Summerland - Panhandle Gap — Sunday, Sep. 13, 2015

Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River

After 3 years of attempts, we were delighted to finally score permits for our final leg of the Wonderland Trail. Day 1 - our only sunny day, which we savored, knowing the weather forecast. It was our first stay in a shelter on this trail, and our last view of the mountain. Evening entertainment was provided by a young pair of bucks, sparring at dusk below camp. Day 2 - up and over the panhandle was very foreign to me, having last seen it in a fully snow-bedecked early summer. Mountain goats watched us from both sides, and snowflakes began mid-day, intermittently to alternate with misty rain. 3 tents and 2 bunk-beds saw use in the shelter this night, a wonderful blend of 3 parties sharing WT stories. 3 kestrels were hunting the bar, and a flock of yellow warblers visited. Day 3 - a bittersweet denouement to this iconic trail adventure. Fall colors dulled by the heavy fog and falling snow. A family of 7 Sooty grouse escorted us out of the subalpine, and we drove to Paradise to celebrate our WT completion over dinner in the lodge. After dark, the Mountain made a shadowy adieu, and a coyote ran across the road on our departure.