Anyone Else Doing The Wonderland Trail?

“I am leaving on August 12th this summer. I am doing it reverse direction, in 7 nights, 8 days.
I cannot wait!
I spent quite a bit of last summer up at Rainier, exploring, hiking and backpacking...and decided this was my year to do it.
I am lucky in one way...one of my partners has done it 3 years in a row, so he is like having a free guide...and we have a deal that he won't leave me alone at river crossings..which for is my weak point.
Rainrunner, Hikingdrew, Hossierdaddy and his son Adam are joining me on the permit.
Anyone else doing it?”

“Eight days?

That's like twelve miles per day!

I did it in eleven days and it was a butt-kicker.

We should have taken a day off in the middle.”

“MarkO, you forget the 7 nights...that's like 15 days.”

“Doh!

Why didn't I think of that?”

“Our first day is I think 13 miles or so...yeehaw.
Staying at:
Nickel Creek
Summerland
Sunrise
Mystic
Eagles Roost (yes we are doing it via Seattle and Spray Parks, versus doing Isput Pass)
Golden Lakes
and I think it is S. Puyallup Camp the last night.
Looking forward to all of it except the section under Mowhich Lake where a couple hundred trees went down last winter, and the suspension bridges ;-)
Yes, it is a VERY aggresive schedule and I know I will be crying halfway thru...but I am completly looking forward to it ;-)”

“My brother and some friends did it a few years ago, he said they had a great time. I can't remember how long they took though.”

“You're skipping Indian Bar?
Too bad.

Golden Lakes was my second favorite.
The lake there was a nice swim......if ya like cold water.

The wild west side is the ruggedest”

“I didn't have a choice....I wanted to do Indian Bar also, but I got choice A, choice B would have had IB added and had been 8 nights.
Still, I will take it as a long and slow day from Nickel Creek to Summerland, I know I will shoot oodles of photos that day.
Summerland was where I had my first face to face bear encounter last year :-)”

“I loved Indian Bar. Our group of only 4 got the shelter (group) site. Golden Lakes was nice. Hopefully I'll go back in a few and stay at both Summerland and Indian Bar. The ones I didn’t like were Paradise River and Mowich Lake (of course). I have also found that starting at Sunrise is much more appealing no matter the direction. Longmire makes a nice pit stop. Where are you starting from Sarbar1?”

“Starting at Longmire...but I have a feeling that doing it in reverse shall be fun ;-)
I avoided Paradise River Camp as it is being closed (and people will have to stay at Cougar Rock CG..yuck!) I also avoided Mowich as it is yucky!!”

“Dicentra and Durante616 aka Scabby Butt or "The Boy" and I are talking about hiking out to you guys with supplies. Don't know what day or where meeting up. We talked about it last weekend.”

“Yeah...and I am expecting these items:
Fresh underwear
Ice Cream
Fresh Meat
lol!!
Yeah, we are going to have so many people meeting us, that we could get away with carrying 2 days of food each! hehheh!! I know Hoosierdaddy's wife is meeting us at Sunrise with a resupply, and maybe you all can meet us at Mowich Lake as we go by??
I know Synchro will be meeting me at Sunrise also....”

“You are one popular woman. Everyone is coming out to help! ; )”

“I think that's because they all want an excuse to come hiking ;-)”

“I am leaving on August 12th this summer. I am doing it reverse direction...

I'd consider it, but that's a lot of backwards walking. I can hike backwards for extended periods of time on reasonably level trails, but it's stepping over those darned logs in reverse that relly throws me.”

“sounds great sarbar......best wishes. I hope to go back next summer.”

“I will have to skip Mowich Lake next time, except for pickin' up food.
The tent site there were really a gravel parking lot.
The lake would be nice for a dip.
Some of our party took the plunge though.

Paradise River?
Is that where all the tourists were?

Nickel Creek to Summerland is gonna be a HUMP!”

“I want to do Wonderland one of these years. We'll wave your direction from the Wind-o-Rama. Have fun :)”

“i'm for something different.....maybe starting at Sunrise. what a great friggin trail!!!!!”

“But which way to go?

Forward or backward?”

