Just returned from 11 days of Wonderland. Total Miles 126.36 +30,846 elevation gain plus an unbelievable lightning storm that lasted 2 hours directly above us at Carbon River Camp.

With reduced access to Mowich Lake due to the Fairfax Bridge closure, we started with 6 days of food carry and an additional 6.5 miles off trail at Westside Road.

GEOHAZARD: When we returned we learned my 4Runner had been involved in a water outburst slide of rock and mud on the Westside Road that made the evening news. My husband and friend spent 1 1/2 hrs getting through the entrance in the afternoon to come and dig my car out.

PERMIT DAY ENTRANCE: Vehicle backups to the entrance at Nisqually were less than 10 minutes early in the morning as we drove to Longmire and picked up the permit to backcountry camp. As mentioned above in the afternoon, the backups lasted 1 1/2 hrs. During our permit pick-up the ranger there informed us of any hazards and where to find water to filter. We also received rules and reminders of Leave No Trace use and policy.

CACHES: We could only cache at White River and Longmire so arranged to have our husbands meet us at Sunrise and Box Canyon with fresh food and to replenish our carry.

TRIP: We parked at Westside Road and headed to our first Camp at So. Puyallup just 6.5 miles off the start of the Wonderland Trail. We also added a trip around Burroughs 2 to the Glacier Basin Trail that added mileage and elevation gains to our total trip.

WATER: There is no water or bathrooms at Sunrise Visitor Center and at Paradise; just portable bathrooms. At Shadow Lake and Sunrise Camp, there is accessible water but there are a lot of humans and animals around it. Filter all water.

More Pictures Here or are included in each link below.

Summary

Had a reservation to hike the Northern Loop clockwise 8/14 – 8/17 with my hiking buddy and his son’s first ever backpacking trip. For context, I completed the Wonderland Trail 12 or so years ago and I would agree with others that this route is like a mini-Wonderland. Unfortunately, on our second day it rained the whole time and the third day was super foggy, so minimal views between Mystic and Fire Creek for us ☹. Had some great views on our last day from Fire Creek back to Sunrise and I may try day hiking that area in the future on a nicer day.

Day 1: Sunrise -> Skyscraper Peak -> Mystic Lake

Arrived at the White River entrance shortly after 7:30 and there was no car line to get into the park. For the Wilderness Center, we were 6^th or 7^th in line and I am assuming some of the folks in front of us must have been doing walk-up reservations because it took almost 50 minutes to get our permit as there was only one Ranger. Got to Sunrise parking lot a little after 9:00 on a Thursday and it was about half full. We hiked partly up Skyscraper Peak before deciding to drop our laden packs and bagged the peak which was worth the views and solitude as we were the only group up there. Note that there isn’t a water source after leaving Sunrise until you hit Granite Creek Camp about 4.5 miles in (almost 5.5 if you do the side trip to Skyscraper). Trail was in great shape, only questionable area was the log bridge over the White River as the trail it connects to on the West side is a small creek so it might be slowly washing away the “foundation” of the bridge on that side. We stayed at Mystic in site 7, plenty of room for 2 tents (a 2 person and my Durston X-Mid 1). I hiked up to the lake and then the Ranger Cabin, said hi to the Ranger who was hiking down to check permits at camp and he offered to let me in the cabin if I stayed long enough, but there were no views as the clouds started to roll in so I didn’t hang out.

Day 2: Mystic -> Yellowstone Cliffs

It rained all night, the morning was foggy and then around 11AM or so, it rained steadily through the rest of the day, so it was a wet slog for us. We had planned a side trip to Curtis Ridge overlooking the Carbon glacier, but gave up on that plan as we assumed our view would just be clouds. We crossed the Carbon suspension bridge to grab water near Carbon camp, but there was one more water source that I didn’t see on my map maybe 5 or so minutes before you leave the Wonderland and switch onto the Northern Loop trail, so grab water here before the steep climb out of the Carbon valley. From there, no water till Yellowstone Camp and if you aren’t staying there, you may want to keep going to the lake a mile past the cutoff for Yellowstone as it is probably a 5 minute walk off the Northern Trail to get to the water source at camp. As others have said, the climb away from Carbon is steep and seems to last forever, the unrelenting rain didn’t help our spirits. When we arrived at Yellowstone, we could just barely see the cliffs through the fog, so can’t really comment on the view. Someone was already hunkered down in site 2, so we had to take site 1 which had two huge puddles right in the prime tent pitching spots, so we had to pitch our tents on the edge of the site that wasn’t flat and was covered in big roots (worst sleeping experience I have had in the backcountry). If it wasn’t raining, I think this camp would have been great, right by the creek with deer and possible views to the cliffs.

