiked 12 miles and saw a total of 3 people. I didn't see anyone on the Wonderland Trail portion of the hike.

The two camps I passed were empty. You won't have a problem with permits.

The White River Bridge is out making a 1 1/4 mile detour necessary.

The weather today was great. I hope the rain holds off long enough for you to get your hike in.

[Malto]

Malto, I did some hiking on the Wonderland today. I did the Whiteriver, Glacier Basin, Burrows Mountain, Wonderland loop.

Trail condition is great. It has rained enough to hold the dust down, but not enough to make the trail slick.

There is some snow above 6,000 feet, but not enough to create a problem.

The trail is empty. I hiked 12 miles and saw a total of 3 people. I didn't see anyone on the Wonderland Trail portion of the hike.

The two camps I passed were empty. You won't have a problem with permits.

The White River Bridge is out making a 1 1/4 mile detour necessary.

The weather today was great. I hope the rain holds off long enough for you to get your hike in.

We are sitting in a hotel after just completing the trail yesterday evening. Very mixed bag on weather from snow to rain to sun. Absolutely wonderful trail. After all they don't call it "the halfway decent trail."

[10-K]

Life can be so unfair!

[rocketsocks]

We are sitting in a hotel after just completing the trail yesterday evening. Very mixed bag on weather from snow to rain to sun. Absolutely wonderful trail. After all they don't call it "the halfway decent trail."

The nations weather is punctuated by a big (,comma) sittin' over the whole country right now.

[Shutterbug]

We are sitting in a hotel after just completing the trail yesterday evening. Very mixed bag on weather from snow to rain to sun. Absolutely wonderful trail. After all they don't call it "the halfway decent trail."

Great!! I thought you were starting on Sunday.

How long did it take you? I am curious if you made it in three days?

[Malto]

We started hiking the Wonderland Trail at about 5:00 on Sunday going CCW out of Longmire. After ALDHA -West we were able to pull together a great crew of strong hikers that could go the distance yet have fun. In addition to Swami, we convinced Bobcat to join us and even had Snorkel join us the next day. This is one of the few trips that I felt like a rookie with these three hikers having about 70k miles under their shoes.

We easily hit our goal of 10-11miles that first evening with a plan to do about 20-21 the next morning to meet Snorkel at White River. Progress was a bit slower than expected and we hit White River just after 2:00. Since Snorkel had a car we drove into Packwood for Pizza and returned to the trailhead just before dark. With full bellies we trekked up the mountain and camped at Sunrise expecting crappy weather to hit. And it did.

It rained and snowed all night and we were greeted with the heaviest cuben fiber mid tarps around. Donning quite an eclectic mix of hiker rain gear we went out into the snow and wound our way around the mountain taking the Spray Park alternative up to higher elevations. Views were scarce due to the weather but the trail was wonderful. In the words of Swami, "they don't call it the Wonderland Trail for nothing." The highlight of the day was Spray falls and shortly thereafter we were blessed with a shelter to sleep the night away while listening to the steady rain all night.

We had to start later on Tuesday to allow enough light to cross a river that was missing a bridge. No big deal and off we went. Just like the other days, we had a mix of weather and mixed views. But it was a great time hiking with this crew. We did the final 30 some miles just before dark and hit a local restaurant where we each consumed a one pound burger. Seeing little Snorkel devour that enormous burger was incredible.

We finished the 93 mile trail in just over three days, right on schedule even with the pizza run. It was incredible hiking with this group of strong hikers. This trail is often called hard and while there is about 22-23,000 feet of elevation gain it has some of the best tread that I have hiked. For its distance it has one of the most diverse types of terrains and I would highly recommend this trip to anyone as it definitely lives up to its name.

cant upload pictures at this time but I also know that pictures will never do this trail justice. Thanks to all the help in planning this adventure.

[10-K]

Wow, that's very impressive Malto!

[Shutterbug]

We started hiking the Wonderland Trail at about 5:00 on Sunday going CCW out of Longmire. After ALDHA -West we were able to pull together a great crew of strong hikers that could go the distance yet have fun. In addition to Swami, we convinced Bobcat to join us and even had Snorkel join us the next day. This is one of the few trips that I felt like a rookie with these three hikers having about 70k miles under their shoes.

We easily hit our goal of 10-11miles that first evening with a plan to do about 20-21 the next morning to meet Snorkel at White River. Progress was a bit slower than expected and we hit White River just after 2:00. Since Snorkel had a car we drove into Packwood for Pizza and returned to the trailhead just before dark. With full bellies we trekked up the mountain and camped at Sunrise expecting crappy weather to hit. And it did.

It rained and snowed all night and we were greeted with the heaviest cuben fiber mid tarps around. Donning quite an eclectic mix of hiker rain gear we went out into the snow and wound our way around the mountain taking the Spray Park alternative up to higher elevations. Views were scarce due to the weather but the trail was wonderful. In the words of Swami, "they don't call it the Wonderland Trail for nothing." The highlight of the day was Spray falls and shortly thereafter we were blessed with a shelter to sleep the night away while listening to the steady rain all night.