“Same way we went before me thinks. Save that Seattle Park area and Skyscraper Mtn for the finish. MAybe we could lay over a night at Longmire Lodge.....hot showers, cold beer!

It doesn't really matter. I agree about the sleeping accomodations at Mowich. If not for the oilcans in the resupply package. I'd never have slept that night. Great lake though.”

“Sarbar, Where are these PNW hikes posted at? Send me a link or something. I'm not free that week (boys have the fair the next week and we're taming the sheep that week)lol”

“We have a Yahoo Group for the PNWH (look on my profile to subscribe up for it). We do our planning on it, then many times post trip plans over on the BP.com forums in the PNW section. :-)”

“One other thing to know: we never plan our trips via email - we always post our trips on public websites so everyone can know how totally bastardly cool we are, we have been, and always will be!”

“We have too many members to do that ;-) And we are spread out all over Wa and Or....having a board just helps for us to keep organized, we don't have to start 5 new threads for every trip planning.
Anytime anyone is in Wa, drop us a line, we will meet you and hike with you :-)”

“A friend of a friend did this last week. This is the email he sent out. Thought some might find this interesting:

RAMROD

Run Around Mount Rainier (in) One Day (RAMROD) - Wonderland Trail; 94 miles Okay, so it was 34 hours, which is technically more than a day; I'm counting it. I did it!!

A few years ago I hiked the Wonderland trail circumnavigating Mt Rainier and when I began running ultramarathons, running the entire length of the 94-mile, 26,000ft trail became the Holy Grail. Sure there are longer and higher runs (many 100's, and the July Death Valley Badwater 135 mile) but none that had a greater draw - it was just such a ludicrous, over-the-edge-of-sanity goal that it just stuck. And running it solo also beckoned. No, not the wisest choice, but I'd done enough mountaineering and solo hiking to feel it was OK. Similar to running my first marathon as training for my first big mountain (Aconcagua in 2001) I set this as the training goal for my first Himalayan peak (Ama Dablam; next month).

The run began about this time last year, when I began preparing my 2004 race and climb calendar. It started with the Death Valley Marathon in December, built through a couple 50k's, then the Pacific Crest Trail 50mile in July. Through all this were two people - my training and marathon partner/fiancé/support staff/pacer Margaret, and good friend/trainer/mentor Gail. Without them this story wouldn't be possible.

Margaret and I met with Gail and Sid to discuss logistics, meeting places, calories, etc. They provided their years of experience while Margaret and I checked out every meeting point. I created a very conservative pace chart of 39 hours that would put the start/finish at dawn/dusk, including a couple hours sleep at mile 60. My biggest concern was crossing snow-covered Panhandle Gap (7,000ft elevation; mile 70). The last time I crossed it was in a whiteout; there were so many footprints it was impossible to stay on route and I ended up getting lost for a while. The schedule was planned to allow Panhandle in the early morning light, but still, at the emotional and physical low point in a 100-mile run.

Friday before Labor Day. I remember when going for run meant throwing on shoes and shorts and just heading out the door, but this time I spent the entire day packing food, clothes, maps, camping gear - the 4Runner was packed to the ceiling, back seat and all. We checked in to the Longmire Inn, 30 yards from the trailhead.

At 6:06am Saturday I took off clockwise from Longmire with a brief kiss from Margaret.

I started out walking, not only to warm up but also to await the full dawn light, then a slow trot, then back to a walk up the first 1000ft climb up the Ramparts. I saw a few solo hikers in the first miles who just looked at me like I was out for a morning run, but as I got further in and met hike groups, we'd engage in the standard "Where'd you start; how far you going tonight?" chatter. I answered Longmire, Longmire! to a chorus of incredulous hikers. The 2,000ft climb up to Devil's Dream camp went well, maintaining an easy 2,000ft/hr pace. The weather was overcast and cool, constantly threatening rain, and I was in the fog most of the time. Upon reaching 5000ft elevation I'd briefly climb out of the clouds and enjoy some sunshine. The rest of the first leg (32 miles) was very straightforward and I reached Mowich Lake by 4pm, about 35 minutes ahead of pace.