Day 3: Yellowstone -> Fire Creek

The rain slowed in the early morning and finally relented when we got out of our tents, but a thick fog coated everything, so our views were obscured, we couldn’t see the Yellowstone Cliffs at all, maybe 30 feet of visibility. After climbing to Windy Gap, the area was beautiful even with the fog, would love to come back on a clear day! We then descended into the trees towards Lake James, my hiking partner saw the mama bear with 2 cubs others have seen right on the trail shortly before we came to the cutoff for the Lake James Patrol Cabin, they didn’t stick around long enough for the other 2 of us to catch a glimpse as this was a thickly wooded area with lots of switchbacks. We grabbed water just before Lake James Camp and didn’t see any sources from there to Fire Creek camp (again, if you aren’t staying at Fire Creek, you probably don’t want to add almost a mile round trip off the main trail to grab water here, but plan accordingly as there isn’t a water source until you get to Lodi Creek past the cutoff to Lake Eleanor). The hike from James to Fire Creek is almost all in the trees except for when you get to White River. The very first fork of the river you have to cross is a rock hop that was pretty sketchy when we arrived in the afternoon a day after it rained so much, we could only see the top ½ inch of the rocks and spent some time looking up and downstream deciding if that was really where we were expected to cross, if you see a ribbon on a root ball across the fork of the river, then that is what you are aiming for. The rest of the crossings all had bridges, it was a little confusing as you cross a fork or two twice, but just look for bridges, footprints and cairns and you should find the way. Per above, getting to Fire Creek was a trek, site 1 was taken so we checked out site 2 and 3 and decided to stay in 2 as it was closer to the water source and the bear pole. The site worked great for us, but note that the creek was running low which made it more difficult to fill our Cnoc water bags. Also remember the next morning how far away and uphill that toilet is!

Day 4: Fire Creek -> Sunrise

We awoke to the blessing of the sun breaking through the clouds and a dry camp to start our day. We filled up our water and switchbacked up to the clearing where the hiking gods granted us a small window in the clouds we could see the mountain through. We hung out here for a while as it was the first good view of the mountain since day 1. I would consider a day hike to this location in the future as you also get to walk through Berkeley Park which is cool as well. We finally said goodbye to that view and hiked through Berkeley Park. The first water source was just before getting to Berkeley Camp and then you have access to Lodi and a bunch of smaller streams with the last good source coming just before you turn left to hike the trail you likely have been staring at that takes you back up to the Wonderland. We didn’t stop at Berkeley Camp, but it looked nice although the sites we saw were right on top of the trail. Not too much to note after you take that sweeping left to go straight up to the Wonderland as you have already seen this view going the other way.

I have included a link to my GPX file below if helpful.

Forget what you've heard about the challenges, the Northern Loop is a magical hike. This loop trail makes up about 40 miles with 11,000 +/- elevation gain/loss. More challenging to do in 3 days but, we had the perfect weather to do so.

Pass Permit: Overnight reservation can be obtained at Recreation.gov. Finalize the registration at the park 24 in advance.

Permits were checked multiple times on trail and in camps. The rangers checked the number of people on your permit, and your location from where you were coming from and where you were going.

Day #1- Starting at Sunrise at Mt. Rainier National Park, we drove and began under sunny skies at 6200'.

As we approached Skyscraper Mountain, it looked daunting to climb carrying heavy backpacks in sun but, we managed to summit and come down in time for lunch.

Along this section viewing the Winthrop Glacier is as up close as you can get. Crossing the upper West section of the White River was not an issue this year. There was one smaller area to ford or rock hop though and being 5'1 I usually choose to go in the water. It was up to my knees. Most footbridges are safe to cross where there is one and many looked to be refurbished and fresh.

Leaving most of the visitors behind now we spent our first night barely making it to camp before dark at Mystic Lake. Water was plentiful at the campground. The backcountry ranger, Brian, made his way checking permits and was fun to chat with in the evening. He was very knowledgeable about the park.

Day #2 We visited the Mystic Lake patrol cabin to take a peek inside meeting up with Brian ready to start his day. What a wonderful rustic place it would be to stay. 

You'll find water at the camp hidden behind campsite #4. 

Heading up the ridge the view of Willis Wall and down to Morraine Park the views were spectacular.

Around the bend you walk along the terminus of the Carbon Glacier and down into where the Wonderland section departs across a suspension bridge. It's been there since I was a kid in the 70's.

Day two also offered us a 4 mile switchback in the woods up, up, up. Egads that was a pretty tough and relentless 2 hrs. I call it mental endurance. Take lots of breaks and eat some snacks.

At Yellowstone Cliffs Camp we surprised a bear having early supper, he was heading up the trail as we were heading down to the camp's water source. Luckily switchbacks of wildflowers were the meal on his mind, not us. The bear had tiny body and big head and even bigger jaws, was actually more startled by us as we talked and kept our distance walking by and yes I grabbed my camera and cropped the photo.

