Gear list advice for a Wonderland Trail first-timer.

[Travis Higdon]

I tried to keep this short but failed. My system is pretty well dialed in so one change can have a ripple effect, hence the long post. Thanks for any advice.

My friend and I are doing the WT for the first time starting September 7th. Our itinerary calls for 6 nights, 7 days. Starting at Longmire, we're camping at Klapatche, So. Mowich River, Mystic (taking Spray Park alternate), Summerland, Indian Bar, and Maple Creek. Because I managed to get BOTH Summerland and Indian Bar (only 4.4 miles apart) we're really hiking about 6 days.

This is actually my first trip to the whole Rainier area. I've been hiking around the PNW (Adams, St. Helens, Hood, Gorge, etc) for several years and my kit is fairly well dialed in so I won't make you pour over the whole gear list just yet. But, I would appreciate some advice from you WT veterans regarding some specific gear choices.

First, I have two shelter options (shared weight with my hiking partner):

HMG Ultamid 2 vs.
HMG 8.5×8.5 flat tarp.

The measured weight difference between the two options is 9.65 oz, less than 5 oz per person shared. Based on our camp sites, will we be exposed enough to want the Ultamid?

Second, my sleep system. Currently I plan to use:

EE Prodigy 40* quilt
Therm-a-rest X-lite (L)
Ex Ped UL Pillow (M)
MLD Superlight cuben floor bivy (L)
Lawson 1/8" foam pad (XL) under bivy

I understand that most campsites are dished and packed hard, hence the X-lite. Possible replacements for the EE quilt include a MLD 28* synthetic quilt or a WM Summerlite bag. Sleep clothing includes Smartwool microweight LS top, Smartwool Mid or Microweight bottoms, Goosefeet Gear down booties, fleece glove liners, MH Ghost Whisperer puffy (no hood), and a Black Rock Gear HadronS down hat. I think the 40* should be enough with these clothing options and a bivy, yes? I understand we need to plan for freezing rain, hail, and/or snow in September. I could replace the Ghost Whisperer and HadronS with a Patagonia hooded puffy which is warmer around the head/neck/face but not as comfortable to sleep in.

Third, I'm stuck between choices for hiking clothes. I sunburn very easily, so coverage is as important as comfort. I will be hiking in a silkweight Cap 1 t-shirt, Patagonia Gone Again LS button shirt, OR sun hat, Smartwool PhD toe sock liners, La Sportiva Wildcats, and MH Scree gaiters. For the rest, I'm debating between:

Option 1:
Ex Officio boxer briefs
Prana Stretch Zion convertible pants
ZPacks Cuben kilt and Outdoor Research Helium 2 jacket for rain
(I would probably bring the Midweight bottoms to sleep in with this system as I would not want to layer with wet hiking pants)

Option 2:
Nylon running shorts with built-in liner
ZPacks WPB cuben pants and Outdoor Research Helium 2 jacket for rain
(I could bring the microweight bottoms to sleep in with this system. I could layer with the rain pants if my legs are cold as the rain pants are easily shaken dry compared to the Pranas)

I typically hike in shorts below the tree line and pants above the tree line due to the desire for sun protection. On the WT I'm concerned about shorts not providing enough sun protection. However, Option 1 is substantially heavier, so I'm leaning toward shorts. I know this comes down to personal preference, but any feedback would be appreciated.

Finally, we're hoping that one of our resupply points will be Sunrise on 9-11. I'm getting mixed information about Sunrise being open past Labor Day. Any info on this?

More to come as we get closer, but this is where I am right now. Thanks for reading this far and for any feedback.

[Jeffs Eleven]

Hard ground- yes. Xlite L is the Stuff!

Never know about weather in the mts but in recent years the summer is starting later and lasting longer (i read that on The Carbon Flame War) (not really) so I would think the tarp would be fine. Ultamid OBV would work. 5oz aint nuthin so either choice is probably fine. Nothing that I saw was very exposed, campsite wise. Indian Bar (IIRC) is the cabin in the valley… EPIC S%ITTER!! Seriously- bring a newspaper and use that thing in the AM. We didn't stay there but we waited out a thunderstorm (106*F in Portland that day) there and it was really cool. Really man, take a dump in that toilet. It is amazing. Pissin just doesn't do it justice.

Don't know about sunrise being open or closed… sorry

A lot of the hiking is in trees… surely you take sunscreen? If so I bet shorts would work.

I like Maple Creek, too. Cool river to chill on after a hike.

[Ian]

I did two section hikes amounting to 60 miles of it last year so by no means am I an authority on the area.

NPS didn't move my cache from the office at Sunrise to the box, even after asking that they contact a ranger to confirm that they move it there when I started my hike at Longmire. The ranger's office is only staffed on an as-needed basis and there wasn't anyone there when I arrived. Fortunately I met a ranger in parking lot who was making an unplanned stop and ended up getting my food. White River is only a few miles away and is where I'm caching my food this year.

My understanding is that the snack bar at Sunrise is open for a few hours here and there in September.

Summerland (edited) and Indian Bar are both spectacular. I am absolutely green with envy.

Humidity can be a real problem and I encountered the worst condensation ever on the Wonderland; at one point, it felt like it was raining inside my shelter. I'll probably take my Hexamid Twin again this year but I'm strongly considering just bringing an 8×10 tarp and supplement it with a torso length bug net. There are pros and cons to both of your shelters and you'll have to decide what's the most important to you. As you mentioned, some of the campsites will indeed turn into a swimming pool.

