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This has been on my bucket list for sometime now and decided this Spring to apply for a permit with a buddy. We each sent an application in, we made it for mid September (in the middle of the week) and both stated we would do it in either direction. A month or so later we got our rejection letter. But a couple of weeks ago I received an email from MRNP that they would not be issuing any walk up permits this year and instead would issue them to unsuccessful applicants. Back in the game! Well a couple weeks went by and I decided to call. Talked to a friendly ranger and said that all remaining permits were issued and we didn’t get one- damn :( She pulled up my original application and then started checking for any vacancies to see if something could be put together. Well lo and behold she was able to put together an itinerary using the same dates and then just substituting one night’s camp with a nearby camp. Hallelujah, we’re back on!
TRIP
Activity:
Wonderland Trail
Dates:
9/15/20 – 9/18/20
Party Size:
3
Entry trailhead:
9/15 White River CG Trailhead
Itinerary:
9/15 • Eagle’s Roost Camp
9/16 • Klapatche Park Camp
9/17 • Snow Lake Camp (this was the one changed)
Exit trailhead:
9/18 White River CG TrailheadIt’s an ambitious route covering 90-ish miles (and nearly 25,000′ of gain) in four days, but I think we’re up to the challenge :)
If anyone has any words of wisdom for the Wonderland Trail, I’m all ears.
Mike
At the white river campground, there’s a couple of car camping spots right across the street from the parking lot where you’ll leave your vehicle, that’s where i camped the night before I did my Wonderland Trail trek last year. Makes it easy.
There was one really sketchy spot, sorry I don’t remember where, but some rockfall trashed part of the trail and you had to be quite careful so you didn’t end up sliding/falling hundreds of feet down. Not exceptionally treacherous, just needs some caution.
A really long suspension bridge is pretty wild.
Some camping spots are pretty small. We had four people in our party and in a couple of campgrounds our shelters were literally inches away from each other.
You may very likely hit some snow in a couple of spots, but it was nothing we needed spikes for.
It’s a beautiful trek, gorgeous scenery. You’re going to love it!
I can send you a map if you’d like and don’t yet have one, just send it back after the trip.
Not sure how you’re driving there (what route), but you’re welcome to crash/shower at my place on your way back (Arlington, WA).
Some pics from my trip here
Great photos Doug! Now I’m really excited.
I have a map on the way, but appreciate the offer. We’ll be leaving the Flathead early morning and spending the night at White River- it’s about a nine hour drive. If something changes I’ll let you know.
I’m hoping there are some spots vacant- evidently 200+ camp spots and this being mid September and a Monday, we should be good to go :)
I loved my hike about 8-10 years ago. I thought I was a stud to do it in 6 days/5nights. 4 days is beastly in my opinion.
There is a ton of information online much better than my few observations.
The big thing I would be careful about is if you are thinking about food drops on the trail at all, realize that you could end up struggling to get it quickly.
Since you are looking at 20+ miles every day, you will not have much time to wait for someone to get back from lunch or find out they moved the food drops to another spot.
Once September comes around the staff is cut at MRNP so you could have a challenge getting help if you time it wrong.
There are great poles to hang your food bags from at the campsites.
Expect snow. Expect rain. Expect ravenous camp mice.
I live in Yakima, and I bet you drive right through. I am planning a Bailey Range traverse then, or I would offer you a place to stay if needed.
Enjoy the trip
Really hoping I can make this Mike, looks like a great itinerary!
not quite as dramatic as the mountain goat hunt, but definitely looks like a dandy- hope you can make it!
The big thing I would be careful about is if you are thinking about food drops on the trail at all, realize that you could end up struggling to get it quickly.
John- we’ll be carrying all of our food, I guess there is one benefit of doing it in four days :)
on the other hand, maybe the smoke from the fires will blow away, actual fires suppressed so you won’t be burned up
make sure you contact them to make sure they’re not closed. Most everything in Oregon is closed but not as bad as in Washington so you might be okay
true that on the smoke/fire!
they sent me the permit yesterday, thus far it looks like a go :)
it’s not as bad up there, and is supposed to be much better in a few days
that should be a great trip!
always fun to put a check mark by a bucket list trip (God willing of course) :)
my list is looooong!
Just out of curiosity…was four days your choice or what you could get?
It’s possible to camp on a ridge leading up to the mountain that overlooks a glacier below. this is just outside of the Mystic Lake campsite. It’s quite stunning, with the only drawback (at least when I was there) being the frequent rock/ice fall tumbling down from the glacier on the mountain. It’s entirely safe as the ridge isn’t exposed–it just feels that way. Views are stunning. there’s a limit to how many people can stay there per night,but worth looking into imo.
Rainier exceeded my expectations as a trail, beauty-wise. Ass kicking wise too, now that I think about it!
Well have a full day of driving to get there (and go home)- we’ll leave early Monday AM (stay at campground) and start our hike Tuesday and finish Friday (no doubt a wee bit late and will stay at the campground that night too)- so basically a full week. Just came down to time basically and both Tom and I generally like to hike a little longer/farther than most folks do :)
I itinerary is
White R campground-> Eagle’s Roost (taking the Spray route) Tuesday
Eagle’s Roost -> Klapatche Park Wednesday
Klapatche Park -> Snow Lake (a little off the route, but all we could get and still looks nice :))
Snow Lake -> back to White River
Mystic Lake does look a neat area; maybe we can eat lunch there!
It looks like your nights might be mostly cloudy, but NOAA is predicting partly sunny for most days, with chances of rain. Hope it’s mostly sunny — clouds would be a bummer if hiding the spectacular views.
Keep an eye on the big smoke plume coming up from CA and OR. CalTopo’s live GOES feed (thanks to those who pointed that out recently!) gives a great indication of whether it’ll be socked in or not.
views right at Mystic Lake are really fine; walking out on the ridge is a treat but you guys are going to need to do miles.
Hope this trip works out for you Mike. Rainier is covered with smoke from the CA/OR smoke plume at the moment, though I don’t know how low the smoke is. I assume you know that SR410 is closed north of the park, don’t know what roads you were planning on taking.
Thanks. Yeah I’d take rain over smoke; we’ve had enough of that this summer (fortunately for us, most of it wasn’t Montana fires)
The wife and I were going to leave tomorrow and join a couple of friends for 3 days of camping at either Cougar or Ohanapecosh campgrounds but between the smoke, chance of rain, and longer than usual drive due to the Hwy 410 closure, we decided to bail on it this week. Maybe later. Unfortunately for you Mike, your Wonderland permit can’t be rescheduled that easily.
Wishing you the best and I suspect the trails will be quiet this week. If you don’t get the big views, enjoy the little views. There’s a lot to love in that park.
As of yesterday, the air was pretty clear above 4000′. Not sure if that’s still the case.
I understand the smoke should greatly clear tomorrow afternoon, as we are expecting Westerly winds to come in.
Dreadful today in Seattle, though I understand Portland is much worse.
Thanks. Looks like the smoke clears out starting tomorrow (more westerly vs sw), but looks like moisture moving in- doesn’t look like all day stuff though; Wed and Thurs looking pretty good at the moment, Tuesday and Friday definitely some rain
getting packed up as we speak :)
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