I wrote my trip report on the Emmons Moraine page. Loved the hike!! Worth going to both trails!! When you park at White River campgrounds walk toward the campsites and the trailhead is at the end by the loop. I drove to find it and went back to park.

Gratuitous (adj) – grah-TOO-it-us:  not called for by the circumstances : not necessary, appropriate, or justified : UNWARRANTED.  (Source: Merriam-Webster).  Used in a sentence:  “The Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park appears to have been designed with an intentional excess of gratuitous elevation gains and drops."

After a three year hiatus, I resumed my pilgrimage to hike the entirety of Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park before I "shuffle off this mortal coil", as Hamlet put it.  The decision to do so in pieces rather than one whole loop has been foisted upon me by circumstances that include the difficulty of getting all the time off at once to do it, getting all the permits in the new lottery system, and getting in shape.  But the piecewise method is still a method, and has its benefits too.

This year, I knocked out the section I have most sought– the east side trek from Fryingpan Creek through Summerland, over Panhandle Gap to Indian Bar, and out to Box Canyon.  It did not disappoint.  I was joined by my sweet daughter and her husband, to whom I owe a significant debt of gratitude for schlepping more and more of my share of the load as the hike went on so I could actually make it. The most excellent Pastor Peter, partner in my many past piecewise pathway collections of the WT, joined us with his son, along with Carol and Jim, two new good friends from Medford OR, and my long-time hiking and trail-singing partner Matt with with his two girls, one now sporting a fiancé with a good-sport attitude to join our clan.

For “fun” I added two bonus nights, just to wear myself out a bit more ahead of time, with nights in Berkely Park and Glacier Basin.  A wistful recounting of my experiences along the way, intermixed with tips here and there, particularly poignant moments I will never forget, reviews of the four backcountry campsites, etc., follows a bit below.  First off, I’ll provide a brief summary of the factoid trail conditions that most people reasonably want to know when coming to this site, and mention a couple caveats for this report to those with the patience to read the long play version.

The Factoids:

The whole hike was about 35 miles.  No significant snow except from Summerland over Panhandle Gap and across Ohanepecosh Park, and all snow was passable without microspikes or ice axes – but trekking poles were very helpful.  The route is easy to find.  Bugs were not bad overall with a few exceptions in the hours just before sunset – mostly mosquitos.  Flowers were crazy in Berkely Park and coming along well elsewhere.  Lots of goats and marmots, no bears.  Water crossings doable but run high in the afternoon and a least one – the upper crossing of Fryingpan creek just beyond Summerland – can pose a challenge and present fun wading experiences if you get there too late in the day.

The Caveats

Though this report is dated for today, the dates of our trip were August 2 (Day 1) to August 6 (Day 5) so the info here is up to a week behind. Also, our group numbered between 7 and 11 people so we used the group sites at each camp. This did not matter at Berkley or Glacier Basin as the group spots are interspersed with the individual sites, but at Summerland and Indian Bar the group spots include the shelters and are segregated from the other sites.  All camp review info is for the group spots.

Lastly – and I’m #SorryNotSorry for this, but it is what it is – we decided, in our oxygen-starved state, to assign ratings on the “flush scale” (1 being the worst, 5 the best) to the privies we encountered.  Be forewarned. 

The Long Play, Day-by-Day, Blow-by-Blow and Fray-by-Fray Full-on Replay 

Here we go.

Day 1:  Sunrise to Berkely Park Camp.  3.1 miles, with 500’ or so climb to Frozen Lake followed by 1200’ or so descent to the Berkley Park backcountry camp.  No snow.  Buggy in the afternoon and early evening at camp, but manageable with lemon-eucalyptus and picaridin anti-bug elixirs.  Good access to water from the camp – lovely spots just down the hill to pump water and enjoy the river music.  Good post-dinner hiking through the meadows, which were bursting with every flower imaginable – had to be peak flower time when we were there.  The camp has the most inept bear pole I have encountered yet in MRNP - I think a determined marmot could knock it over.  Flat tent spots among trees, no real views but shaded and nice with peek-a-boo looks waaaay up to Fremont Lookout on the high hill above.  Single privy up the hill from camp, not too far but private enough and clean with a real toilet seat and lid as is typical of the high-falutin’ style of the NPS (and one I salute).   Three flushes out of five.

