We set out on Thursday, 7/22/10, to hike up the Wonderland Trail at Mt. Rainier National Park. Plan was to hike the Wonderland Trail from Longmire to Devil's Dream backcountry campground, camp overnight, then hike up to Indian Henry's Hunting Ground, stroll packless up to Mirror Lakes, then hike down the Kautz Creek Trail, drop packs, and send someone jogging the three miles to the car. The trail starts just to the left of the Wilderness Information Center, and there's a small water spigot (plenty of pressure) right at the start. Trails are overall well signed with accurate distances and directions, but no blazes or on-trail markers except in the creek beds.

Getting a permit was easy - we walked into the Wilderness Information Center at Longmire at 11am and there were plenty of spots available. Devil's Dream CG has 7 sites (each of which fits up to 5 people or one family) and one group site, of which 3 (counting us) were full that evening. All we had to provide was an itinerary, car info, and emergency contact info. The CG came with very easy-to-use bear poles; easy to use a stuff sack or top of pack as a hanging bag, no rope required (they even have a tool to help you hang it). CG also had a pit toilet (no toilet paper, just a hole with a seat) and some water access, as well as at least one deer (fairly bold). It was cold in the drainage that the CG sits in (probably 40F), so bring plenty of layers for sleeping/dinner/breakfast.

The hike from Longmire to Devil's Dream was lovely - moss and Douglas Fir trees lower down (watch for ravens at Longmire, chestnut-backed chickadees, and bunchberry, orchids, and tiger lilies down in this area!). The trail is steep in some sections, though switchbacky with fewer stairs than many trails, and is generally well maintained (only one overhanging tree on the Kautz Creek Trail). Streams are crossed with footlogs for the larger ones (handrail for balance; make sure these are in before you go, as the "creeks" are impassible without them); smaller non-glacial streams have footbridges or are otherwise easily crossed. Water is available at many stream crossings; make sure you use a pump or treat it. No berries this time of year, sadly!

Crossing Kautz Creek gives nice views of Rainier and wildflowers - lots of geological and botanical interest on this trip. Other creek crossings are great; watch out for bugs at the intersection of the Wonderland Trail and the Rampart Ridge Trail due to a wet meadow. Bugs otherwise minimal, though ranger mentions Devil's Dream CG is often buggy. DEET worked fine.

We pitched tents at Devil's Dream CG, then hiked without packs up to Squaw Lake (watch for views of Copper Mountain, avalance and glacier lilies, marsh marigolds, and beargrass, as well as juncos and thrushes). First snow right above the CG; firm enough to walk on (watch for small snow bridges, nothing hazardous (just wet!)), but muddy and wet in many areas on the trail from melt. At no point was I seriously worried about slipping on the snow and losing control; the trail isn't steep enough in the snowy areas. Going up the next day with packs was even nicer since we had a bit more weight. The rangers at the Wilderness Info Center report that things are 2-3 weeks behind due to a cold, wet June (El Nino this year), but melting fast.

The hike up to Indian Henry's Hunting Ground was well worth it. The views of Rainier behind the beautifully-constructed patrol cabin (not staffed on our visit, but with a sign-in log indicating the ranger is friendly) are really quite amazing and well worth the trip. We dropped packs at the cabin (make sure to take out the food!) and went up to Mirror Lakes with a daypack. You'll want sunglasses in the snow on sunny days; I was squinting even with them. Hiking poles would have been nice for probing snow and cushioning on the downhill, but I couldn't find mine.

The trail to the Lakes was less well maintained (still maintained, just wetter, muddier, and less well built) and required a lot of on-snow travel - again, not soft enough to sink in, but lots of dodging between trail/logs/rocks/snow/mud/wet/etc. Mirror Lakes were disappointing, but go a little past the "end of maintained trail" sign to an overlook over the South Tahoma Glacier valley and it's well worth the slog! Bring a snack for the overlook, and use a fill flash for your camera to get both mountain and friends in one picture.

We had a little trouble finding the start of the Kautz Creek Trail due to snow, but it's fairly easy to predict. Met a few folks coming down and followed their tracks. After climbing the shoulder of Mount Ararat you get *amazing* views of Mt. Adams, Mt St. Helens, and even Mt. Hood in the far distance (100 miles away!). The trail down from there is packed with more wildflowers (look for red and magenta Indian paintbrush, lupine, and phlox). Lots of steep sections (some with gravel footing) make this descent hard on the knees and feet. We stopped at the nameless stream at 4200' for a foot soaking and sock change (strongly recommended after the steep descent and wet footing) and snack - a good time to pump more water as well. After this point we headed back into the Douglas Fir forest.

After crossing Kautz Creek (what remains of it in this area; check out the interpretive sign at the trailhead for details), the trail broadens significantly and is almost level (lots of dayhikers), with beautiful hemlock/birch/mossy forest. We left two members of our party at the interpretive overlook at the end of the trail (turn right at the boardwalk; it has benches, good foot-massaging fine gravel, and views) with the packs while a third jogged to the car at Longmire; he was back in about an hour.

Overall - amazing scenery (both the views and the flowers/forest), great camping (toilets and bear poles - luxury!), marred only by the mild annoyance of snow, mud, and water on the trail in some places. Would go again in a heartbeat!