My Wonderland Trip

“I had the time of my life out there. What more can I say? But my right foot got killed But I ain't complaining, I saw the prettiest section of the Wonderland Trail
Here is my story!
On wendsay Olyhiker (Wrongbridge)met up at my house. We had dinner, I made pizza. Synchro and and me sat up way late with Oly chatting all night. I couldn't sleep. Oly and me left very early on thursday morning, got stuck behind a logging truck-and were late..lol!! We met up with Hoosierdaddy and Rainrunner at Longmire. Got the permit, gulped some air and put our packs on. Goodbye truck, I love you.
We started hiking towards Narada Falls. Blue skies and no clouds...and very, very freaking hot. This was a very long day today. We crossed The Nisqually River, the not so wowing Paradise River (ummm....this year it isn't even a creek!!). Saw almost nobody, till we got near Narada Falls. We had lunch at the falls, and wow, we were ready to run from there It was scary! We saw DMWinch there After that we had a long and hot ascent to Reflection Lakes. Nice as usual, but very crowded with tourists. Started the long descent into the Steve Canyon area. So hot the air dried your lungs with every breath, no wind at all. Coming around and seeing Martha Falls was a big wow...this is where we learned of Olyhikers love of water..lol!! He'll get into anything And I learned from him-when you see water get in!! We rested in that canyon, just soaking it up. On and on we went, passing Maple Camp and going on. We left the cool woods and started the ascent to Box Canyon, then descended. So much hotter-it was at least 90* out there. We went thru Box Canyon. That last .8 miles to Nickel Creek Camp was pure torture. But to see to the creek-it was gorgeous! I sat down in camp and thought-I have never hiked more than 13 miles in a day. Today I hiked 14.4 miles. Wow.
I left camp at 7:37 am on friday, and started the climb up to the ridge. Already it was in the 80's. Ugh. But when we hit the Cowlitz Divide, and the trees opened up, and we hit alpine...wow. I didn't care how hot it was. The trail went up and up and followed for miles of alpine views. This day was unbelievable. As we turned to drop into Indian Bar, I stopped. I didn't want to go any farther at all. It was so gorgeous. http://community.webshots.com/photo/172772452/175643099rkbTli
We descended to Indian Bar, crossed the water, tossed our packs, tossed our shoes and found sitting holes. I sat in that hole till I went numb...lol!!
Today was the day my wanker umbrella earned it's keep. I carried that puppy above my head and it kept me shaded Many odd looks yes, but it kept me going.
We finally left Indian Bar...oh, I didn't want to though! And started our climb to Panhandle Gap. A long alpine traverse that went up and up and up and up. It was well above 90* but the views helped me so much. http://community.webshots.com/photo/172772452/175645694zecxHO
We crossed the first 2 gaps, crossing small snowfields and waterfalls. The heat was taxing the guys bad. Rainy and me pressed on. The trail to Panhandle is utterly gorgeous... http://community.webshots.com/photo/172772452/175650672tlsmEq
We crossed Panhandle Gap, 2 snowfields, first is easy, the second is dicey, but doable ... made sense why we saw all the hikers going to Indian Bar from Summerland so late in the day. Crossed another snowfield, and started the descent into Summerland. A total moonscape, you pass under Meany Crest and part of the headwaters of Frying Pan Creek. The bridge above it is about to give on one side...fun! Down and down we went, I could see Summerland calling....
Rainy and me got there, Hoosierdaddy caught up with us. He wasn't looking too good at this point. We grabbed a campsite, and set up. HD layed down and went to sleep. Rainy and me went and pumped water for the group, worrying about Oly. We saw a huge rockfall come off of Meany Crest. It was very late at this point, 8:30 at night. I was eating my stomach about Oly, when he came into camp. We got him set up, got him layed down. Got electrolyte drinks into them, and got them eating. They were both heat exhausted.
Sitting eating dinner, a lady walked by, and stopped. It was Mounthungirl! She had been on the first All Ladies trip in the Olympics in 2002 with Fogduo and me No way, that was COOL!! We talked a bunch, it was neat to catch up.
I watched the sun set. It was hot that night. The coyotes yipped all night out in the meadows. I was happy I had made it so far. I had 4 blisters so far. My socks were soaked every time I took them off. Ouch.
Day 3. We left Summerland, and headed down. I drank 3 liters of water on this stretch, rehydrating from day 2. 6 liters of water was my norm at this point. I was sweating so heavily...pee-yew....
We hit the junction at White River. We left the guys behind. They had decided to slack pack to Sunrise, and rest today. Rainy and me kept on to the White River campground. We rested then started the climb to Sunrise. All I can say is I will never hike this section again. BORING. Long and hot and dusty. 2100 feet of gain. By the time I hot treeline I was delirious. Rainy and me met at the junction and hiked into Sunrise together. We found HD, dropped packs. Then we went and got food Ok, I ate a hamburger,chips, pop and an order of onion rings...dipped in mayo...lmao!! It was gross but good. I look up and there is Dicentra, Doug, Durante616 there With our food caches. Then I see Hikingdrew and Steve showing up. It was so good to see them all! We just sat there, eating and loading up. Rain was threatening so we bailed to Sunrise Camp to set up. The rain started and stopped. We won't talk about the 3 mini kegs of beer that Durante616 hauled out to camp-with party cups to boot ... lol!! Had a good night hanging out and talking, all of us.
But I was in severe pain. I'll admit I stood there and cried in front of everyone. I had 8 blisters on my toes-and blisters on the ball of the my right foot. I was shot. I did surgery. But all night I layed there in pain. My foot pads were swollen. I knew I was done. If I kept going, I would get a lasting injury.
Day 4. I bailed-Doug said he'd drive me back to Longmire. Thank you. I taped up my feet as best as I could and hiked out. We had a nice drive back-we went out Hwy 410 to Hwy 123 and into Packwood via Hwy 12, got gas then headed down FS 52 to Longmire. It was good to see my baby After a long drive home, a hot shower. I hugged Synchro. It was good to be home. The chinese food I ate was SOOOO good. It was salty and filling.

