My main reason for this making this trip was to have an opportunity to reflect on life, so (after presenting the pictures from the trip) I'll first cover the insights I had along the trail, and only then get into gear and travel details.
As it stood at the time I did this hike, this means that just after midnight on April 1 you fax in a copy of the reservation form requesting the campgrounds you want to stay at and on which days, and within a few weeks you should receive by postal service mail a letter confirming your requests. Here's what I requested, and received:
August 15, 2003: Devil's Dream Camp
August 16, 2003: Klapatche Park Camp
August 17, 2003: Golden Lakes Camp
August 18, 2003: Mowich Lake Walk-in Camp
August 19, 2003: Carbon River Camp
August 20, 2003: Mystic Camp
August 21, 2003: Sunrise Walk-in Camp
August 22, 2003: Summerland Camp
August 23, 2003: Indian Bar Camp
August 24, 2003: Maple Creek Camp
This itinerary worked just fine for me, and I was able to make it to each campground with time to spare.
By arriving at Longmire before 4pm on Thursday, August 14, I was also able to pick up my Wilderness Camping Permit (which listed all of the campsites I'd reserved stays at) the day before my hike began.
The other preparatory work was to mail my two food caches (for food resupply along the trail) to the cache sites at Mowich Lake and Sunrise several weeks before my trip: basically this was done by picking up two 5 gallon plastic buckets at Ace Hardware, putting a four pound sack of peanut/cashew-heavy trail mix in each (along with a few peanut butter Power Bars and Chicken of the Sea pouch-packed skinless/boneless pink salmon for consumption at the cache site, some toilet paper, another trail-sized bottle of Purell hand sanitizer, a plastic fork sealed in a little plastic bag for disposal at the cache site, an extra notebook at Sunrise, and a self-addressed stamped envelope at Sunrise for mailing back home the first notebook at Sunrise in case it got filled), sealing the lids of the containers, and mailing each as-is with labels as specified here, by US Postal Service Parcel Post to the cache sites.
[Note: I should add that I found slightly under a pound a day of the trail mix (given how nutrient dense it was since it was mostly nuts) to be more than sufficient to avoid feeling hungry, but your mileage may vary.]
When you pick up your Wilderness Permit at Longmire, at a minimum you'll want to ask whether there are any points of concern along the trail, in particular campsites on your itinerary where alternate water sources must be used, or river crossings where the log bridges are out (and if so, you should ask for advice on how to ford them if you're inexperienced in such matters). You should also ask how they would like you to behave if you come across a bear, whether on the trail or within camp. You may also want to ask for advice on navigating and traversing the area around the Panhandle Gap.
Before reading the following please keep in mind again that this represents only my own novice choices. I also cannot vouch for how well I would have done with the following gear had I been confronted with multiple days of hard driving rain, or a snowstorm, or a different time of year then the (apparently ideal) time I chose: I had terrific weather throughout my trip, so ultimately when I say that this gear worked for me, I can only really say that it worked for me under ideal condititions and beyond that it's not my place to speculate.
Backpack and Sleeping Pad: My backpack was a medium G4 by GVP Gear. Weight: 16oz. To save weight, the internal frame of this pack also serves as your sleeping pad (a six-section Z-Rest by Cascade Designs) and the shoulder padding and hip padding is provided by your spare socks (special pockets are provided for both). One thing to note: the packed ground at the Wonderland Trail's designated campsites is VERY hard, and although the sleeping pad used as this pack's internal frame was good enough insulation, I ended up waking up several times each night due to not having enough cushioning. So, if I were to do this again I might slip a second Z-Rest pad inside the pack (although all-in-all I can't complain: since I wasn't tired during the day I must have been getting enough sleep). I should also add that with my pack weight as low as it was the hip belt of the pack wasn't always necessary (i.e. my shoulders never got tired), so I often left the hip belt buckled in the rear rather than the front when I chose not to use it. One more note about the sleeping pad: a six-section Z-Rest just covers your torso, and you're expected to use some of your clothing (in a zip-loc plastic bag) as your pillow, and perhaps your pack itself and its remaining contents (devoid of anything that animals might be attracted to, which would be hung on the bear poles provided at each designated campsite) to insulate your feet from the ground. The GVP4 pack is very popular amongst backpackers seeking to keep their pack weight down, the main alternative to them being some of the lightweight packs offered by GoLite. As I see it, the GoLite packs make the most sense if the Z-Rest just doesn't provide enough cushioning for you, and you find yourself needing to take along a Cascade Designs Therma-a-Rest (i.e. inflatable) mattress instead of the Z-Rest, though my guess is that ground as hard as that at the Wonderland Trail designated campsites would be the exception in the average person's backpacking career, rather than the rule.
