Mt. Rainier, WA - Hiking the Wonderland Trail

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Sometimes the best scenery is in your own backyard...

I'm scheduled to depart for Australia and New Zealand on the 1st of October. My pit stop back in Seattle has been good... I had my third annual MRI (cancer free!) and got to experience one of the most beautiful hikes in the world... The Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier, which is only a 2-hour drive from my house.

My hiking companion, Dave, had been wanting to hike the Wonderland Trail for many years. He is an experienced outdoorsman who knows all the backcountry survival skills that I lack.

We completed the entire trail over 2 segments. After 4 and a half days of hiking during the first segment, a storm blew in, forcing us to reschedule the last segment for two weeks later. All in all, we were able to finish the 93-mile trail in less than 9 days of hiking (the average time to complete the trail is 10-14 days). But not without complaining about the constant climbing and descending!

The spectacular scenery was totally worth it. This was ranked as one of the Top 25 hikes in the world. Check out the photos...

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Photos

Profile Map of the Wonderland Trail
The 93-mile trail has over 20,000 ft (6,000 m.) of elevation gain. It's comparable to summiting Mt. Rainier 2.5 times!

View of Mt. Rainier from Skyscraper Ridge
The weather changed quickly from hot sunshine to wind and rain

Trail up to Panhandle Gap
Panhandle Gap is the highest point on the Wonderland Trail at 6,800 ft.

Crossing snowfields on the descent from Panhandle Gap
At this point there was a lightning storm in the clouds above us... our adrenaline was pumping!

Martha Falls
All of the bridges on this section were damaged by flooding and heavy snowfall. New bridges were being built even as we hiked.

Comments

[Jayne Collins]

Great pictures, Laura!
Hi there, I enjoyed seeing the pics of your trip on the Wonderland Trail. What a fabulous summer you've had and I hope your adventure downunder is getting in to high gear :). Good news on your MRI, Laura! Isn't it nice to move on with life and get further away from that dreaded day? Life IS good...enjoy! Cheers! Jayne