Adventures on the Wonderland Trail

Wonderland trail is a 93 miles long trail (around 23,000 feet elevation gain) that circumnavigates Mount Rainier, highest mountain in Washington state with a commanding presence in the Pacific Northwest region. It rises up to 14,411 ft elevation - adorned with 27 major glaciers feeding hundreds of streams, creeks, rivers and cascades, creating many micro eco-systems all around the mountain. From lavish rain-forested valleys to alpine meadows bursting with wildflowers, from raging waterfalls to pristine lakes - it has it all. And one of the best way to enjoy this amazing mountain paradise is to traverse the mountain along Wonderland trail. Each year, hundreds of backpackers visit Mount Rainier National Park to walk this trail - most take between 9-12 days, some even more. Of course, this long walk will let one to truly enjoy the beauty and diversity of the park, but if you don't have the luxury of taking that much time off and physically and mentally fit enough to endure long days of walking or running on challenging mountain terrain, you can plan to do it in 3 days with ~30+ miles walk per day. Very fit trailrunners often run it in a single push or over two days, but I have found 3 days provide just the perfect balance of challenge and enjoyment. 

Planning

A few good thing about this trail that makes for easy planning:

• Loop trail - You come back where you start, eliminating any need of car shuttles or asking for a ride from a stranger.
• Food cache - You can drop (either mail or in-person) food to some of the national park ranger stations along the trail (Longmire, Mowich, White River and Sunrise) - eliminating the need to carry all the food with you. You still need to carry a light sleeping system (bag, tent, etc. whatever you want to sleep in). See more information here.
• Camping reservation - You can book any of the 18 designated campsites in advance. You better apply in February of each year to do so as this is a very popular trail. See more information here.

Other things to consider while planning

• Clockwise or anticlockwise - Clockwise provides easier climbs but steeper descent and most backpackers choose to do it this way. I did it anti-clockwise as I enjoy power-hike (a trail running term for hiking up really fast) up and run down the descents. Views are equally beautiful both ways. 
• Where to start - I started in Longmire and spent two nights - one in White River and one in Mowich - taking advantage of the food cache locations. This made each of my days around 30+ miles - but one can use other trailheads like Box canyon or Sunrise or Reflection lake to design your own route. Here is a very good resource to help you with that.

Trail highlights 

Day 1: Longmire to White River (~31 miles)

As I started from Longmire and headed east, I found the trail to be very easy to follow and fast-going as this is probably the easiest part of the whole loop, letting you to settle down in your pace and get ready for the long days to come. The first highlight was Narada falls, a beautiful waterfall that one can check out (only 0.1 miles away from the main trail). At around 5 miles, I came to Refection Lake - a stunning lake with the views of Rainier. The road to Paradise touches this lake - so expect a lot of tourists and day hikers in this area.

Reflection Lake

After Reflection Lake, the trail drops and reaches Maple creek campsite after 4.7 miles, then crosses Box Canyon trailhead and climbs up to Nickel Creek campsite at another 3.1 miles (both great choices for backcountry campsites). The trail then rises sharply to Indian Bar - one of the most beautiful locations in Mt Rainier National Park. Even on days when the clouds blocking the big views (like the day I was running up), there are still plenty to see and enjoy on this part of the trail - the alpine meadows burst with wildflowers of various colors and creeks/rivers crisscross the trail.  

Meadows near Indian Bar

After I crossed Indian bar, the trail rises even more to reach Panhandle gap, the highest point of the trail at around 6800 ft. This is a truly special place - with towering Rainier, its glaciers and other sub-peaks looming around you. Snow lingers here even deep into summer - alpine tarns reflect the mountains and lakeside meadows.

Panhandle gap tarn and wildflowers

After Panhandle gap, the trail descends to Summerland (another backcountry camp and a very popular day hike destination) meadows, with more breathtaking vistas, full of flowers and wildlife (easy to spot marmots - even bears here). The trail continues to make its way down to White River Campground - where I planned to stay for the night. It's a busy campground as it also doubles as a car-accessible campground, but you get all the standard amenities here (like full toilet, drinking fountain, etc). Just don't expect backcountry solitude here. I picked up my food cache from ranger station, made myself a warm dinner and slipped into the bag for a welcome slumber. 

Day 2: White River to Mowich (~31 miles)

I woke up early and climbed up from White River towards Sunrise to find a perfect dawn with magical alpenglow on Mt Rainier. The trail here passes through some of the most stunning landscape of the park - high altitude vistas with big views of looming mountains and glaciers. A lot of trails intersect Wonderland in this area - but it's not too hard to stay on the right trail. The main distractions are the amazing alpine views in the early morning light that can take your breath away.

Sunrise alpenglow

After Sunrise area, the trail climbs up to Skyscraper pass for more stunning open views, where you can almost touch the mountain. After that, the trail dips into the treeline and continue towards Granite creek (another campsite here). 