Shelter: A regular length Endurance bivy by Integral Designs. Weight: 11oz. I learned quickly that the the trick with this type of bivy is to make sure you hold onto the top of your sleeping bag as you slip into it, so that you don't have to squirm around inside your bivy trying to pull the top end of your sleeping bag up over your head. Note that at the time of my trip hammocks were not allowed at the designated campsites in Mount Rainier National Park (since these are a popular piece of lightweight gear which obviates the need for a sleeping pad, I thought it important to mention that). It's true that I wasn't confronted with any serious rainstorms or snowstorms during my trip with which to really put my shelter and sleeping arrangement to the test, but in general I liked using this bivy: it was great to sleep under the stars (or at least the big sky) every night.
Sleeping Bag: A standard width / regular length Andromeda Strain by Integral Designs, with the zipper on the left (since I'm right-handed). Weight: 30oz. This is a fully synthetic bag made of a material that apparently has a good reputation for retaining substantial insulating value even when wet. It's true that you can save weight by using a down bag (such as the 21oz Hydrogen model by Marmot), but down loses almost all of its insulating value when wet and is hard to dry. Given that I was using the aforementioned bivy, I'm not sure how well a Marmot Hydrogen would have worked, but I also can't say that it wouldn't have worked: if I were to do this hike again and could borrow a Marmot Hydrogen for a few nights before leaving to experiment with, I'd be willing to at least give it a try. In any case, I ended up using the stuff sack for my sleeping bag as the bag in which to put food before mounting it on the campsite bear poles (you're supposed to put all food, garbage, and anything that might have a scent on the bear poles in each camp, and there are bear poles in each camp other than the Mowich Lake Walk-in Camp). For the sake of venting extra humidity while still staying warm, I found it helpful to leave the Andromeda Strain bag slightly unzipped within the bivy, but your mileage may vary.
Maps: Maps #269 and #270 by Green Trails. Also, I put them in a plastic map cover (note: in general I tried to arrange things so that even if the entire pack got soaked nothing in it would get ruined, and as such basically everything inside the the pack was in a plastic bag of some kind).
Compass: M-2D model by Suunto. Weight: 1.2oz. The adjustable declination feature is very nice, and you should properly adjust it before leaving for your trip. As it turns out I only needed the compass once in my entire trip, and in that instance my needs were so basic that an even lighter-weight keychain compass would have been fine, but this particular Suunto compass was such a wonderful piece of precision gear at such a light weight and low price that I'd disinclined to replace it with anything even lighter.
First Aid Kit: Pocket Medic model by Adventure Medical Kits. Weight: 2 oz. I supplemented this kit by bringing along a tiny roll of medical tape that I picked up at a drugstore before leaving (I spooled off all but a few yards of it before I left to save weight).
Flashlight: Micro-Light II (with a white LED) by Photon. Weight: 0.17oz. Terrific piece of gear, I couldn't have been more pleased with it.
Trekking Poles: Ultralite Ti Air Ergo by Leki. Weight: 14oz for the pair. These were lifesavers and I can't imagine doing the Wonderland Trail without them. The key tips for using them are to put your wrists through the strap such that the poles will support your weight even if your fingers aren't even gripping them, to push backwards when going uphill, to let them take some of your weight forwards when going downhill, and to adjust their sections in equal lengths such that your arms are at a 90 degree angle to the pole. I also found these poles to be a boon when crossing snow and for surer footing everywhere: as it was I didn't suffer any sort of serious slip or fall the entire trip, but I can almost guarantee I would have been slipping on a regular basis if it weren't for these poles.