Margaret and I both had Motorola radios so I could alert her as I was approaching the aid station (as well as reach someone in case of accident - they may have limited range, but you're likely to get SOMEONE, whereas with a cell phone there's no coverage at all). On the final 2500ft climb to Mowich Lake we made contact and I outlined what gear I wanted that was beyond our planned support (more Body Glide, different drinks, etc.). Sid was now with Margaret, although Gail had to stay behind in Portland. After discussing the aid details, I realized I was not a mile out, but .2 miles so tried radioing my location. No answer. When I popped up to the Mowich Lake picnic area, our appointed meeting place, there's no one there. I radioed again; no answer, so began walking toward the parking lot. Margaret had turned off the radio as well as changed the meeting location! But all was well, even though I was a little grumpy (Sid had to remind me this wasn't a race, and a few minutes delay didn't matter). A little food and rest put me in bright spirits again and off I went.

Margaret and Sid walked me the first quarter mile and said goodbye, to meet again at about 2am at White River, another 25 miles distant. The first eight miles was easy - a sometimes-steep 3000ft downhill to the Carbon River, but then a nonstop climb almost 4,000ft alongside the Carbon Glacier. Not long after dark I met Brad and Julia, a young couple from Chicago that were hopelessly behind their hike schedule and wondering how and where they'd camp. They were the last hikers I'd see for fourteen hours. I finished the climb to Mystic Lake (6,000ft) and had a wonderful downhill preceding the 2000ft climb to Berkeley Park. This was the high point of the run - keeping a good pace just coasting down the hill with headlamp and flashlight, remembering just how much I love trail running at night.

Berkeley is above timberline, and the wind was biting! But I had risen above the clouds and the moon was just rising and I crossed the barren ridges by moonlight - it was stark, yet strikingly beautiful. As my knees were feeling the miles, I knew the 2500ft descent to White River would hurt. And it did. I forgot to put additional Glide on while at Mowich, and I'm now feeling the chafing rather acutely. (For the non-distance runners out there - after hours of gentle rubbing, upper thighs and other spots become chafed, painful and even bloody. Slippery products like Vaseline or my fave, Body Glide, can eliminate much discomfort).

Coming down the hill into White River, Margaret, Sid and I coordinated the aid. They had hot homemade potato soup as well as a fresh grilled cheese sandwich waiting for me. Food never tasted so good! At Gail's recommendation, I created a food plan for both the trail and aid stations that totaled about 11,000 calories. I was pretty much on track but beginning to lose my appetite for sweets. The Hammer Sustained Energy drink, a non-sweet product, was great and throughout the run I downed a few gallons of it, in addition to Ensure and Starbucks Frappaccinos. At this point I felt pretty energized, so opted not to take the planned 2-hour nap. I lubed up with the Body Glide plus some antibiotic ointment as a precaution, grabbed light crampons and ski poles (for the Panhandle Gap snowfields) and departed, now almost three hours ahead of pace schedule. Sid walked the first 3.5 miles with me to a road intersection, and I took off into the night. I'd generously planned 30-minute miles for the remaining 33 miles to Longmire and was sure I could exceed that pace.

Within seconds of departing from Sid, the problems started. First it was my stomach - explosive diarrhea. Great - mad dash into the woods, and then I find out Margaret mistook the leftover TP for garbage and removed it instead of replenishing it. Oh, joy! - well, moss is soft and is just gonna have to do. Then the chafing. Gawd, it felt like someone had a blowtorch on my crotch. I stopped about every 50 yards just to alleviate the pain. Then the fatigue - I couldn't keep my eyes open. I'd sit down on the trail, head in hands, and fall asleep within 3 seconds, awaking about a minute later as I began shivering. Four ibuprofen for the pain and one caffeine tablet got me going again, but I've now covered two miles in about an hour and a half, and I'm approaching Panhandle Gap.

Dawn was breaking as I emerged above timberline toward the snows at close to 7000ft. I noticed the frost on the trail, and then stream crossings involved ice-covered rocks. But the dreaded snows never materialized - it was melted out. Two small patches was all I encountered, but these were solid ice in the pre-dawn cold. The routefinding was sometimes difficult as the 'path' looked identical to the other thousand options, but by using log bridges across streams to indicate the correct route, I was able to maneuver Panhandle Gap and the accompanying Ohanepocosh Park, all close to 7000ft, without a problem.

