Wonderland Trail

“Guess you'll just have to go and take the pictures....... :-)”

“read.......oh man”

“On our trip last year I would read from that book every morning at breakfast about what we would be seeing that day. It was very helpful.”

“I would have liked to see more maps, but the book is great. Lots of detail and some history. I'll punch up the area on topozone or get the trails illustrated maps.”

“yep just started reading it. Long way off but ya know in the end it's just a blink of an eye.”

“I has some airplane time to study this book this week. It sure does whet the appetite for the trip. Some locals I talked to recommend September as the prime month to do it, and I've heard that for other mountain trips also. From the book one might get the impression that this is a heavily maintained trail, I wonder if that is so. I understand its all in the Park, NPS does have better budgets for such things, better than the Forest Service or BLM.

Now its just anticipation. Didn't someone do a song about that???”

“. . . had some . . .

I hate sounding stupid.”

“ldhiker

This trail is practically manicured. I embellish, but really.... it is great. Every day is a wonder. We came across paid crews but they also have volunteer groups do maintenance. Once you hike it you'll understand.....the trail is revered and loved.”

“bump”

“The Earthwalk Press map that I ordered from the bookstore here came, very interesting.”

“please do tell.

BTW. Have you made any kind of decision as to when you think you are going out there.”

“I'm just going along with the group here, for now,so probably next fall. If something breaks at work, I might look into putting something together this fall, but that is a very long shot.”

“My general plan was for August because I suspect I will be taking classes in Sept. I would like to hook up with as many of you guys as possible so I certainly willing to go with the flow.”

“Just bringing this one to the top - I'm still thinking about it for next August.”

“I'm interested in doing it too. And for what its worth, I'm a 'local' - live in Seattle.”

“from the looks of the SierraPalooza thread, looks like it's time to call this "WonderlandPalooza" and start a Trip page. i'd be interested, if the timing was right for me...”

“Aussie, is that an offer of logistcal support? Supply drops? Airport runs? How far is the trail from SeaTac? I'll save SWA free flight coupons and peddle them cheap.”

“It would be a huge hassle but I imagine people could pick up parts of the trip if they didn't want to do the whole thing.”

“Pretty much all of the above. I don't think I want to take on ALL of the organising but I'll help whoever does take the lead on it.

Depending on where you start the trip, the trail is 2-3 hours from the airport. I believe you can cache food at Ranger stations but not fuel.

I can offer floor accommodation for people who need it and pick-ups/drop-offs from/to the airport.

I theory I could cache food a day ahead of time but people would have to send it to me first....

But plenty of time yet to plan.”

“It'll be August, right?”

“pepperdog - I think you could pick up a segment of this trip without too much problem. It's a 10-day trip, so I'm sure there will be some that want to just do part of it.”

“Right, plenty of time to plan. I am serious about doing this and will schedule it for next summer or fall. Good to know there is a local contact. Are you up for the trip? I wouldn't envision support work eliminating you from the trip. I envision renting a car to scope out the area, drop off caches, and then needing a ride to and from the TH.”

“I found my Webshots photos from 2001 when a group of us hiked the Wonderland Trail over Labor Day. The total trip was 9 days. Due to work obligations, I met up with the group on day 3. I'd like to do this trail again. Hope this link works.. (Maybe someone can make it friendly for me?)
http://community.webshots.com/album/21971451ltsLfJfeqo”

“what part of the summer was this trip in?”

“Fritz - Thanks for the link. Also, was great meeting you and your son at Columbine Lake! Plus, all of the other 5-dayers. Wish we could have had more time there!

MM - We hiked the Wonderland Trail over Labor Day in 2001. Here is the link for the trip report for that hike. LDHiker had posted this also a few pages back. (And Fritz.. this is not very friendly either, is it?)

http://www.myoan.net/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000137”

“Bump.

Found this thread again.

I'm still very interested. I need to set a firm reunion date for a weekend in August and I'd hate to do that and then miss out on this trip. I'd like closer to the end of August.

Landscaper and I can drive up from Northeren CA and stuff extra people in our car. It's got 7 seats, if everyone holds their backpack.”

“I vote for later in the season also, fewer bugs and people.”

“Bump, again.

Didn't you all read about how Rainier is set to blow sometime in the next 500 years? We gotta get this trip planned!”

“Nice to see this thread back up. I was just looking at trail conditions out there. Looks mighty nice.”

“Wyoming or Wonderland?”

“I have decided that I want to hike the Wonderland Trail for my 50th birthday. Of course that is many years down the road (hee-hee) but I could be up to doing part of it next summer. Part of what appeals to me is that there are several entrance/exit points with loop trails so if anyone didn't want to do the whole thing s/he could plan to meet up with others. I am kinda jumping into the middle of this discussion - I haven't been following it so slap me if I said anything out of line or if it has already been discussed at legnth.”

“I hiked it last summer for my 50th.......sorta.