Water Container: Platy 2+ liter collapsible bottle by Platypus. Weight: 1oz. Great device, no complaints about it. However, if I were to do all of this over again I might look into one of the hose attachments for this device so that I could sip from it without needing to set my pack down (realistically if I'd had something like this I probably would have consumed more water throughout the trip, and stayed better hydrated just in general). I cannot stress enough the importance of drinking enough water and staying properly hydrated: this is something I learned in the first few days, after which I was much more careful to drink sufficient water throughout the day. Realistically if you're dehydrated you feel weaker, so whatever advantage you thought you were getting by carrying less water or not stopping for breaks is probably being nullified.
Water Filtration: Water Filter by Sawyer. Weight: 8oz. As far as I'm concerned there's only one way to use this device: making sure that the air intake part is pointed down so that unfiltered water can't come out of it and mix with the filtered water stream, squeeze water through this device into your water container (i.e. rather than trying to drink from it directly). I personally found that the flow rate from this device was too frustratingly slow to drink from it directly. I should note that another popular option amongst hikers for purifying water is the two 1oz bottle Aquamira treatment process (I suppose with which one would want to bring two Platypus bottles, one for treated water and one for water in the process of treatment), but I rejected this method because: (1) since water is plentiful along most of the Wonderland Trail I wouldn't need to carry large amounts of it with me, and (2) since I love the feel of drinking pure water, I wanted a mechanical filtration process to get the silt and stuff out of the water. However, if I were to do this hike over again, I might compare traditional hand pump filters, in terms of weight and flow rate and field repairability, to this Sawyer device to see if one of them might be a better choice given that I was never drinking from this device directly. If I were to do this hike again with the Sawyer I might consider caching a replacement pre-treatment filter component for the Sawyer with my Sunrise cache in case the existing one failed or got clogged, though in all fairness this device never clogged once during my trip. Note that you'll need to use common sense about what to try to filter water from: if a rushing river or creek looks white and silty rather than clear, then it's probably filled with glacier rock flour which would clog your filter (Carbon River and Nisqualy river are two examples).
Backup water treatment system: Potable Aqua by WPC Brands. I basically just took along about twenty of the iodine tablets (skipping the taste neutralizer bottle, since this wasn't my primary water system and was just there in case the Sawyer failed). Since my primary water treatment method never failed, I never needed any of these pills.
Knife: Swiss Army Classic by Victorinox. Weight: 1oz. Had a knife, file, and scissors, although through the course of the trip all I ever used was the scissors (to cut pieces of moleskin from the moleskin strip in the first aid kit whenever I noticed a potential pre-blister "hot spot" feeling on one of my feet).
Camera: Cyber-shot DSC-U30 digital camera by Sony, with 256MB Pro Media Memory Stick MSX-256 and one extra pair of fully-charged batteries. Weight: 4.7oz, including two batteries, memory stick, and strap. This was a WONDERFUL camera and I couldn't have been more pleased with it. Tips: (1) learn to operate it with a few fingers of your preferred hand, so that you don't even need to take your hands out of your trekking pole straps to take pictures, (2) keep the strap around your neck and the camera in your shirt pocket, (3) don't bother with the "Vivid Landscape" setting, just leave it at the default setting for nature shots, and (4) keep it in a water and dust-proof ziplock bag once you get into camp.
Journaling: Pocket-size Rite in the Rain weatherproof journal, with a pen. Weight: 2oz. I kept this in my right side shirt pocket while the camera was in the left shirt pocket. I think it's best to keep a spare pen somewhere in your pack, in a waterproof place, in case your first pen fails: one of the main benefits of going on a hike this long is that it gives you plenty of opportunities to reflect on your life, and it would be terrible to miss out on all that just because a pen failed :(
Timekeeping: I had a lightweight wristwatch with an alarm feature. It's good if your wristwatch has a feature that lets you activate a backlight to see the time at night. You'll probably want to get up around 5:45am or so, so that you can be packed up and out of camp as soon as it's light enough to hike: this way you get the hard parts of your hike out of the way before the day really heats up, you'll have plenty of time to make it to the next camp, and you'll probably make it to the next camp in plenty of time to either relax, write in your journal, or take a side trip if you wish.
Alarm: Basic black plastic emergency whistle. Negligible weight. Didn't end up using it but (like any other "10 essentials" piece of gear) would bring it again.
Towel: Packtowel Personal Hand Towel by Cascade Designs. Didn't end up using it at all.