We had to start later on Tuesday to allow enough light to cross a river that was missing a bridge. No big deal and off we went. Just like the other days, we had a mix of weather and mixed views. But it was a great time hiking with this crew. We did the final 30 some miles just before dark and hit a local restaurant where we each consumed a one pound burger. Seeing little Snorkel devour that enormous burger was incredible.

We finished the 93 mile trail in just over three days, right on schedule even with the pizza run. It was incredible hiking with this group of strong hikers. This trail is often called hard and while there is about 22-23,000 feet of elevation gain it has some of the best tread that I have hiked. For its distance it has one of the most diverse types of terrains and I would highly recommend this trip to anyone as it definitely lives up to its name.

cant upload pictures at this time but I also know that pictures will never do this trail justice. Thanks to all the help in planning this adventure.

That is impressive. I wish you could have enjoyed better weather. Today, the mountain is out in all of its glory -- not a cloud in the sky.

[Traveler]

the photo is a ground squirrel not a chipmunk. Ground squirrels get a bit bigger than the chipmunks and do not have stripes on their face.
http://www.volcanolands.com/how-to-t...ound-squirrel/

Ahh, thanks. That explains the titanic chipmunk!

[rafe]

Looks gorgeous. Yummy. The backdrop reminds me of some hiking I did around Mt. Adams, the year I lived in Portland OR. Ninety miles in three days -- makes my head hurt just thinking about it.

[Coffee]

So I take it that doing a walk-up permit is the way to go, preferably after the peak season? I've read many accounts of how impossible it is to get a reserved permit ahead of time.

[Shutterbug]

So I take it that doing a walk-up permit is the way to go, preferably after the peak season? I've read many accounts of how impossible it is to get a reserved permit ahead of time.

It has been my experience that one can always get a walk-up permit. The Rangers do their best to find a way. Sometimes one has to use camps that are not directly on the Wonderland to make it work.

On the south, west and north sides the camp sites are large (usually 5 or 6 tent sites) and not very far apart. The bottleneck is on the east side. From Nickel Creek to Summerland is 13 miles with only one camp site between, Indian Bar. Indian Bar has only 4 tent sites. During the summer months, getting a permit at Indian Bar is almost impossible. The usual "work around" is to camp at Olallie Creek Campground which is more than a mile off the Wonderland.

[garlic08]

So I take it that doing a walk-up permit is the way to go, preferably after the peak season? I've read many accounts of how impossible it is to get a reserved permit ahead of time.

As Shutterbug says, that's right. You might have to be flexible and take an extra long or short day to make it work, but the rangers I've talked to say they always get everyone on the mountain.

You're right about off-peak season, too. I hiked the WT in four days in September a few years ago, and got my first choice in campsites right away, including a night at the beautiful Indian Bar. In August I hiked the Northern Loop and Spray Park with two nights camping, mostly off but near the WT and the campsites were nearly empty.

For fast hikers, the rangers are very cool with long days, too, unlike those at Glacier where if you plan for more than 12 miles or so they make you sign a waiver and print something like "Not a recommended itinerary" in big red letters on your permit. There are lots of speed hikers from the nearby cities--when I asked for three nights on the WT, the ranger practically said, "Why so slow?"

[ChrisJackson]

Curious if there is a shuttle from the airport in Tacoma to...most likely...Longmire?

[RockDoc]

Good comments on this thread.
The rangers are unfazed because maybe they are getting used to local ultrarunners doing the trail in 3 days or less, just carrying light daypacks (some do it non-stop). It's like doing a 50K trail ultra three days in a row (although you can dice it up into a few more days than that too, and never need a permit as long as you are dayhiking). I did it in 3 back in 2010 (don't try this at home unless you are truly a trail animal). We hiked 10-13 hours/day, and walked all the uphills.

Now I just go back and cherry-pick the best parts. My fav is White River to Box Canyon, about 18 miles, we started by 9am and finished by 4 pm in Sept. Beautiful hike, if you can shuttle a vehicle.

Garlic08 said: "For fast hikers, the rangers are very cool with long days, too, unlike those at Glacier where if you plan for more than 12 miles or so they make you sign a waiver and print something like "Not a recommended itinerary" in big red letters on your permit. There are lots of speed hikers from the nearby cities--when I asked for three nights on the WT, the ranger practically said, "Why so slow?" "

[Shutterbug]

Curious if there is a shuttle from the airport in Tacoma to...most likely...Longmire?

Unless someone is starting a new shuttle this year, there is no scheduled shuttle from SeaTac to Mt. Rainier National Park.

[QiWiz]

In my opinion, there are three "must" camp sites: Summerland, Indian Bar and Klapatche Park. Because Summerland and Indian Bar are close together, one may have to add a day to stay at both of them. I think it is worth the extra day. Both are beautiful. . . . I don't like Devil's Dream Campsite. It is bug infested.

Any additional advice on where to camp and where not to camp? Planning permit application for Sept after Labor Day.