Dinner was these Uncle Ben’s boilable rice bags with parm cheese and butter.  Don’t mistake these things for instant rice (like Minute rice) – took 25 minutes of boiling to cook three bags.  Tasted okay though.  Dessert of Hershey’s bar.

Breakfast of Starbucks oatmeal, and coffee courtesy this morning (and each morning that followed) of the Aeropress coffee system, which is the greatest freaking backcountry breakfast meal breakthrough since the Snow Peak titanium French press came out.  If you have read my other theses on this site, you may have heard me extol the Snow Peak French Press to the heavens, and I really love it.  But this AeroPress thing cannot be beat for ease of use and cleanup – a must for any serious backcountry coffee lover. Note:  I did give the most excellent Pastor Peter a special dispensation to carry and imbibe instant Starbucks Via coffee on the trip – no judgement here, we must all find our way through that moral morass as best we can when on the trail.  But if you are willing to haul the extra 0.6 lbs for the Aeropress system, you will not be disappointed.  I feel I should point out that I do NOT get any compensation for my impromptu endorsements of these things, though I would be glad to take them if offered.  Just saying.

 Day 2:  Berkely Park to Glacier Basin via Burroughs Mountain:  About 6.5 miles, with an additional 1.5 miles added for the side trip up Third Burroughs (I finally found the inner strength).  Call it 1800’ climb to Second Burroughs, another 800 feet climb/descent to Third Burroughs, then about 1400’ down the steep, lonely, and beautiful connector trail from Burroughs to the Glacier Basin trail.  This is followed by 300 unexpected and unwelcome feet back uphill along the GB trail to camp.  After the aching steep descent from Burroughs, every foot of that last 300 feet back up feels as though it was constructed out of malice and hatred for all mankind by those that built that trail, though as I found out later this was done by NPS and WTA to repair the trail after flooding destroyed the old trail back in the mid 2000-aughts, and relocate it to a less flood-prone route. So gratitude to those who labored to restore the right of way to the camp, though this little climb was universally the most reviled climb of the trip, as measured by the ire of each person in our party that experienced it at the end of this second long day. 

Minor snow on Second and Third Burroughs, none on First, easy to cross.  We had lunch on top of Second Burroughs – Top Ramen with soy sauce and parm cheese.  Then dropped to the meadows and most of the party took the side trip to Third Burroughs.  My first time up there and was not disappointed in the views, which have been extolled on this site more times than can be counted.  The climb is tough but the beauty is worth it there at 7800 or so feet, the highest point reached on our trip. Don't miss the great vista at the far north end of the ridge, which looks out to Grand Park, Berkley Park, Fremont, and far off to the Cascades from Baker to Stuart.

Bugs not a factor anywhere except at Glacier Basin around sunset, when they were pretty bad - only night we really needed to go to Defcon 4 with the 30% DEET.

Also -  water access at GB is not easy – your choices are to risk drawing from the mosquito breeding laboratory pond near camp, or clamber 75 feet down into the rocky bed of the Inter Fork White River and clog your filter with silt every bottle and a half pumped (or so).  We chose the latter.

Good flat spots at camp.  The camp has nice peek-a-boo views of the basin but better views are only a few steps west where the whole basin is visible. The roar of the Inter Fork at the camp is just loud enough to be pleasant but not drown out conversation.  If you get up in the middle of the night much (the way lots of 50+year olds do) you can see the bright stark LED headlamps of climbers starting out optimistically on their way to the summit of Rainier, far above.

The NPS provides bear “cannisters” here – not poles or boxes – they were kind of bizarre but seemed to work.  They are basically glorified plastic garbage cans with screw-on lids chained against the trees near tent spot #2 (hint: I’d avoid tent spot #2 if you can). 