Eyeglass Cleaner: A little soft cloth that I got at Lenscrafters (I think). Worked fine.
Sunscreen: SPF 40 lotion by Aloe Gator. They claim this stuff lasts for eight hours and stays protective even if you get wet or perspire. I can attest that one 1oz bottle was all I needed for the entire trip, and that I never got sunburned despite having very fair skin. Be sure to have plenty of sunscreen on between Summerland and Indian Bar!
Lip Balm: "Aloe Vera Sunscreen Lip Balm" by Banana Boat. Seemed to work fine for me.
Duct Tape: Took a little duct tape along so that I might have a chance of repairing my pack if it tore. HOWEVER, I should really point out that the pack I selected (GVP G4) was not designed to be gratuitously abused: I was careful where I set it down, and was particularly careful not to set it down on rocks and then drag it. This is a pack for hiking on trails, as I was doing, not for scrambling through thorns and brush, and not for treating with neglect.
Waterproof Matches: I took a few waterproof matches (with striker) along in case I needed to sterilize something in my first aid kit for popping a blister, or in case I needed to start an emergency fire with some paper. However, I need to be upfront about the fact that I didn't know how to start or manage fires and in an emergency would have probably ended up depending on the fact that my clothing and sleeping bag options (not being made of cotton or down) could retain some insulating value in case of wetness, as well as on the fact that I had some dry clothes with me. Nevertheless, the matches were a 10 essentials type of item and as such I felt I should include them (I should also add that I was assembling this pack with the idea of going on some Mountaineers hikes the next year, and hence wanted to meet their standards as well as simply bringing what I thought I'd use or was trained to use).
Lightweight toothbrush, baking soda for toothbrush, lightweight dental floss container, toilet paper in waterproof ziplock bag, trial-size bottle of waterless Purell hand sanitizer for after toilet use: Basic personal hygeine items. I should add that you can use toilet paper in all of the toilets in the official campgrounds (although you can't discard garbage in them) and that there's nothing wrong with stopping to use the toilet in a campground you won't be staying in. For the entire course of my trip I had no need to relieve myself in anything other than a campground toilet, and hence had no need to worry about packing old toilet paper with me to the next campsite, no need to worry about where it was and wasn't OK to dig "catholes," etc. In anticipation of being able to do this I didn't bring a shovel for digging catholes, though if I'd ever needed one I probably could have improvised with the trekking poles.
Notes on the Trail and First Aid: I read several trail guides to Mount Rainier and the Wonderland Trail before I left, as well as several books on hiking and several books on first aid. I typed notes on each in my computer as I read them, and once done printed out the notes and laminated them (after first photocopying them to double-sided pages). These lightweight waterproof pages went in my pack as well, and came in handy once or twice. Onto these note pages also went all of my emergency phone numbers, calling card numbers, etc., so that separate cards and sheets didn't have to be included for each.
The "Real World" Zip-Loc Bag: Into this little bag went some money (which I didn't need to use the entire trip), insurance identification cards, my ID, the key to my house so I could get back in once I'd gotten back, my bus pass, my bank card, etc.
Raingear: The SilPoncho by Integral Designs. Weight: 10oz. This tarp can double as a poncho, but after changing my mind and bringing the bivy as my shelter instead, I decided not to bother with even trying to pitch this thing as a tarp and left the rope/stakes necessary to do so at home. Since I didn't end up using the tarp feature of this piece of gear, it's possible that if I were to do this trek again I might consider either a lighter-weight poncho than this, or else consider replacing it with a lightweight Frogg Toggs rainsuit.
Headband/Balaclava: Buff, by, well Buff. If you have long hair, as I do, this piece of gear will keep you from going insane. I also enjoyed using it in camp completely over my face as I sat in the sun, or at night for extra warmth. This item turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of clothing, along with the lightweight gloves and the mosquito headnet (see below).
Rain Hat: Seattle Sombrero by Outdoor Research. This is great for keeping rain off of your face.