But I knew from my previous trip on the Wonderland that the descent from here to Box Canyon (my next meeting point) would be hell on the knees. For whatever reason, on this ten-mile stretch there are no switchbacks, just a trail bombing straight down over thousands of stairs. Ooh, this was gonna hurt. Using the poles to brace my descent, I picked my way down the hill for hours. I reached Margaret and Sid by radio and (incorrectly) announced my pending arrival. I not only misjudged where I was but misread the map as well, and when I told them I was three miles out, I was actually 7-8. The steep descent into Box Canyon pretty much finished my knees, but it was great to see Margaret there waiting with food and water, and fresh shoes and clothes. By now I'm well ahead of my 39-hour pace, and definitely going to beat my goal time of 36 hours.

Sid had just departed for Portland, and Margaret was ready to pace me into Longmire, only 13 miles distant. We left Box Canyon at 11am, giving me an easy 7 hours for 13 miles so I could beat my 36-hour goal. Although I never doubted I would make it, nor did I underestimate the degree of difficulty, I didn't prepare for the burning/chafing nor the stomach cramps. By this point I can barely hold any food down, and the blowtorch is back on the crotch. Poor Margaret got to listen to me moan and whine for a few miles, while I'd again stop every few yards and even fall asleep on the trail. One more mad dash into the woods coupled with some stoic determination and we were on the last 2500ft climb up Stevens Canyon to Reflection Lakes. The final climb went well, even doggedly maintaining my minimum 2000ft/hr ascent rate. We passed by the crowds at Reflection Lakes and began the 2500ft descent back to Longmire. My knees are screaming pretty loudly now, so I'm descending like I'm on crutches, bracing every step and leaning heavily on the trekking poles.

Here's where it starts to pass from mildly crazy into totally insane. We passed a sign that said "Longmire - 3.4miles" at exactly 3:29pm - 37 minutes shy of 34 hours. We've just done the last nine miles at a whopping 37min/mile pace. "Hey, Margaret - think we can make Longmire in 37 minutes?". She replied "No way". Ha.

So I picked up the pace, trotting more than walking, only bracing my knees on the steepest downhills. I stayed out in front because I found it easier to set the pace rather than try to keep up with Margaret (even if at the same pace).

Next sign: "Longmire - 1.6miles" at 3:52pm (14 minutes left). OK, we've just done 1.8 miles at ~13-min/mile pace, and we've got to do sub-10s to make it in 34 hours. We look at each other and start sprinting. She asks if I mind if she's out in front and I say no. 100yards later, I fly by her and ask if she minds if I'm out in front, and she screams "You butthead!" She'd warned me that if I left her in the dust after 94 miles, she'd be very upset with me! In July she paced me the last fifteen miles on the Pacific Crest Trail 50mile Ultra; at mile 45 I pulled away from her and she's never forgiven me.

Now I'm flying. Blowing by the day hikers, maintaining about 7-min miles on the flats, while taking it easy on the uphills or steep downhills. I can't see Margaret behind me anymore, and I'm going for that 34-hour time. I almost stopped a few times, but would look at my watch and realize I still had six, or four, or two minutes left and I was too close to quit.

33:59:59!! I passed the Wonderland turnoff with one second to spare, meaning I'd completed the loop. The kick at the end was the coup de grace; not only was the run successful, but I finished with a flourish. Margaret caught up about ten seconds later and we exchanged a very sweaty hug, thanking her for 34 hours of non-stop support.

Gail, Sid and Margaret - thank you, thank you, thank you! Again, this would not have happened without your support. And to all the contributors on the ultra list - thanks for all your advice and race reports - I've learned lots and enjoyed meeting all of you. Although coming into Longmire I told Margaret how I never wanted to do this again, the day we returned to Portland I took my first look at the Badwater website. Hmm.



Monty”

“F-U-N! lol.....Talk about aggressive ;-)”