Now to the privy - where oh where to start?  Well for one, it feels like you have to climb halfway back up the trail to Second Burroughs to get to it – it is a long trek.  Then when you get there – it’s a two-seater.  Side by side. Very intimate – we took to calling it the “poop coupe.”  You would either need to be really close and comfortable with your bathroom buddy to share the experience there, or else just really, really, REALLY not care.  I’ll accept that GBCG is by all measures pretty much largely a climbers’ camp, a way stop on the road to Camp Schurman and the Emmons Glacier route, and that furthermore from personal experience I do understand that most climbers really, really, REALLY don’t care much about personal privacy and such – there being no leftover energy to do so.  So perhaps it is fitting – just be on notice that you may, while sitting and willing the free flow of all manners of bodily function, find yourself unwittingly sharing the experience with a total stranger.  One flush.

Sidebar:  I had been to GBCG only once before, early 2000’s timeframe, and do not remember it looking like it did.  I since learned the old trail (and maybe the old camp?) were wiped out by floods a few years after my previous hike in - this appear to explain the sharp turn uphill into that 300 foot climb, away from an older, more love-inducing trail that continues straight on, now abandoned.  I am surmising that the camp was also re-located, perhaps, since it does not look like it did.  I’d be interested if someone knows this.

Day 3:  Glacier Basin to Summerland.  Call it 9.8 miles total; 3.1 miles from GB to White River CG, another 2.6 along the WT to intersect the Summerland trail proper near the Frying Pan Creek TH, and then 4.1 more up to Summerland.  You lose about 1600’ between GB and WRCG, then another 400’ until you hit the Summerland trail, then have 2000’ to gain on the way back up to the Summerland camp. A lot of down and up for no net gain on the day...sigh.

This entire trek was mostly forested and shaded about 90 % of the way.  The GB trail is nice enough, with a couple viewpoints here and there, and the Summerland trail has some lovely creekside spots, one of which served as a lunch spot next to a roaring waterfall for our instant mashed potatoes meal - but most of this hike was trees, trees, trees.  Better than Mirkwood I guess, but monotonous IMHO, especially when laboring under 45 lbs of pack after a supply refresh at WRCG.  No amount of word games or the singing of show tunes – our usual means to distract from the numbness of a stiff pack-laden climb – could really penetrate the doldrums of that long, breath-taking (literally) pull.  Nevertheless, I appreciated the shade on this longest day of our hike, especially with the climb at the end. 

Again, no snow to speak of and the crossing of Fryingpan creek about 3 miles up the Summerland trail is lively but doable on the rocks before getting to the creaky old log bridge. Great flowers in the meadow after the creek crossing and up the final switchbacks, every one of which improves the view until you crest that ridge and the meadows explode before you.

Summerland is the best backcountry camp in MRNP, IMHO.  Summerland has always been one of my favorite spots anyways, with stunning views up to cliffs and snow and the Mountain, and lovely rills running down every green meadowy hillside in sight.  We saw deer and lots of marmots (always a perennial favorite of mine), and flowers were getting underway in the meadows.  Water is a bit of a walk from camp but WHAT a walk, and the spots for pumping are magical.  The group camp has a super-tall bear pole, but it is durable.  Dinner was cous-cous, more chocolate dessert but this time had out on what I call the Great Rock – a nice flat rock just off the trail in the meadows up the way a bit, a picture-perfect place to put the sun to bed and watch stars come out. The late evening hike out through meadows to sit on that rock with my sweet daughter and her husband, serenaded by marmot whistles and the arias of the rills, with the land bathed in alpenglow in all directions - one of the best moments of my hiking years.  

Sunrise the next morning lit the Mountain up orange and we watched three young bucks cross the meadows below our vista point while eating our breakfast of tortillas cooked in butter and salt.  Again - that group camp spot is amazing, with an expansive view of the whole meadow are from up high on a small bluff that we dubbed "the amphitheater."

Privy report:  Summerland is experimenting with some sort of solar composting toilet system, so the privy is entirely closed and has a kind of flushing system to it.  Nice and clean and private, but it does smell worse I think and when you close the door it is pitch black in there even in daylight.  Four flushes. 

Day 4:  Summerland to Indian Bar via Panhandle Gap.  This was THE day, the one we did it all for, and it did not disappoint. Call it 5 miles or so, with 900 feet up to PG and 1800 feet down, and some unknown but not insignificant additional ups and downs along the way. The high alpine journey from Summerland past the tarns above the creek crossing, over Panhandle Gap with its 360 degree panorama views of mountains in every direction, and then across meadow after meadow after meadow in Ohanepecosh Park - this was the highlight of the trip for me, scenery-wise.  Don't miss the side trip up from Panhandle Gap itself to the high points above just east of the pass.  