Mosquito Headnet: Spring Ring Headnet by Outdoor Research. I can't speak highly enough of this piece of gear. The fact is that even with mosquito repellant it's still no fun to have things buzzing around your face which COULD bite you at any moment, but wearing one of these lets you walk or sleep more or less assured that nothing of the kind is even going to be able to get to your face. I wore it while hiking as well as in camp resting in my sleeping bag before night fell. While hiking, between having this thing on my head and cinched around the collar of my shirt, having the long-sleeved shirt whose sleeves were tucked into my glove liners, and when needed putting my pant legs into my socks, I basically felt completely protected from mosquitos and was able to hike in peace. [One memory of this trip: for large parts of the trail, the buzzing of insects was part of the background sound of the forest, just as the engines of cars is part of the background sound of a city.]
Wool Hat: This provided extra warmth at night, although with very few exceptions I never ended up needing to wear it for warmth during the day.
Lightweight Gloves: Light Hand Liners (MTS midweight) in Large, by REI. These kept my hands from getting chilled and seemed to keep the mosquitos away from them (your mileage may vary, but I sat there one time with my headnet on and watched a mosquito try and fail to put its stinger through these). They also look cool. I sprayed the outside of mine with Permethrin Insect Repellant before I left, but I'm not sure if I'd do this again: next time I might just spray the shirt and pants, and not worry about the gloves. In any case, these gloves are made of a combination of polyester and spandex.
Insulating Gloves: Regular winter gloves, I don't know the brand. They proved to be useful on one particular clear night when I tried to sleep in the sleeping bag without using the bivy.
Shoes: Men's Vitesse by Montrail. These trail running shoes (which superficially look like tennis shoes, but they're much sturdier, protect the toes better, and deal with moisture better) did a fantastic job for me. There were some snowy areas by the Panhandle Gap between Summerland Camp and Indian Bar Camp where boots might have been more suitable, but on the snow in this area I personally got by just fine with the help of my trekking poles.
Lightweight Hiking Socks: Hiking socks by Smartwool. These were fantastic, if I were to do this trail again I'd use them again.
Heavier Emergency Socks: Backpack Merino Wool Socks (Large) by REI. These were for emergencies, though for the entire course of my trip they never left the place they were put before I left: inside zip-loc bags that where then placed inside the shoulder straps of my pack for extra cushioning.
Boxers: Men's large MTS stretch mesh grey boxers, by REI, worn underneath the Ex Officio pants (see below). Chafing between the thighs sucks, and these things are the cure. I could not have been happier with this item of clothing.
Long Underwear: Lightweight Capilene Base by Patagonia. Men's XL crew in black for the top, Men's XL long bottoms. It never got cold enough during my trip for me to ever put these on, but in their zip-loc bag they were an excellent pillow, and I'm glad I had them with me so that I could change into something less smelly than my primary clothing on the drive home (they look just like clothing, so you can typically get away with that). Even though I didn't use these, I'd probably consider them a "10 essentials" type of item and still bring them along next time.
Jacket: REI men's XL nylon polyester jacket. I only used this once or twice, in the early morning when it was a bit cold, and I always got too warm once I started hiking to leave it on for long. Still, as a "10 essentials" type of item, I'd probably take it along again.
Pants and Shirt: Men's Airstrip long-sleeved shirt and convertible men's Amphi pants. Both by Ex Officio. I could not have been more pleased with these two items, for the entire duration of my trip. I sprayed the outside of them with Permethrin insect repellant before I left, which may have helped repell the mosquitos a bit (though it's also possible the mosquitos couldn't have bitten through the fabric these items were made of - I wasn't clear on that - and hence spraying them may not have been necessary in the first place).
Sunglasses: Polarized clip-on lenses by Action Optics. Realistically if you do the trail at the same time I did you're not going to be spending a lot of time on snow, but since snowblindness is such a serious condition sunglasses are considered an essential piece of gear and should be kept with you at all times when hiking. On my trip I never ended up using them, however.
Food: I used trail mix comprised of peanuts, cashews, almonds, raisins, and M&Ms. I picked up four-pound bags of this mix at Costco, but if I had this trip to do over again I'd make my own trail mix with just peanuts, cashews, and raisins (the M&Ms initially tasted good but started making me feel gross after a while, I didn't like the almonds as much as the peanuts and cashews). In any case, the trail mix should be heavy on the nuts, since this maximizes calories per pound (important when trying to keep your pack weight down, as I was).
