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  1. #1
    DutchConch's Avatar
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    Wonderland Trail, Mt Rainier National Park July 12-23, 2021

    Wonderland Trail, Mt Rainier National Park
    July 12-23, 2021
    Sorry for the late post but life got in the way. Thanks to those that gave me advice from the forum, it came in handy. Would have preferred to put it more detail but its already been almost a year.

    The wonderland trail is a 93 mile loop trail that circles Mt. Rainier in Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington State. A permit is required to camp along the trail and is obtained through a lottery system in March or by a walk up permit acquired at select ranger stations the day before your hike. Competition for all permits is high. My wife and I have both been applying for several years and she got lucky this year. Snowfall was high this year and we were very lucky that sections of the trail that were still under snow when we started were mostly melted by the time we got there (benefit of hiking slow). Rapid snow melt due to the heat wave right before we got there resulted in flooded rivers and creeks washing out bridges resulting in one short road walk, crossing a snow bridge, and one river crossing. Some bridges were only a day old when we crossed, one only finished an hour before we crossed.

    Camping is only allowed in designated camping areas that you reserve as part of your permit. Sites within each area are first come first served and only some of those would work for hammocks. Research showed that the campsites were small and set up for tents so my wife and son shared a tent while I hung my hammock but brought a pad along in case I had to go to ground. Making it even harder, you are required to have your hammock hung over the cleared areas. After much back and forth I ended up using my WB Eldorado, 20deg wooki, 20deg diamondback, and HG dyneema tarp with doors. I was lucky that I was able to hang every night. A few nights I got the last site that it was possible to hang in just by luck. If we had all tried to hang we probably would only have had all three up a few times, otherwise 1-2 would have to go to ground. We only saw 3 other hammocks in our 11 nights, everyone else had a tent.

    This was one fantastic hike! Well worth waiting for. I know we got lucky because we had no rain and could see the mountain every day. Only had low visibility for a few hours one day.

    Day one: We started at Longmire and hiked 3.6 miles to Paradise River. Easy day.
    Day two: Hiked from Paradise River to Nickel Creek. 9.9 miles.
    Day three: Nickel Creek to Summerland. 11.3 miles. Best views of the trail. Lots of snow up high. Spikes helpful but not required.
    Day four: Summerland to White River. 5.5 miles. Picked up a food drop at White River.
    Day five: White River to Granite Creek. 8.4 miles.
    Day six: Granite Creek to Dick’s creek. 8.1 miles. Only two sites at this camp and you can barely hang in one of them but I did manage it.
    Day seven: Dick’s creek to Eagle’s roost via the Spray Park Trail alternate. 7.6 miles. Lots of good hanging sites.
    Day eight: Eagle’s Roost to South Mowich River with a stop at Mowich Lake for a food drop pickup. 6.2 miles. Took a bath in the lake. Warmer than I thought but still cold.
    Day nine: South Mowich River to Golden Lakes. 6.0 miles. Most sites are hangable but the two top sites are best and have great views.
    Day ten: Golden Lakes to Klapatche Park. 7.6 miles. Nice hanging sites here.
    Day eleven: Klapatche Park to Devil’s Dream. 10.9 miles. Several good hanging sites.
    Day twelve: Devil’s Dream to Longmire and the Park Inn, 5.8 miles.


























    We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing – George Bernard Shaw

  2. #2
    Senior Member ofuros's Avatar
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    Aug 2011
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    Australia...Sub-Tropical Qld, Temperate Tasmania & Tropical Thailand
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    Good looking loop...very easy on the eyes.
    Mountain views are good for the soul....& getting to them is good for my waistline.

    https://ofuros.exposure.co/

  3. #3
    alt.thomas's Avatar
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    Feb 2016
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    Sounds like a great two weeks. Eye spy a Tensegrity - don’t see a lot of those. Thanks for sharing.

  4. #4
    DutchConch's Avatar
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    Sep 2017
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    Quote Originally Posted by alt.thomas View Post
    Sounds like a great two weeks. Eye spy a Tensegrity - don’t see a lot of those. Thanks for sharing.
    Yeah my wife has a two person and one person version and loves them both. She was the last hammock convert in the family and hasn't been using them for a few years now.
    We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing – George Bernard Shaw

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