I need rain gear suggestions for the Wonderland Trail

Mt Rainier; gorgeous.

Depends on what you like for rain gear. There are a lot of ideas discussed in the recent thread, “Begging for State of the Market Rain Jacket Report“. Here is a summary post, but the whole thread contains a lot of discussion.

If you have specific questions, ask away.

“…something just in case it does rain out there.”

I think the first thing you should adjust is the idea of this be a “just in case” situation…. This is Mt. RAINier…. emphasis on RAIN…

Sure, it is possible that you would do the trip and have no rain at all… but not likely. It is also possible that you will have all 10 days of rain. If you are determined to do the whole hike and not bail, regardless of how much it rains, then take the best rain gear you can afford… and rain pants… there are long sections where your legs will be brushing against thick bushes… which will be wet in a rain and for some time after a rain… and the brush can be wet even from a thick fog…

Full Rain Gear is my recommendation… and I would avoid the lightest weight options as they just don’t work as well in an all day rain…

I have done the Wonderland Trail twice…

my 2 cents… I’m sure you will get opposing views…

Thank you Bill! I have read that thread. I personally feel the conversation in that thread is more for ultra liters. I’m willing to go to the 10-13 oz for good gear.

I also like to take at least one extra pair of socks that I don’t use for hiking and I keep in a dry plastic bag for wearing inside my sleeping bag… nice in the evening to ring out your hiking socks, set them aside (I won’t say hang to dry as they won’t dry in the rain and humidity), and put on dry socks… such a great treat after you feet getting wet and cold from hiking in the rain all day… tough a bit of a bummer in the morning to take them off again only to put on you wet and cold hiking socks :(((

Weight doesn’t change the discussion all that much, other than suggesting tougher face fabrics, with all of the associated problems.

But let’s go with DWR D’s suggestions because he has hiked that trail. My approach would be a Packa in heavy fabric because my experience is that ventilation is reliable while DWR (the fabric coating; not the person!) isn’t. It is the same idea that Roger Caffin uses in the Pyrenees and French Alps.

If you prefer a jacket then maybe GoreTex Pro or one of Frogg Toggs tougher variants. I think Frogg Toggs Action series is a still-lightweight-but-more-durable 3-layer version. Their Pilot series is tough as nails, but heavy. Two pounds for a hip-length parka with lots of pockets.

Jackets don’t make much sense to me in warmer weather because the pack plasters the back of the jacket to your back. However, above snowline, then it might not be a problem.

OR has a military version of their AscentShell that they are making for Ukraine which should be quite tough. Or even PCU/ECWCS L6. It’s GoreTex in military-lightweight, which is like moderate-to-heavyweight civilian. There are L6 overpants as well.

Agreed about spare socks in a plastic bag.

So, again, if you want more specific info then you’re going to have to tell us what you like.

When I hiked the Wonderland first time, I took rain jacket, rain pants, and an umbrella that I could mount on one backpack strap. I have to say, it was really great to hike all afternoon under and umbrella such that I did not have to use the hood on my jacket. Other people on the trail commented that they were envious. Another thing I do is to watch the weather report as the start day approaches I will decide which gear options to take. If it looks like several days of rain, I think I would take Gortex Boots and ditch the trail runners… better to have warm wet from sweat, that cold wet from rain. Poles are very helpful as there are many many many tree roots exposed on the trail and they are slippery as ice. And think about mud. You could have many muddy camps… both when you pitch your tent and when you take it down. I often take a stuff sack or two just to stuff muddy gear inside in the morning to keep the much off my other gear. A foot print for your tent can help keep the mud off the bottom of your tent and therefore off and out of your pack… muddy foot print goes in the stuff sack. Mud management…. :)))

How did you attach the umbrella to your pack? I’ve fiddled with some of those giant twist-ties, but never found the right angle.

(Great suggestions for mud.)