Skyscrapper pass

The next big highlight on the trail is Mystic lake area. This area is really pristine and remote - you won't find many day hikers here, making it one of the loneliest part of the whole trail. The views of Rainier is stunning from this area, but there is also something very magical about this location. The lake itself not too big, but lined with meadows and Mineral mountain behind it. There is a small patrol cabin and campground (not next to lake, but half mile before you reach the lake), where you may choose to camp overnight.

Mystic Lake and Mineral mountain

Views of Mt. Rainier from Mystic lake area

After Mystic lake, Wonderland trails drops steeply all the way to Carbon river, with some intimidating views of Carbon glacier. Near the river, the trail can be confusing due the some rerouting from the major floods that happened here in the past. You have an alternate option here of leaving Wonderland and follow a different trail that goes through beautiful Spray park and rejoins Wonderland at Mowich lake. I decided to stay on Wonderland as I have visited Spray park before. After crossing Ipsut creek, the trail now enters a rain forest-like area, where the green is of the deepest shades possible, with large ferns and roaring waterfalls surprises you in every other turn. The trail becomes very steep as it climbs up to Ipsut pass - the last climb of the day.

Ipsut pass area with thick rain forests

The views from Ipsut pass are very dramatic and unique - it feels like you have transported to some tropical jungle. As soon as you top out and start descending towards Mowich lake, you will probably start seeing more day hikers as the lake is car accessible and there are some pretty popular hikes in this area.

Mowich lake is a nice but busy spot. In summer, it can get downright noisy with too many people coming here to camp and as a backpacker, you may not like spend the night here. I had my second food cache in the ranger station next to the lake. The ranger was a very nice fellow, with whom I talked for a while, before trying to get some sleep in the noisy campground.

Day 3: Mowich to Longmire (~31 miles)

I knew the last day is going to be the hardest. I had 4 big climbs on tired legs - but I also knew the landscapes would be very diverse and ever-changing to keep me entertained all the way to Longmire. I started really early this morning (at 3 am) to get a head start. There is something magical about walking through the wilderness in the darkness of the night - with your headlamps illuminating the trail in front of you and nothing else. I made my way down and eventually the day dawned by the time I crossed South Mowich river and I started the very long climb to Golden Lakes.

Golden lakes

Golden lakes is another of the Wonderland highlights - far from any day hiking routes, remote and full of solitude. The lakes in the morning produce perfect reflection of the beautiful trees along their shores. There is also a campground and a patrol cabin. The campers were pretty surprised to see me walking in so early in the morning. When I told them that I would be going all the way to Longmire that day to finish my circumnavigation in 3 days, they were even more surprised. I lingered next to the lakes for a while - not wanting to rush but enjoy the magic of morning sun playing on the water. But I knew that time is ticking away and I needed to move on.

The next highlight was Klapatche park. It's a brutal climb to reach this high alpine meadow but the beauty of this place is beyond anything that words can describe - even the photos don't do the justice. There is a campground next to the small lake in this park - probably the most beautiful campsite I have ever seen.

Klapatche park on Wonderland trail

After Klapatche park, the trail winds its way towards St Andrew's park - another breathtaking area. I spent some time in both parks - gawking at the views of the imposing mountains and photographing the reflections on the lake - not a single soul in the sight. Where were everyone? Finally, as I started going down from St Andrew's, I saw some hikers coming up the trail, reminding me that I am still on the planet earth.

St. Andrews Lake

The next highlight was Emerald ridge area. The trail follows an open ridge, with very interesting and colorful volcanic rocks around. The views of Rainier is unique from this side - nothing like what you see from other angles. The thick meadows slowly gave away to desert like landscape as I reached the top of the ridge, and then started the long descent towards Tahoma creek suspension bridge way down below.

Emerald ridge area

After the suspension bridge, I was facing the last serious climb of the day (and of the trip) -  towards historic Indian Henry's Hunting Ground area. This is another iconic location on the trail and I have never visited this part of the park. It did not disappoint - the area is a visual overdose of natural beauty with the vast alpine meadows, unique views of the mountain and that cabin, situated amidst the most impressive landscape one can imagine. I stopped here for a while to soak all the beauty in and wondered what could have been to spend a few days in the cabin. Another time may be - I needed to move on as it's getting late in the day.

Indian Henry's Hunting Ground

After Indian Henry's, the trail descends another ~8 miles towards Longmire. I passed Devil's Dream campground and Pyramid creek and saw some backpackers settling in after long days on the trail. As I walked into Longmire in the evening, I felt like coming down from the paradise to the earth again. Wonderland can truly cast a spell on those who dare to venture on its magical paths. Be it 3 days or 10 days, once you walk/run on this trail, the experience will stay with you forever and may pull you back like a magnet again and again. I know I will be back for sure.