The Wonderland Trail: Mowich to Cougar Rock

Day 1, The Wonderland Trail: Mowich to Golden Lakes

The crown jewel of Washington hiking is undoubtedly, the Wonderland trail. 93 miles of trail that rings Mt. Rainier like a necklace, it shoots from 2300 feet skyward all the way up to 5700 feet. This first day, we aimed to tackle 11 miles of it and would end up climbing 2400 feet by the end of the day. Sore feet and blisters aside, it was a great day to start a hike.

To say the hike was put together a little rushed would be a completely accurate judgment. High off of a month in New Zealand and looking forward to a summer at home, I fired off a hasty email to friends John and Jayson, seeing if it wasn't too late to book camp sites for the Wonderland. Turns out, it wasn't. Admission though, had a price; instead of having 10 or 12 days to get through all the trails, we only had 7. No problem, I said.

Dave ended up joining the trip, so the four of us met one early morning, piled into the car, and headed up to the trail head.

An estimated 40% of those who begin the hike never finish. This is due to multiple reasons - injury, time, weather, level of difficulty. This year was particularly challenging, as parts of the trail were still completely buried in snow. We knew going into it that Dave was only going to be able to hike for 3 days. The rest of us, who have never not finished a hike, were confident. We were going to blow through this thing like Kobayashi at a 4th of July BBQ and be one of the first to finish this season. We had no idea going into this first day that the mountain had other ideas for us.

Day 1 photoset

A day of contrasts, heavy fog and rain greeted us in the morning but quickly receded to give us an outstanding view of Mt. Rainier. We had momentarily forgotten how close we were to the volcano. 

Day 2, The Wonderland Trail: Golden Lakes to Klapatche Park

Klapatche was a pristine setting, giving us a beautiful lake reflection of the volcano. Jayson, John, and I went absolutely apeshit with our cameras, loving every minute of it.

The only downside? It was extremely cold, with snow still peeking out on the trail at times. Still, the views made the hike and the chilliness worth it!

photoset

Day 3, The Wonderland Trail: Klapatche Park to Cougar Rock

My right leg had gone completely numb, prompting me to take a moment to sit down for a break. Mosquitoes, gleeful that their prey had stopped, took full advantage of the situation. I could barely slap the things away, my hands barely opening at this point. I couldn't even untie my boots to get at those blisters I felt forming on my heel.

This was day 3 and I was no longer under any illusion that I was in trouble. 14 miles, we had gone up and over 2 passes. I had lost sight of the group promptly after lunching at the Nisqually bridge, my energy level plummeting, completely ignoring the fact that I still had a full day to go.

I'd learn later on that I wasn't the only one suffering casualties. An hour ahead of me, John had bottomed out and was now sitting on the trail. Jayson had developed a blister that covered his entire heel. Dave, freak of nature that he is, was fine and beat the three of us into camp by 2 hours.

Dave though, was leaving after today. Jayson, John, and I had other things to consider - the fact that this was the easiest of our "long" days weighed heavily on all our minds.

The hardest thing to get over is pride. John regularly puts in 20 mile hikes on the trails. Jayson and I had already conquered New Zealand. Its these things that led us to believe we could do the Wonderland in only 7 days, when everyone else does it in 10. We still had longer days ahead of us - one of them being an 18 mile day with 5,000 feet of elevation gain - we had to be smart.

It hurt, giving up. This trip had been a life long dream of mine. It was meant to be the perfect cap to my year's worth of travel. And we weren't going to be able to do it. We had only put away a third of the mileage and already I had developed a pretty bad case of tendinitis.

This incontrovertible truth hit me as I was finally out of the woods, hiking along the road. In just 2 miles, I would finally be done with the day, meeting up with the support group to end the single hardest day of hiking in my life. Then out of nowhere, a group of 6 10 year-olds and their moms barreled past me. When you have kids passing you up on the trail, its time to re-evaluate your goals.

So next year. We'll be smarter, having been humbled by the mountain.