The route up to Panhandle has a couple of challenges.   First, the crossing of upper Fryingpan Creek is a ford now since the log bridge that has long spanned it got wrecked over the winter.  We were well warned beforehand and so got an early start, and though it was a spirited rock-hop, it could be made without wading in the mid-morning hours.  I suspect by early afternoon on warm days the rocks would be covered by run off and you’d have to wade it, so be aware. 

Snow up to PG was pretty straightforward – one snowfield near the gap has a narrow path kicked out with a steep drop but good runout – steady feet and poles were enough, no spikes or ice axes required.  From PG to the Big Drop into IB there is much more snow than I expected – I’d say 40-50% covered, but all easily crossed and boot-beaten so that the route is easy to find. 

From here on is where I developed my theory that the Wonderland Trail builders must have decided to add some extra adventure to it here by running it up and over and down and then back up and over and down again, in places where it seemed perfectly reasonable to have just run it straight and level – I am no trail builder, however, so perhaps there is method to this madness – just understand that when you get to PG it is not, as you may be tempted to think, “all downhill from here.” 

Had a lovely lunch break in Ohanepecosh Park to polish off the Top Ramen.   Soaked feet in the river above the falls, threw rocks at the snow bridges, and watched a herd of goats with Mt. Adams and (fittingly) the Goat Rocks in the distance.  It’s worth considering now and then that the relief of getting to the day's destination isn’t everything, and some magical spots along the way await the chance to make forever-memories. 

Eventually the trail does finally decide to go downhill and it does so with reckless abandon, dropping through many more flower displays about 1600 feet in 1.5 miles to the rock bar that I assume gives Indian Bar its name.  The knee-busting descent is well-compensated for with the views down into the upper end of the Indian Bar valley and it's approximately one zillion waterfalls.  

Once you get to the rock bar don't try to cross over it there -  find the trail wandering along the same side of the river along the bank where you meet it – there are flags and cairns to mark the way – and eventually follow it all the way to the bridge over the falls whose name I cannot say or spell, so I won’t try – starts with a “Wauhauka” something or other – super impressive water flow through that narrow rock gap. 

Indian Bar is another beautiful group camp located at the shelter, a very close second IMHO to Summerland.  Bugs were out and annoying in the middle of the day (or so I heard) but tapered off in late afternoon and were not a factor in the evening.  Flowers everywhere, including first time I’d seen Avalanche Lilies on the trail.   Good bear pole at the group site, but you have to climb halfway to the summit of Little Tahoma to find the privy. When you do get there, it has hands-down the best view of any privy in the park – five flushes, only knock is the long climb up from camp.

Dinner was angel hair pasta, chocolate and candy for dessert.  Stars were magnificent in the huge sky with the mountains hemming us in all around and the symphonic sound of water on the bar-rocks to keep us entertained.  Traditional last-day pancake breakfast the next morning with blueberries (packed in, no berries out yet but on the way) and the devouring of almost everything else in the packs under the knowledge that nearly endless quantities of pizza, chips, and beer were a mere half day of suffering away. 

Day 5:  Indian Bar to Box Canyon.  Call this 7.5 miles, with 900 feet of immediate climb out of camp to a high point.  This climb is particularly egregious in its deception, because you make a long steady slog up to a small pass, cross over it, and leave the view of Indian Bar behind as you then drop down into some meadows on the other side.  One could be forgiven for thinking that pass was “it” for the climb, even if one foolishly discounted the up-til-then quite accurate elevation readings on one’s Garmin Fenix 5 watch, which would have counseled one to not be so hasty, that another 300 or so feet were still to come, etc.  – because the pass so obviously seems like “it” and the desire for the climb out to be over is so great that that two together overwhelm all rational thought. This is soon corrected by Reality, which is that 300+ more feet of climb do in fact await you a few tenths of a mile on, until you actually reach the real high point of the trail out, and upon which there is no doubt that THIS is “it.”  The view at the high point is impressive out to Adams, Goat Rocks, and back to the Mountain, but you can no longer see Indian Bar valley itself.