One thing I didn't take was a portable phone capable of dialing out from anywhere in the park. I had my own reasons for wanting to leave the real world entirely behind, but realistically if you can take such a phone with you, and particularly if you'll be doing this hike solo as I was, you probably should. In particular, when crossing this stretch of ice (far and away the scariest part of the entire trail) you ideally want someone watching you who could summon help if you slip: on my own trip it wasn't until some wonderful folks whom I'd met earlier on the trail came back for me that I was comfortable crossing this section.
I took pictures of some of my gear here, here, here, and here, though note that I ended up not taking along the tent stakes and the rope (since I was using the bivy), and I ended up discarding the Body Glide, one of the containers of sunscreen, and the unused DEET at Sunrise. In this picture you'll find the stuff used to seal the seams on the poncho, the permethrin anti-bug spray for the clothing, the fork and salmon packets that ended up in my caches, some of my laminated notes, and a copy of the Mount Rainier Visitor's Companion which (in my experience) had the best pictures of the plants and animals I might find on my trip: I ended up reading this book on the way to the park and then once at Longmire mailing it back home so that I wouldn't have to either discard it or keep carrying it.
One final tip: if you use zip-loc bags (or any type of resealable plastic bag) rather than stuff sacks, be sure that they're of ample size for what they will contain. If you try to stuff them over capacity these things will split at the sides or the seal may fail.
Note that over some parts on the trail, particularly those which cover rock or snow, the trail may be marked by cairns (little rock piles) or flags or painted rocks rather than by something which looks like a trail. There aren't that many such stretches of the trail but they do exist.
Longmire to Devil's Dream Camp: Easy and pretty, I used this section to get used to my gear, particularly using the trekking poles on the uphills. Once in camp, the water source was Squaw Lake, which was a bit north along the Wonderland Trail. Near Devil's Dream Camp I saw a deer, which was the largest animal I saw my entire trip (in particular, I didn't see any Elk, Mountain Lions, or Bears). There are two trees by Squaw Lake that reminded me of those two white ghosts from the movie Matrix: Reloaded. My main memory of this camp was of the beautiful mist through the trees: I felt like I literally had my head in the clouds :) This was also the only camp where a ranger came by to check my camp reservation permit, so realistically I'd imagine that the reservation system is more for making sure the campsites aren't overbooked than they are for guarding against hikers going missing. One of my stronger memories of this camp is of the dreams I had at night: before leaving I'd learned that the dangerous animals in the park are the bear (esp if you get between it and its cubs), the mountain lion (esp if you act like prey or get between it and a recent kill), and the elk (if it steps on you). Well, at Devil's Dream camp I dreamed, in turn, that I was stepped on by an elk, then had my left hand gnawed off by a mountain lion, and then was mauled by a bear. The interesting thing was that in each of these three distinct dreams I was in the same place I was in real life, so I had trouble distinguishing them from real life and got pretty scared in each case.
To Klapatche Park Camp: For me this was the most physically demanding part of the trail, probably because my body was still getting used to both higher levels of exertion as well as being at higher altitudes. I have a fear of heights so the descending switchbacks ust over the top of Emerald Ridge were a bit scary for me, although they probably wouldn't be for most other people. You don't have to go into South Puyallup Camp, but if you do and go to the end of it, you'll find some interesting rock formations. One thing to be aware of: you'll definitely want to load up on water at that stream before South Puyallup Camp, because the hardest part of this leg of the trip (the rapid climb 2700 feet up to St. Andrews Lake) must be done on a path in which I didn't notice any significant water sources. I didn't have any water with me for this part of the trail and ended up feeling quite dehydrated by the end, a mistake which I resolved not to repeat for the rest of the trip (and which for the most part I didn't). At the time I did this trail there was a point near South Puyallup Camp with a stream and some benches that would be a good place to fill up on water before the climb to St. Andrews Lake. Also, if I remember correctly, St. Andrews Lake (rather than Aurora Lake) was the water source for Klapatche Park Camp, so you'll probably want to fill up there as well before heading into the camp. Two final things about this leg of the trip: (1) if you start to feel a hot spot on your foot apply moleskin immediately so as to head off blisters, and (2) keep in mind that you will probably experience this as being the absolute hardest part of the trail, so if you can complete it you can probably rest knowing that barring injuries (and assuming you continue to take care of yourself) you should be able to complete the rest of the trail. For what it's worth, in dealing with the ascent to St. Andrews Lake, it's helpful not to think about when it will be over, i.e. to imagine that the next hill or the next switchback will be the last one, since that only leads to frustration; in this regard it's better not to think of the future. It's highly likely that near the Emerald Ridge you'll see a Hoary Marmot and perhaps a Pika or two (though I wasn't able to photograph any of the latter). Side note: it was on my way to Klapatche Park Camp that I first met the hikers who would later end up being a big help to me around the Panhandle Gap. Final memories of Klapatche Park Camp: the sunset through the trees was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen, and after sunset one of the trees in my camp looked like the tree in one of the final scenes from the movie Baraka.