I now have a scar on my neck from last year's sunburn when I hiked from Nickel Creek to White River in mid-September; I wore sunblock but it failed miserably. This year I'm wearing running shorts w/ liner under nylon pants; my shorts will be for in camp/shade use only and will wear long pants everywhere else. My shirt will be long-sleeved and will wear a yet to be purchased Tilley hat.

[John Rowan]

I did the Wonderland last August, but I had pretty heavy cloud coverage/chill most days, so I'll decline to comment on the sun stuff, since I won't have anything intelligent to add on that. (Luckily, the trail is beautiful in any weather.)

For the shelter, obviously it depends a bit on your preferences, but I'd be inclined to take the mid. Some of the sites on the WT can get a bit cozy with other campers, and I did have a few instances in which the privacy of a more enclosed shelter was welcomed. This experience was obviously atypical, but I had two people with headlamps standing directly outside of my tent at 10PM just staring at me (Eagle's Roost) for a bit until I finally asked what they were doing (they apologized and ran off- I think they were just late arrivals trying to find the last open spot, but it was super unnerving), and I also had someone keep coming by my tent at Sunrise. I ended up hating my tent (TT Contrail) on that trip, but I was glad to have more privacy than a flat tarp would offer.

As far as exposure goes, Summerland probably has the best chance of all of the sites you listed for not being super fun in bad weather. (Klapatche is also possible, but I didn't stay there and didn't really explore.) As an only marginally relevant aside, I got lucky when I camped there, since they put me in for the group site as a solo hiker, meaning that I got a 3-sided CCC shelter. It was pretty rainy for awhile before it cleared up at night, so I shared with a couple of other people and it ended up being one of the highlights of the trail.

Also, it's already been said (and you already know), but you have a pretty good chance of getting your own private lake in a lot of these sites if it rains hard.

[Travis Higdon]

Thanks for the input, guys.

Jeffs Eleven, excellent beta on the toilet at Indian Bar. I'll be arriving there mid morning depending on what we decide to do with that "zero" day so I should have plenty of time to make use of the facilities. Never been so excited to take a dump before (that I can recall). Not sure about the cabin part, that might be the group site. I don't think we're planning on any actual structures (but weather may dictate making some friends in a hurry). Yes, I'll be taking sunscreen (lots) but at altitude I still burn right through it. I always do better with a physical barrier like clothing. My calves might be okay if I'm really diligent about sunscreen. Sounds like Maple Creek is a good place to clean up before returning to civilization!

Ian B., I remember hearing about your troubles with your cache at Sunrise. I may consider White River as plan A for that cache since we'll be hiking through both that day on our way to Summerland. My only worry is that that's a big day for miles and elevation gain/loss so I want to make sure we're not arriving there too late in the day. We'll get to Sunrise before we'll get to White River. I'll try to pin the rangers down on the best plan after Labor Day. So far I'm getting mixed information, probably because they close for the season based on snowfall which varies. Yea, I was SUPER lucky to get both Summerland and Indian Bar. Don't think I won't be soaking it all up in my two days there. I can't wait! Hopefully we get a good weather window during that time, but I'll take whatever the mountain gives me. Thanks for the info on the condensation. Mirrors my experience in the Gorge. That's one of the primary reasons I'm going with a tarp, bivy, and a synthetic quilt with a down puffy. Considering that I have no input on site selection or weather conditions, there's not much else I can do. Pitched high enough, both of my options should fair the same. Pitched properly, neither should drop ON me, but we'll see. If it's cold and calm, we may do better in the tarp. If it's cold and raining, we may do better in the mid.

John Rowan, you bring up a really good point about privacy that I hadn't really considered. Since we're hiking more than we're camping, we're not going to be the first to arrive at most campsites, so we'll have to take what we can get as far as sites. The privacy of the mid might be nice perk. If the weather is bad, however, it probably won't matter as well have our shelter pitched lower either way. Yea, I'm worried about the condition of the camp sites. I have a CF bathtub floor on my bivy, so there's not much else I can do. I'm hoping that using a tarp or mid will give me some flexibility within the site to avoid the middle of the dish and the deepest part of the "private lake" but we'll see. At least the X-lite buys me another 2" of water before I'm bathing.

I'm not hearing any concerns about the 40* quilt, though I know the question "how much bag is enough for me?" is extremely subjective. I'll say that I sleep cool, not cold. With a microweight top and bottom baselayer, socks, and a fleece hat, I'm cool in my Summerlite at 35*. Below 30* and I'd be too cold to sleep even on a good pad. My problem is that my Summerlite is too form fitting to allow a down puffy to fully loft, so I can't really supplement it. Both of my quilts allow for layering, so I figure a down puffy and a 40* synthetic quilt should not only perform better in sustained wet weather but should also be warmer in general to my 32* down bag.

[Ian]

"We'll get to Sunrise before we'll get to White River."

Ok. Just remember that the Sunrise cache is about a 1/2 mile off of the trail. If memory serves, White River is roughly three miles away, downhill if you're going clockwise, and on a part of the trail that's easy to hike and make good time on.

Of the campsites I've slept in, trees were plentiful. I found that more often than not, the soil was rocky where I would end up using my ti stakes as dead-mans instead of the traditional way. No shortage of rocks to pitch the Hexamid this way but for an A frame, I'd bring some NLT solution to tie both ends of the ridgelines between two trees.

I once entertained the idea of hammocking the Wonderland but didn't as there was a rumor that you're not supposed to tie anything to the trees. I've reviewed every source of policy that I can find for Rainier NP and obviously the rules they read you when you start the hike; I've yet to find that policy. I've also seen other hikers tie tarps to trees without a problem. Keep it NLT and that's the way to go imo since it may be difficult to pound stakes in in places.

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