Day 3 photoset

Day 1, The Wonderland Trail: Mowich to Golden Lakes

The crown jewel of Washington hiking is undoubtedly, the Wonderland trail. 93 miles of trail that rings Mt. Rainier like a necklace, it shoots from 2300 feet skyward all the way up to 5700 feet. This first day, we aimed to tackle 11 miles of it and would end up climbing 2400 feet by the end of the day. Sore feet and blisters aside, it was a great day to start a hike.

To say the hike was put together a little rushed would be a completely accurate judgment. High off of a month in New Zealand and looking forward to a summer at home, I fired off a hasty email to friends John and Jayson, seeing if it wasn't too late to book camp sites for the Wonderland. Turns out, it wasn't. Admission though, had a price; instead of having 10 or 12 days to get through all the trails, we only had 7. No problem, I said.

Dave ended up joining the trip, so the four of us met one early morning, piled into the car, and headed up to the trail head.

An estimated 40% of those who begin the hike never finish. This is due to multiple reasons - injury, time, weather, level of difficulty. This year was particularly challenging, as parts of the trail were still completely buried in snow. We knew going into it that Dave was only going to be able to hike for 3 days. The rest of us, who have never not finished a hike, were confident. We were going to blow through this thing like Kobayashi at a 4th of July BBQ and be one of the first to finish this season. We had no idea going into this first day that the mountain had other ideas for us.

Day 1 photoset

A day of contrasts, heavy fog and rain greeted us in the morning but quickly receded to give us an outstanding view of Mt. Rainier. We had momentarily forgotten how close we were to the volcano. 

Day 2, The Wonderland Trail: Golden Lakes to Klapatche Park

Klapatche was a pristine setting, giving us a beautiful lake reflection of the volcano. Jayson, John, and I went absolutely apeshit with our cameras, loving every minute of it.

The only downside? It was extremely cold, with snow still peeking out on the trail at times. Still, the views made the hike and the chilliness worth it!

photoset

Day 3, The Wonderland Trail: Klapatche Park to Cougar Rock

My right leg had gone completely numb, prompting me to take a moment to sit down for a break. Mosquitoes, gleeful that their prey had stopped, took full advantage of the situation. I could barely slap the things away, my hands barely opening at this point. I couldn't even untie my boots to get at those blisters I felt forming on my heel.

This was day 3 and I was no longer under any illusion that I was in trouble. 14 miles, we had gone up and over 2 passes. I had lost sight of the group promptly after lunching at the Nisqually bridge, my energy level plummeting, completely ignoring the fact that I still had a full day to go.

I'd learn later on that I wasn't the only one suffering casualties. An hour ahead of me, John had bottomed out and was now sitting on the trail. Jayson had developed a blister that covered his entire heel. Dave, freak of nature that he is, was fine and beat the three of us into camp by 2 hours.

Dave though, was leaving after today. Jayson, John, and I had other things to consider - the fact that this was the easiest of our "long" days weighed heavily on all our minds.

The hardest thing to get over is pride. John regularly puts in 20 mile hikes on the trails. Jayson and I had already conquered New Zealand. Its these things that led us to believe we could do the Wonderland in only 7 days, when everyone else does it in 10. We still had longer days ahead of us - one of them being an 18 mile day with 5,000 feet of elevation gain - we had to be smart.

It hurt, giving up. This trip had been a life long dream of mine. It was meant to be the perfect cap to my year's worth of travel. And we weren't going to be able to do it. We had only put away a third of the mileage and already I had developed a pretty bad case of tendinitis.

This incontrovertible truth hit me as I was finally out of the woods, hiking along the road. In just 2 miles, I would finally be done with the day, meeting up with the support group to end the single hardest day of hiking in my life. Then out of nowhere, a group of 6 10 year-olds and their moms barreled past me. When you have kids passing you up on the trail, its time to re-evaluate your goals.

So next year. We'll be smarter, having been humbled by the mountain.

Day 3 photoset

A day of contrasts, heavy fog and rain greeted us in the morning but quickly receded to give us an outstanding view of Mt. Rainier. We had momentarily forgotten how close we were to the volcano. 

Day 2, The Wonderland Trail: Golden Lakes to Klapatche Park

Klapatche was a pristine setting, giving us a beautiful lake reflection of the volcano. Jayson, John, and I went absolutely apeshit with our cameras, loving every minute of it.