To Golden Lakes Camp: The Golden Lakes were pretty.
To Mowich Lake Walk-in Camp: The Ranger Station by the Mowich Lake Walk-in Camp (which is really just a parking lot) is where you pick up your cache, which at the time I did my hike was stored on the left side of the ranger station. If you do this hike then the procedure may be different than when I did it, and they may have moved this camp by then, but when I did this hike the camp was in the parking lot (i.e. you just set up your sleeping spot next to a picnic table) and there was no bear pole. As such I suppose one thing I could have done would have been to have just eaten my fill from whatever remaining food I had with me, thrown away any uneaten amounts remains as well as any and all garbage in my pack into one of the parking lot garbage cans, and picked up my cache from the ranger station the next morning. Note that it's pretty common for there to be an excess bucket into which you can put excess food that you packed into your cache (or had with you) but find you didn't need, so that other hikers in need can take it if they need it. Although this parking lot camp doesn't have the same "Wonderland" feel, the fact that your sleeping area isn't immediately surrounded by trees lets you see a much bigger sky, which is particularly spectacular if there are no clouds in the sky during the night. One last thing: while at Mowich Lake Camp I found a fortune cookie fortune, devoid of the surrounding cookie, underneath the park bench that I'd set up my bivy next to. The inscription was: "Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together as they do in you." Awwww :)
To Carbon River Camp: According to the trail signs, the official Wonderland Trail is still the leg that goes to the north of Mother Mountain along Ipsut Creek, not the leg that goes through Spray Park to the south of Mother Mountain. The Spray Park route is apparently much more physically challenging, from what I heard from other hikers more challenging than the ascent to Klapatche Park. I did the official (northern) route, which also lets you see a 1200 year old Yellow Cedar (see also this sideways picture) that may be the largest such tree in the world. One funny story to share: along the stretch of trail where I thought this tree was, I happened upon a group of more experienced hikers that included a very quiet older gentleman who seemed to be an expert naturalist. I mentioned to one of these hikers that I was looking for this old and big Yellow Cedar, and after hiking for a while I noticed a tree that looked big to me and asked, "Is this it?" The older naturalist quietly replied, "That isn't even a cedar" :)
To Mystic Camp: I saw a tick at this camp. You may wish to be careful of ticks when you're there, and be sure you have notes on how to remove ticks as well as having a tweezers in your first aid kit (mine had one). Mystic Lake is very pretty, I waded in it a bit which felt very good. One thing to be aware of in the approach to Mystic Camp: the Wonderland Trail goes to the south of Old Desolate mountain, not over it. There's apparently an old hiker or climber trail which isn't marked on the Green Trails map that leads up Old Desolate, first with what looks like a trail and eventually leading you on with rock cairns. This is wrong, the correct trail looks more like this when you're properly traveling south of Old Desolate. I'm mentioning this because this was my one navigation error of the whole trip and I want to make sure others don't make it, if for no other reason than that if you make it you're likely to trample on alpine vegetation, which is a big no-no. BTW, I saw a Blue Heron in Mystic Lake, and you'll probably see plenty of tadpoles in some parts of it.
