This is a trip report for the "long way up" to reach Mildred Point from Longmire via the Wonderland and the upper Rampart Ridge trail. There appears to be no entry for this upper section of the Rampart Ridge trail, only the Rampart Ridge Loop, so I'm tagging it here instead. I couldn't find any recent trip reports for the upper Rampart Ridge trail, so I hope this entry helps others who may be interested the current status of this trail as well.
We decided to take this longer route with more elevation gain for two reasons: recent trip reports made it sound like reaching Mildred Point from the more common Comet Falls / Van Trump Park approach could be dicey due to significant snow remaining in Van Trump, and also we wanted to avoid the hordes of hikers heading to Comet Falls. It turned out to be a great decision! After taking the Wonderland up from Longmire for about 1.8 miles, where we encountered many other groups, we took the right turn at the Upper Rampart Ridge trail (labelled as the Van Trump trail on the sign post) and then saw not another soul for ~3.2 miles all the way up to Mildred Point. This was really surprising, considering it was a Sunday afternoon in July. The Upper Rampart Ridge trail is in excellent condition, no blowdowns and very easy to follow even though it's apparent that it is not frequently traveled. It is steep in some sections but relatively flat in others, and there is only one short section with switchbacks. There are no views to speak of for several miles until approaching the turnoff to Mildred Point, but it was so pleasant to cruise through the old growth forest with sunbeams slanting through the trees and birds chirping all around and not hear a sound from another human for miles. Once we reached the turnoff to Mildred Point, the meadows up above the turnoff are still melting out so it's quite wet and muddy in some areas. The trail is also incredibly steep and rutted in some sections but is surrounded by acres of wildflowers. There are also large snowfields remaining up there, but they are nearly flat and easily traversed, and it's obvious where to pick up the trail on the other side. Mildred Point itself is glorious, with an in-your-face view of the mountain. There were waterfalls thundering down the Kautz Creek valley and we heard 4 huge rockfalls come down while sitting at the point. The drop-off at Mildred is spooky to say the least, but as long as you stand far back from the edge, it's easy to stay safe. The only downside of this trip was the BUGS - at Mildred, there were so many huge flying ants (1/4 to 1/2" long) that our napping prospects were severely cut short. And the mosquitoes were fierce on Rampart Ridge on the descent, to the point we were literally running down some sections to escape them. All in all, a great and strenuous day hike with zero crowds. Stunning day! ~10 miles, 3500 ft gain.
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