Windy Pass lived up to its name as we watched the sun lower itself in the sky and attempted a boiling water for a hot trailside dinner. 

Day #3- Visiting James Lake around 9ish we scooted along the trail and climbed over multiple blow downs along miles of switchbacks. 

Crossing the lower section of the West White River, there was one spot we had to ford, a small side creek where I slipped rock hopping in my crocs, usually the reason why I choose to go in and walk across.

A mile or two of ripe blueberries added to our morning meal. There is no water along this section except for at Fire Creek Camp. It's a bit of jaunt back down when you've come a long way up the hill and back to fetch water here (1.5 mile detour) that couldn't be avoided. 

Finding a lookout point and seeing Grand Park was fantastic but, the real treat was the full out wildflower bloom up Berkeley Park. Astonishing!

HAZARDS: All and all, drink plenty of water when you can. Bring electrolytes for the strenuous parts where you will sweat a lot. Plan to carry as much water as you need within a 2-3 hrs window of time. I would drink 1 liter then carry 1.5 liters at all places the water was plentiful. There are limited water sources if I didn't mention it. My guess is things will dry up even more. Did I mention to drink up?

Absolutely gorgeous trip!!!

Special thanks to the MORA National Park staff for making our trip as safe as possible and offering suggestions to take our time, rest and enjoy the hard parts. Be safe and make good decisions.

3 Days- 11,000' elevation gain/loss, 40 miles

Spent 5 wonderful days out with a WTA volunteer crew working on a reroute started last year to bypass a stretch of the Wonderland that has been washed out by the Carbon River roughly 1 mile from the Ipsut Creek Camp. This was one of the most luxurious "backcountry" camping experiences I've ever had, since the amazing National Park staff not only guided us through a reroute bypassing the closed Fairfax Bridge, but drove us an all our gear up the closed Carbon River Road, saving us the 5 mile hike to camp and giving us more time working on our project!

And what a project it was! Our crew of 12 spent most of our time wrestling boulders and digging through many feet of duff in an attempt to establish a bench for the future trail in some of the roughest terrain I've ever worked in. By the end of each day working on trail, I was ready for an early dinner followed by an early bedtime, but others from the crew with more energy hiked as far as the Carbon River Suspension Bridge one evening. They reported that all log crossings of the Carbon River are in place for the season, and that the Wonderland Trail was snow covered shortly beyond the bridge. 

Getting out to volunteer on trail is always a good time, but this trip in particular is one I won't soon forget! 

The WTA presets don't really help here--the hike was a "winter hike" (i.e. the road is closed) to Ipsut Pass, which is not any hike's final destination, I guess.

My first winter hike here and it was pretty good--may be an acquired taste. The closure saves you 5+ miles of washboard driving each way, but of course increases your hike distance by about 4.5 miles each way. My last hike here was Aug 29, almost exactly two months ago, but it might as well have been another century. What I knew to be a sunny, dusty drive to an inviting lake with swimmers(!) was now a wet slog by car in darkness--no dust, but the puddles obscure the depth of the potholes, and Mowich Lake looked pretty cold and gray.

The first five miles of the unpaved road were okay--I set my cruise control to 30 and the Outback behaved until the potholes made me rethink my life choices. Parked near the toilets at the gate (stinky, but oodles of TP!), and started hiking at 8:00 am. The road was bare at first, then some small snow patches after one mile, a thin layer of snow at about two miles, and a good 2-3 inches by the time I turned off for the Grindstone Trail (which saves you about a mile in each direction--plus it's a nice hike!). Also, saw a good-sized black bear on the road--maybe 50 feet away and he seemed more surprised than I was. I clacked my poles a few times and scolded him loudly for being in the way so he obliged by heading off trail. Shouldn't he be asleep?

The grindstone trail is neat and truncates two big loops in the road, but today it was 100% snowed in 4-8" deep, with plenty of muddy spots too. The trail is pretty well packed down and easy to follow. May not be as the snow gets deeper, not sure. Back on the road after a mile or so it was a short way to the Tolmie Peak TH, which I walked just two months before. I was hoping to make it to Tolmie Lookout, but the weather stunk and there were no chances of views. With the wind kicking up and knocking giant clumps of snow out of the trees all around me (WHOOMPH!  BOOM!), I turned around at the top of the pass at 4.8 miles and 2:08 into the hike. Easier and uneventful back to the car by 3 hours and 45 minutes or so, or a little before noon. Completely drenched, but it was a nice hike in the snow. No traction needed since it was slushy/crunchy, but I used my poles (as always). Vertical gain about 1,800 feet--so weird to not gain that much height, yet there was 10" of snow at the top and zero snow at the car (but plenty of rain).

If you can grab a sunny winter day for this, I recommend it--it was pretty cool. Later in the season, it might require snowshoes or skis. For now, just boots did fine.