I searched the web for how to do the umbrella.. you can search and probably find the same pages with pics that show how it’s done… but… basically I made two loops of strong bungie cord closed with cord locks… the bungie maybe 1/8 or 3/16 diameter… but strong stuff, not wimpy… one loop goes around the should strap low and is used to loop around the handle of the umbrella, the other loop goes up higher near the shoulder… you just insert the handle and shaft and tighten the cord locks. I did some practice hikes with my set up to fine tune it and to be practiced enough to be able to get it set up quickly if rain started. You would still need to wear a rain jacket under the umbrella as these light weight ones for backpacking do not have a large diameter so you don’t get full body coverage, but you don’t have to zip your jacket up all the way or put up the hood. Downside to umbrellas are you can’t use them in a significant wind or high thick brush or low tree limbs. You could have winds on the Wonderland… especially the parts above treeline, but you shouldn’t have a problem with brush or tree branches… An umbrella is not necessary or a solution in all situations, but it sure is a lot nicer to walk in the rain under one when you can use it…

a very quick search on something like ‘backpack umbrella’ came up with this:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=attach+umbrella+to+backpack

I’m sure there are many others. I just stopped at the first thing I saw… I watched the video… I think his bungie cords are too wimpy… I would get thicker ones… and despite him claiming full coverage, don’t believe that for a minute… any small breezed and his is soaked without a rain jacket and pants… I would also use a pack rain cover… you are not going to save weight with an umbrella by leaving other rain gear at home… the umbrella is a luxury that makes walking in the rain much more enjoyable…

Oh… got me going on the Wonderland and can’t shut me up…

I found Tami Asars’ book, Hiking the Wonderland Trail very helpful… I think you can buy a Kindle version and take it with you…

Oh, I’ve watched plenty of vids, of course. Just haven’t found one that I could adapt to a practical setup. Maybe I just need to spend more time monkeying with it.

I did notice that “Bigfoot” uses a jumbo umbrella, and not much of it is over his head.

The best rig I found was this guy who used guy lines to the ends of the spines of his umbrella. He says it is stable in heavy wind. It’s kind of an elaborate MYOG project and would have to be adapted to any pack other than his ZPacks Arc series. But it does appear to be effective.

(Not surprised that talk of Mt Rainier brings back fond memories. The Cascades are impressive.)

I find the guy lines idea to be crazy… too complicated… too much to manage… too restrictive… too hard to get on and off…. too hard and too long to set up when it starts to rain and you have 60 seconds to get your umbrella on. AND… though he claims it is stable in a high wind… he does not demonstrate that and I highly doubt it… he only shows throwing around an unloaded pack and does not show what would happen in an actual high wind… And if it were stable on the pack itself, that might be a problem as the wind picks you, the pack and the umbrella up and takes you a quarter of a mile down the mountain :))) …. well, maybe not a quarter of a mile, but could pull you off balance and make you fall… very strange idea, me thinks. If there is a high wind I don’t want no umbrella attached to me or my pack… I want to get it off pronto… many many people have been using the two bungie loops on the pack strap for decades… it works…. easy to get on… easy to get off if the winds kick up…. I think the guy lines would be a nightmare on all counts… but just my 2 cents…

Personally for an on trail trip like the Wonderland Trail where it is likely to rain quite a bit, I’d probably go with something like the Mont-Bell Peak Dry Shell (7.3oz) if you can still find one in your size.  Gore Tex Shake Dry has been discontinued, but it is lightweight, breathable, and doesn’t rely on DWR coatings to work well.

If you can’t find one in your size, next I’d look for a lightweight Gore Tex 3-Layer shell with pit zips.  That was my requirement a few years ago when I was looking for a shell for a 14 day unsupported trip in Alaska.  I ended up with a Montaine Spire (10oz) but they don’t make it anymore, but something like the Mont Bell Storm Cruiser (10oz) should fit the bill nicely.

