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My last night in the backcountry was nice. It was a warm night, and the stars were out. I didn’t sleep that well, waking up numerous times. I think I was anxious to get up and get moving. As great as things have been out here, I really wanted to get back home to my wife. I had planned on an early start, and ended up waking up and getting out of the tent at 5:45. It was still dark enough that I woke up, broke camp, and packed up with my headlamp on. I was ready to rock by 6:10, and I sat for a few more minutes in camp to watch the sunrise before heading out. (more…)

Given that yesterday was a hard hike, and I was waking up in an amazing place, I had planned to sleep in this morning, but I ended up out of the tent at 6:30. I had been hearing elk calls all night, and thought that if I was up early enough I might be able to watch them cross one of the meadows near camp. No such luck. Their calls seemed close, but as I looked around I never spotted them. It was still nice to be up early though. I caught the sunrise over the hills east of camp, and over Indian Bar, and it was beautiful. (more…)

On paper, day 7 looked to be the hardest day. It was close to the longest at 12.2 miles, had a big climb leading the the high point of the Wonderland Trail, and then a steep descent to camp. I was lucky that day 6 turned out to be one of the easier ones. I slept great in the White River campground, and was out of the tent at 6:00, around sunrise. I took a little bit of time getting ready, enjoying the last bits of civilization I would enjoy for a few days, such as flushing toilets. (more…)

Day 6 on the Wonderland Trail was to be our shortest day – 7.2 miles from Granite Creek Camp to White River Campground. After yesterday’s rain we woke up to cool weather and clear blue skies. After packing up and eating breakfast I hit the trail at 7:25. Granite Creek Camp as at 6000′, and the morning started with a climb out of the forest and up to Berkley Park at about 6700′. As the trail climbed higher we got better and better views of Rainier, whose summit was shrouded in a lenticular cloud. (more…)

As expected last night, we woke up to rain this morning. It was light when we got up, but became heavy by the time the bags were packed and breakfast was done. Waking up to rain, and having been in this area several times before, I was thankful for yesterday’s detour, as it allowed us to see a lot of the great views that were now obscured by clouds. As I prepared to leave camp I put my rain jacket on, but not my rain pants, and headed out. I figured with a long climb coming up, rain pants would make things a bit too warm. (more…)

Up this morning at 6 after a great nights sleep. Interesting how quickly I adjusted to a going to sleep at night fall getting up at first light pattern out here. Before leaving camp this morning I walked back up to South Mowich River to check out the river crossing that was almost being overtopped yesterday, thinking it would be interesting to see it during a period of lower water flow early in the morning. It actually looked no different from the night before – maybe just a little lower. Oh well! I packed up my gear, and was lifting my pack onto my back when I noticed the frisbee still laying on a log. The thing was starting to frustrate me! Almost every time I packed up since picking it up I’ve forgotten it, and had to set my pack back down, and open it up, and get the frisbee stashed away. I never did run into whoever dropped it. (more…)

Day 3 of the Wonderland Trail hike would take us from North Puyallup River camp to South Mowich River camp, about 11 miles. Despite the long day yesterday, I didn’t sleep as well as I would have expected. There was a “Bear Log” on the bear pole in camp. Apparently there is frequent bear activity in that area, and hikers are asked to write down details of any encounters. (more…)