From blog posts to magazine articles to the NPS website, there is a lot of information out there about the Wonderland Trail. I'll keep this report as short and sweet as possible - just filled with the lessons I learned as a first time WT hiker who completed the trail with minimal hitches clockwise Sunrise -> Sunrise in 8 days.
The Permit: I was lucky to score an 8 day WT permit back in April and received an updated permit email in May with information about the COVID updates. Rather than pick up my permit in person a ranger was to call me to confirm my reservation at least 7 days in advance. Although the park was supposed to call all permit holders, this is incredibly time consuming for the limited ranger staff. Pro tip: Don’t wait for them to call you, call the park and leave a message if you need to.
The Trail: The trail is in amazing condition without a doubt thanks to the amazing park service trail crew. We only stepped over 3 fallen logs the entire 93 miles. Much of the trail feels like you are walking through a meadow or forest on a soft and groomed highway. All snow fields are passable at the higher elevations like Panhandle Gap and Spray Park. You may have heard that cliqué “Mount Rainier is a dynamic park where the only constant is change”. How does this translate to trail conditions though? There are extremely rugged stretches (the landslide in Stevens Canyon), exposed and steep rocky trail (Emerald Ridge and the trail above the Carbon Glacier), and unpredictable river crossings (South Mowich River and Kautz Creek). We had some great advice about river crossings from a backcountry ranger: If a bridge is out, don’t try to cross where the bridge used to be just because the bridge was there. Sometimes finding the safe crossing will take hours. Being patient may mean you have to change your plans and wait for the river conditions to change. As the only constant is change, the great trail conditions we experienced last week may not be what you experience today so check out the park’s report here before starting your trip, talk to the backcountry rangers if you see them, and talk with other hikers as you approach areas of concern - they may have some good updates that will help you navigate the unpredictable portions of the trail.
The Backcountry Camps: When planning my itinerary for the trip, I had no idea which camps would be the best to stay at. Our favorites from our itinerary were Indian Bar, Golden Lakes, and Mystic. Klapatche Park camp is a pretty dreamy spot with a great mountain view and we had wished that we had been able to camp there. Pro tip: All sites have tall bear poles to hang your food on. We brought bear canisters with us, but would skip these next time to save on weight as the bear poles were very effective for those who used them.
Food Caches: We personally dropped foods caches at Longmire and Mowich Lake rather than mail them. The park requires that your food is in a critter proof plastic container. Pro trip: You don’t need to buy a 5 gallon bucket as the park has about a hundred buckets at Longmire left from previous food caches. Just ask a ranger at the Longmire WIC or call ahead to confirm they have extras. We heard that it is common for caches to be stolen from the Mowich Cache site- ours was unharmed. It may be a good idea to pack some extra food in your previous cache just in case your cache is raided.
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