A good fitting hood is nice, and I’m not sure how good the Mont-Bell hoods are, but the jacket seems to tick all the boxes otherwise.  My favorite hood of all time is Haglofs, while I’ve found OR’s hoods to leave a lot to be desired.  Of course hood fit may be a bit personal.

Packtoter’s idea to use hydration clips seems like a great, simple, wind tolerant system to hold an umbrella.  He’s put a lot of miles on that set up

Looks like he’s using these:

https://dutchwaregear.com/product/hydration-tube-clip/

I have avoided Mt Rainier for the most part, but have done other Cascade volcanoes

Usually, early September is rain free or nearly so.  Occasionally it rains then.  Look at weather reports ahead of time.

If rain is unlikely, or just a little scattered showers, then you can get by with ultralight rain jacket.  Yeah, it’s not good in all day rain.  Make sure you wear synthetic underneath so if it’s worse than expected you’ll still survive.

I’ve been on mountains then and even though the weather report said no rain, there were showers.  Mountains “make there own rain”.  But my ultralight rain gear was fine.

I’m climbing Baker with one of the guiding companies at end of July.   Planning to take a Patagonia Granite Crest 3L jacket because it’s well, a mountaineering class.   Otherwise, I’d be tempted to take one of the Columbia Outdry Ex jackets.  I still own one of the older Outdry Ex Lightweight jackets, but if I didn’t, I’d seriously consider the newer Outdry Ex Mesh that was mentioned previously.

I’m a huge fan of a waterproof hat like the OR Sombrero (i think). In light rain i use it without the hood. In heavy rain it goes over my raincoat hood.
Good rain gear is important. I always have a light fleece now. Even if i get soggy from wet through I stay fairly warm. Also i carry a windshirt. I have worn the windshirt between my fleece and rain jacket a few times when it was really pouring.

I use the OR Sombriolet for kayak fishing and find it also protects from direct sun pretty well.

I found it doesn’t work with a pack whose top is above shoulder height though because the brim is deep & has an edge stiffener so the two bang against each other.  Works OK with a shorter pack with nothing on top

“the brim is deep & has an edge stiffener so the two bang against each other”

I cut off the brim at the rear of a hat so it didn’t do that

“In heavy rain it goes over my raincoat hood.”

I’ve been putting my hood over the hat, then it has better protection of my face against the rain

I grew up in the PNW and worked trail crew over three seasons. Jerry’s right that the first weeks of September are often pretty dry. A great time for Rainier! That said…it’s the PNW. It can, will and does rain a lot. On the west side of the Cascades, where the OP will be, it’s usually not that hot in September…but global warming has thrown things off. There have been horrible 100 degree temp spells in Seattle over recent years (I forget which months). So yeah, check weather reports.

Rainier’s not anywhere near as humid as the South or East parts of the U.S.. This last might affect rain gear choices: you may be far less likely to wet out from the inside in a days long downpour at Rainier as opposed to somewhere in Texas, say.

I have a LuxuryLite frame that accommodates a dedicated umbrella. Wonderful to have hands free shade and rain protection. BUT: the umbrella would turn inside out in any stronger gusts. Turns out there’s lots of those at altitude. I ended up giving up on the whole umbrella thing, since I use poles. too fiddly. Maybe in forest they work much better.

Thanks all!

maybe 10 years ago on Mt Hood, someone was walking around Mt Hood in early September

there were 4 days of heavy rain.  The soil surface is not permeable so there’s a lot of run off quickly

the person got washed away crossing the Sandy River, drowned

same thing another year, someone was walking across a seasonal bridge and the bridge washed out and they downed

@Joey G,    I find Gossamer Gears handfree umbrella holder to work great.  I live in Seattle and hike the Cascades only.  An umbrella is fantastic to keep the rain off.   I was very happy I brought it recently on my West Coast Trail hike.

https://www.gossamergear.com/collections/accessories/products/handsfree-umbrella-clamp

Jealous of you folks in the US.  $75Can to ship a $6 part from Gossamer.  Madness!