Allowing fourteen days would be nice.

There is a loop on the north side between Mowich Lake and Mystic Lake(?) that goes through forest that hasn't burned in 10,000 years.

Last summer we went through Spray Park instead of the other way.

I would like to see both routes, which would require a loop-dee-loop, repeating a section of trail.

Nuttin' wrong with that!”

“I have tentatively planned for a early August departure. My basic plan is Flying out on the 6th Friday), Hiking from Saturday the 7th until the 16th. On the 16th a few of my friends "The Phil and Dave show" are flying out to climb the Mt with a local climbing Co. I plan on hooking up with them and doing the summit if time and weather permit. Will this time frame on the trail accommodate anyone else? Hope that I can meet some of you folks.”

“I must say you do some early planning!”

“"Wyoming or Wonderland?"


We have to choose? Why not both?”

“I guess the have-to-choose question depends on one's work.

Maybe if Wonderland was Sept and Wyoming was the Palooza, which seems to be a July 4th sort of thing........... Although I would expect the snow might linger longer in Wyoming than it does in the Sierra. Anyone know?”

“"I would like to see both routes, which would require a loop-dee-loop, repeating a section of trail."

Would that make the trip a loop-dee-loo-palooza?”

“And a real butt-kicker too!”

“Because the Wonderland trip sounds like it's a good 10-days, I don't think I can do both Wyoming and Wonderland. I'm going to have to pick one.”

“I know, it's wishful thinking to think of doing both. For me, it might be possible if one got moved to early July and the other to the second half of September.”

“Well, it's getting a bit closer and I am still planning on doing this trip. It looks like unless there are any takers I will be hiking this TT solo.

Any takers?

I am planning to go out there the 2nd and 3rd week of August I will flying out friday the 6th after work. gaining several hours on the way! I'm staying until Sunday the 22nd. That will give me plenty of time to do the trail in the peak time of the season.

O.K., now I can't make reservations until 2 months before, right, at least that's what the book says.

What about a map, who's done this trip. Mark what did you all use?

I saw there was 2 maps in the book, the Earthwalk topo map looks like the right one to have but what did you folks that already hiked it use?”

“Help...”

“sir pete

I remember you talking about this earlier and I'm very happy to hear that you're still doing it.

I wish that I could join you buddy but I think maybe next summer for me and my son, daughter, girlfriend, etc. There are enough people (but not too many) doing it so you'll meet some cool folks and maybe end up hiking with them too.

First of all your time-frame looks good. We started July 20th and finished August 1st or 2nd. I rather have started in early August. The morning of July 21st water froze on a pond's surface. Brrr!!

Books.....Bette Filley's book called Discovering the Wonders of the Wonderland Trail is excellent. Carry it in your pack! Combine that with one of those National Geographic (?) maps of Mt Rainier NP and you should be set.

Cut your toenails short (the hills are wicked), don't over-plan your food (we sent too much) and get in shape.

Have fun and post any news.”

“You need help alright...

How's your class going?

Where ya been???”

“Good luck Pete, its been nice knowin' ya.”

“They've already started taking reservations, sirpete. Visit their website HERE.

Reservations are available for backpackers and climbers who wish to camp in backcountry campsites/areas of Mount Rainier National Park. Beginning April 1st, reservations are accepted for any time during the period of May 1 through September 30. Reservations are OPTIONAL, and they are not always needed; however, for much of the summer, many of the popular camps fill up and reservations are strongly recommended. Reservations are almost always needed for those wanting to do longer backpacking trips such as the Wonderland Trail, and for those wanting to camp or climb on weekends from Memorial Day weekend through mid-September.

60% of all wilderness campsites and zones are reservable. The remaining 40% are issued on a first come-first served basis on the day a trip begins. These first come-first served sites go quickly and cannot be counted on to be available when you want to start a trip.

Call the Longmire Museum at 360-569-2211, extension 3314 for assistance year-round from 9 am to 4 pm (Pacific Time) daily.”

“I'm up on all that, thanks Kleetn. The fact is although they have started taking reservations you can only make them 2 months in advance. So I have to wait on that. I just need to get myself a good map of the trail.”

“Hike on sirpete!

You're gonna love it.”

“Yeah, you'll be fine alone. Wonderland travelers share a community relationship that is unique to any trail I've hiked. A few things I’m going to do different next would include even more super cushiony insoles (going downhill for 6 miles non stop begins to hurt), trekking poles (one of the few trail I really missed them), more pictures (although we took 100 pictures and a camcorder, you can never have enough, be sure to get a compact camcorder still shots are great for memories but will not do justice if you’re wanting to show off your trip), and scheduling to camp at both the Summerland and Indian Bar Shelters (we went from Sunrise to Indian Bar and it almost killed us and the beauty of this area is beyond words, stay in this area as long as possible). One of the best decisions our group did make was to start at Sunrise. I did not care for the hassles and traffic at Longmire.”