The only downside? It was extremely cold, with snow still peeking out on the trail at times. Still, the views made the hike and the chilliness worth it!

photoset

Day 3, The Wonderland Trail: Klapatche Park to Cougar Rock

My right leg had gone completely numb, prompting me to take a moment to sit down for a break. Mosquitoes, gleeful that their prey had stopped, took full advantage of the situation. I could barely slap the things away, my hands barely opening at this point. I couldn't even untie my boots to get at those blisters I felt forming on my heel.

This was day 3 and I was no longer under any illusion that I was in trouble. 14 miles, we had gone up and over 2 passes. I had lost sight of the group promptly after lunching at the Nisqually bridge, my energy level plummeting, completely ignoring the fact that I still had a full day to go.

I'd learn later on that I wasn't the only one suffering casualties. An hour ahead of me, John had bottomed out and was now sitting on the trail. Jayson had developed a blister that covered his entire heel. Dave, freak of nature that he is, was fine and beat the three of us into camp by 2 hours.

Dave though, was leaving after today. Jayson, John, and I had other things to consider - the fact that this was the easiest of our "long" days weighed heavily on all our minds.

The hardest thing to get over is pride. John regularly puts in 20 mile hikes on the trails. Jayson and I had already conquered New Zealand. Its these things that led us to believe we could do the Wonderland in only 7 days, when everyone else does it in 10. We still had longer days ahead of us - one of them being an 18 mile day with 5,000 feet of elevation gain - we had to be smart.

It hurt, giving up. This trip had been a life long dream of mine. It was meant to be the perfect cap to my year's worth of travel. And we weren't going to be able to do it. We had only put away a third of the mileage and already I had developed a pretty bad case of tendinitis.

This incontrovertible truth hit me as I was finally out of the woods, hiking along the road. In just 2 miles, I would finally be done with the day, meeting up with the support group to end the single hardest day of hiking in my life. Then out of nowhere, a group of 6 10 year-olds and their moms barreled past me. When you have kids passing you up on the trail, its time to re-evaluate your goals.

So next year. We'll be smarter, having been humbled by the mountain.

Day 3 photoset

My right leg had gone completely numb, prompting me to take a moment to sit down for a break. Mosquitoes, gleeful that their prey had stopped, took full advantage of the situation. I could barely slap the things away, my hands barely opening at this point. I couldn't even untie my boots to get at those blisters I felt forming on my heel.

This was day 3 and I was no longer under any illusion that I was in trouble. 14 miles, we had gone up and over 2 passes. I had lost sight of the group promptly after lunching at the Nisqually bridge, my energy level plummeting, completely ignoring the fact that I still had a full day to go.

I'd learn later on that I wasn't the only one suffering casualties. An hour ahead of me, John had bottomed out and was now sitting on the trail. Jayson had developed a blister that covered his entire heel. Dave, freak of nature that he is, was fine and beat the three of us into camp by 2 hours.

Dave though, was leaving after today. Jayson, John, and I had other things to consider - the fact that this was the easiest of our "long" days weighed heavily on all our minds.

The hardest thing to get over is pride. John regularly puts in 20 mile hikes on the trails. Jayson and I had already conquered New Zealand. Its these things that led us to believe we could do the Wonderland in only 7 days, when everyone else does it in 10. We still had longer days ahead of us - one of them being an 18 mile day with 5,000 feet of elevation gain - we had to be smart.

It hurt, giving up. This trip had been a life long dream of mine. It was meant to be the perfect cap to my year's worth of travel. And we weren't going to be able to do it. We had only put away a third of the mileage and already I had developed a pretty bad case of tendinitis.

This incontrovertible truth hit me as I was finally out of the woods, hiking along the road. In just 2 miles, I would finally be done with the day, meeting up with the support group to end the single hardest day of hiking in my life. Then out of nowhere, a group of 6 10 year-olds and their moms barreled past me. When you have kids passing you up on the trail, its time to re-evaluate your goals.

So next year. We'll be smarter, having been humbled by the mountain.

Day 3 photoset