To Sunrise Walk-in Camp: Here is where the views of the mountain really start to get spectacular. You'll want to make a detour to Sunrise to pick up your cache (ask about it in the visitor center if the ranger station is unstaffed). Once you're done with your cache you can put any excess food back in it and put its lid back on (I only left stuff in unopened packages) and return it to the ranger you got it from for the sake of other hikers who might be running low. Note that the bathroom at Sunrise is a great place to wash your hands, that you can get rid of any accumulated garbage in the Sunrise garbage cans, and some replacement gear is available at the Sunrise store if any of yours failed. The drinking fountains at Sunrise are a great opportunity to be sure you're fully hydrated, and you'll probably want to fill up your water bottle at them as well since (at least at the time I went) the Sunrise Camp itself didn't seem to have a water source. Finally, note that you can mail things home from Sunrise: I suppose one could mail home a full notebook if you've replaced it from your Sunrise cache with a blank one. I suppose one could also change clothes at Sunrise and mail back home your old clothes. Note that the squirrels near the Sunrise Visitor Center are very aggressive: this one took it upon itself to jump in my cache bucket and then try to climb up my pack.
To Summerland Camp: Very pretty. Note that there's a really flat stretch of trail after you leave through the drive-in camp that you'll pass through along the way. If you want to be able to tell your friends "I hiked over 100 miles" by cramming in some additional mileage above the 93 for the trail, AND if you don't plan to make a north trip to the Paradise visitor center on your way between the Maple Creek Camp and Longmire at the end, then going back and forth on the flat parts of this trail would be an easy way to pack in some extra miles (though note that it's at least two extra miles to leave the Wonderland Trail to get your cache from the Sunrise Ranger Station, and then get back on the trail, so you should count that towards your total).
To Indian Bar Camp: The stretch between Summerland Camp and Indian Bar Camp, particularly the area around the Panhandle Gap, may be the most challenging part of the trail. The impression I got from talking to folks, though, was that the time I left - starting the trail from Longmire on Aug 15 going clockwise - was ideal for this part of the trail, in particular giving me the best possible chance of navigation being the easiest (i.e. with the least amount of trail obscured, and hopefully with no need to have to constantly resort to map and compass out of confusion over where the trail actually is). My trekking poles were a great help in crossing snow, and in crossing the scary part of this trail it definitely helped to have someone there watching me who could have called for help if I'd fallen. In general, unless you take the aforementioned Spray Park route rather than the official Wonderland Trail route on the north side of the mountain, this may be the only part of the trail where you'll need to cross snow and ice (at least if you leave around the same time I did). I'm told that getting a very early start is helpful for this part of the trail, both because apparently things are less slippery then, but also because (if you're travelling solo) if there's nobody around when you need to cross the scary part (see also this picture) you'll be pretty sure you wouldn't have missed the last person to be in that area during the day. Note that some of the snowy parts of this part of the trail may be marked with flags, although realistically at the time I went it was pretty obvious where folks were going from looking at the places where there were multiple footprints. Realistically it's possible that I'm making a bigger deal about the scary part of this trail than others might (the hikers ahead of me didn't seem to be bothered by even the scary part in the slightest) because I have some fear of unprotected heights. But for what it's worth, what helped me the most on the scary part (in addition to having the support of the kind folks who doubled back to make sure I was getting through it) was the practice of not thinking about falling, rather just focusing all of my attention on where I was placing my feet. In any case, whatever you do, don't try to climb up the boulders on the far side of the scary part: the boulders could shift and crush you, and besides you're not supposed to be going off the trail anyway. Once you're over the scary part the sights are beautiful, and you may see mountain goats (I did!). Once you're through all this the Indian Bar camp will be something to look forward to, and you'll even find a particularly spectactular view from one of the toilets.
To Maple Creek Camp: I believe I was the only person in this camp on the day I stayed there. Be careful which bear pole you use: at the time I went the bear pole I selected was close enough to a tree branch for a squirrel to jump from a branch onto the pole and get to some of the food (which thankfully didn't really matter because I was exiting the trail the next day).
Back to Longmire: There's a very special feeling that comes when you pass by the fork for the Wonderland Trail, the one you passed by on your first day when selecting the clockwise route rather than the counter-clockwise route. After exiting the trail and enjoying a nice drink of water from the same water fountain you probably drank from on the way in, you can stop by the Information Center to report to the ranger that you've finished, let him or her know about any parts of the trail that you had trouble with, and (if you have any) offer any suggestions you might have. For what it's worth, my suggestion was looking into ways a supporting metal cable could be strung along the scary part of the trail near the Panhandle Gap for hikers (particularly solo hikers or those who are nervous on ice) to hold onto as they cross it.
