Wanted: a cancelled Wonderland Trail reservation starting 4th or 5th Sept

[Esther Caprez]

Hi there! am flying from Australia to Seattle end August with a mate (flights all booked & paid for). I put in two itineraries mid March to do the Wonderland Trail and both got rejected! We're SO disappointed. ANYONE have a reservation they need to cancel or would like to 'sell'?? We will try for a walk in, but I am not hopeful.

Many thanks for your help.

[Mary D]

There are so many equally beautiful places to hike in the Washington and Oregon Cascades that I wouldn't worry too much about missing the Wonderland. Our National Forest Wilderness Areas are just as beautiful as and far less crowded than our National Parks. Except for a very few highly impacted areas, they also involve far less bureaucracy–you can generally hike and camp where you chose.

A very few suggestions–there are many, many more!:

Washington: Spider Meadow/Lyman Lakes/Image Lake/Buck Creek Pass Loop, Glacier Peak Wilderness. Hoh River/High Divide Traverse (can also be done as a partial "lollipop" loop), Olympic National Park (this one is in a national park, and does require backcountry camping permits). Chelan Summit Trail, Chelan/Sawtooth Wilderness.

Oregon: Three Sisters Wilderness Loop. Or, if you don't mind a long drive to get there, anywhere in the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon.

[Elliott Wolin]

I'll second Mary D, there's no end of great places that require no permit or where they are readily available. Most of the North Cascades, for example (although Sep may be a bit late, depending on the snow).

[Esther Caprez]

Thanks, Mary & Elliot for your suggestions. Will def consider the alternatives (but still have my lil' heart set on WT, for personal reasons!)

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