The trail drops sharply from there, but this being the Wonderland there are still a few more gratuitous ups and downs along Cowlitz Ridge before the final steep drop down to Nickel Creek.  Bugs became a significant annoyance on this descent and I daresay would have made a camping night at Nickel Creek a truly penitential experience. We did not bother to check out this camp or rate its privy – maybe another day but do not hold your breath, from the side trail junction there was nothing to make me want to go see more of it.

The log bridge over Nickel Creek is a bit of a thrill, angled to one side as it is – but doable if you just go and don’t think.  Then a short amble out to the parking area at Box Canyon, where we rested in the shade for a bit to nurse our sore feet, before heading home with heads full of overflowing memories. Picked up pizza at Cascadia Pizza in Enumclaw - best dang pizza in the state as far as I'm concerned - give them a try.

In summary – fantastic if grueling hike, totally lived up to the hype along the Summerland-Indian Bar section, with two of the best camps in the park.  Easy to see why it is so dang hard to get these spots, but keep up the faith and the lottery entries and you never know.

We camped at White River last night (Sunday) and started our hike this morning  (Monday) from the campground. We hit the trailhead at 7:30 a.m. Trail is in really good shape. Wide in most places. There were zero sketchy spots on trail. Uphill from beginning but its a very slight grade. Doesn't get steeper until the last 25% but still moderate. There are some stunning views along the way. We got to the Basin Camp at 9:30 where we sat on a log and ate some brunch. There were 5 or 6 sites of backpackers camping. We then continued on to the unmaintained trail for a ways, along the water to where the path ends. Climbed down the rocks to admire the beautiful flowing river. Stayed about an hour then headed back down. Bugs were pretty annoying but we were covered in spray and didn't get bitten. Passed about 20 people coming up as we went down. Took 2 hours to reach the top, stayed an hour took about an hour and 15 minutes back down.  This hike is rated as moderate and I agree. As far as scenery, we give it a 7/10 (but we're very spoiled). Glad we started early. It was a good day. 

Following the devastating floods in 2006, WTA and the park service worked together to reroute and rebuild this trial. They did a fabulous job with high-quality trail design and construction. SO grateful for this kind of collaboration for trail access.

Saw a bear scamper across the trail just past the junction with the Emmons Moraine Trail. Wildflowers are blooming and everything is snow-free up through the basin. Had a lovely lunch by the river while I cooled my feet in the water.

We headed up to 3rd Burroughs starting at the White River campground, one of our favorite hikes. There were several spots available in the parking lot just before 8 am. We started on the Glacier Basin trail about 8:15. It was a nice quiet morning, just a few others on the trail. We took the trail at about 2.8 miles marked Sunrise to the Burroughs trail. There were several trees down across the trail on the way up. We  cleared several and removed branches off one larger tree to make it easier to go under on our way down. There is no snow on this section of the trail and only a few flowers starting to bloom right now. We were ready for the bugs and had lots of bug spray on. They were still a bit annoying if we stopped but otherwise left us alone. There are many places to fill water if needed on the way up until you come out of the trees. Once at the top we took the Burroughs trail towards 3rd Burroughs. There are a few snow sections remaining but it was about 10 AM and it had softened so we didn't need any sort of traction. We were lucky to see a small herd of Mountain Goats just below the summit relaxing in the snow. They were far enough off to not be of concern and didn't seem bothered by us stopping to take photos. At the summit we were surprised by how many people arrived for a weekday morning but it was a beautiful day so who can blame them. On the way down we passed a few groups coming up from Glacier Basin but still a pretty quiet trip back. It got warm so we stopped at the river once back on the Glacier Basin trail, highly recommend. Such a relaxing place to cool off. The only downer of the day was a few men, maybe  from the campground, were smoking on the trail. We watched one put his cigarette out on a tree and throw his trash on the ground. We caught up, picked it up and gave him a few words regarding trail care and etiquette. So sad some people just don't get it. Overall a beautiful day! If you want to catch the flowers it will probably be a week or so for them to be on full display. Overall 10.8 miles RT.