Here is what I learned: Don't wear thin socks. They couldn't absorb all my sweat. Realize that even drinking 5-6 liters a day of water, you might pee 3 times a day, barely! Light packs rock. Mine was about 24-26. Umbrellas rock in hot weather. I am glad I brought sandals. Sit in all water you can find. Realize you won't want to eat. I had to force myself every day to eat. I had no appetite I maybe consumed 1,500 calories a day!

I see Them all tommorow, when I go to resupply them And pick up Dicentra! It will be great to see them all. I hope they are ok, and that they don't get heat exhaustion again!

All in all I did around 39 miles. I loved every mile I did. I pushed myself harder than I have ever done. I will do this section again, and see Indian Bar again
Photos:
WonderlandPhotos
I might add that it was pretty hilarious...most people passing us thought that HD and me were married, with our matching wanker gear (we both had Ghosts and black umbrellas), that Rainrunner was our daughter ("that really fast young girl"...lol!!)....I think olyhiker was our step child..lol!!”

“nice pics sarbar. i hope your feet are feeling better.”

“Yeah, my feet are a little better...and the Man put me to work...sigh! He had me scrubbing the garage today...wahhh!!!! I wanna be back on the trail!!”

“thanks for sharing!”

“thanks for sharing!”

“I had a nice trip up to Mowich Lake very early this morning! I saw a fox, a momma deer and 2 babies on the way up, and a weasel on the way down :-D Pretty cool!
I picked up Dicentra from the trail, and dropped of re-supplies for the other 3. They have 3 more days till they are done :-D”

“8 blisters! Ouch!

I had one hot spot a few weeks ago and I was whining. We soaked our feet and all was better!

Beautiful out there! Thanks for sharing!”

“What wildlife did you see in camp or on the trail?”

“Cool pictures...great looking falls.

To bad about the blisters though....


3 mini kegs?”

“Lol...Durante616 packed in 3 kegs of beer...lord!! He met us for an overnighter at Sunrise-those kegs filled a whole pack..lol!! With chips it was great :-D

I was a little bummed over the wildlife though-it was just too hot! We missed seeing the black bear floating in the icey tarn. I'd have loved to seen that!
Saw mostly pikas, marmots, squirrels and chipmunks.”

“Btw, I have some new shots up on my Webshots...Rainrunner, Olyhiker and Hoosierdaddy succesfully completed the hike yesterday evening! So I stole a few of me from her webshots (as she has been putting them up ;-)”

“Thanks for sharing your trip. I had so many blisters on last year's SierraPalooza. I would just take off my shoes and poke them with the tip of the knife. My socks were always stiff with dried blood in the mornings. Yuck! But we love it, huh?”