Backpacking the Wonderland Trail

Things you should know:

1. This requires obtaining a lottery WILDERNESS PERMIT reservation through Recreation.gov. Early Access Lottery is from February 10th - March 3rd.

2. If you don't with that reservations, General Reservations go on sale April 25th.

3. If that doesn't work out, a walk up permit would be the last option

This adventure began 8/28/24 - 9/6/24.

Below is the route we took

RED TEXT are resupply locations

*milage/ascents/decents vary by who measures it. I used primarily AllTrails to get my information.

Camps	Distance	Ascent	Decent
Sunrise to Mystic Camp	9.3mi / 15km	2100’	-3000’
Mystic to Mowich Lake	12.2mi / 19.6km	4600'	-5300’
Mowich to Golden Lakes	9.5mi / 15.3km	2700’	-2600’
Golden to South Puyallup River Camp	12mi / 19.3km	4200’	-4900
South Puyallup to Longmire	11.8mi	3100'	-5300
Longmire to Maple Creek	12.6mi / 20.3km	3100’	-5200’
Maple to Indian Bar	10.4mi / 16.7km	4300’	-2000’
Indian Bar to White River Camp	13mi / 21km	3900’	-3700’
White River to Sunrise	10mi / 16km	3100’	-1800’
Total: 9 days, 8 nights	100.8mi / 162.2km	28000'	-33800'

Custom AllTrails route. Feel free to use!

• Here is the Gear I brought for this trip

Backpack: LiteAF UltraWeave™ 46L Curve Full Suspension Custom Backpack

Tent: ZPacks Duplex

Shoes: Salomon Speed Cross

Trekking Poles: Ozark Trail Aluminum Adjustable Quick Lock Trekking Poles

Gaiters: Dirty Girl Gaiters (1oz)

Sleeping Pad: Boundary Deluxe Insulated (25oz)

Foam Pad: Gossamer Gear Folding Thin-light Foam 1/8" Pad

• Here is the Clothes I brought for this trip

Jacket: Canada Goose Crofton Down Jacket

Sun Hoody: The North Face Adventure Sun Hoody

Pants: Fjallraven Abisko Trekking Tights

Shorts: Nike Running Division Men's Dri-FIT ADV 4" Brief-Lined Running Shorts

• Here is what Tech I brought for this trip

Watch: Garmin 6x Pro

GPS Device: Garmin mini

Phone: Iphone Pro Max 15

Headlamp: Nitecore NU25 400 UL Ultra Lightweight Headlamp

Battery Pack: 20,000mah Energizer Portable Battery

Here is the food I brought for this trip

• Viral Large Dominos Pan Pizza (White sauce, Bacon, sausage)

• Domino's Haberno Chicken Sandwich

• Ubu Hiker's Hummus Everything Bagel

• Ubu Hiker's Hummus Garlic

• Wild Society Chicken Primavera

• Next Mile Meals Steak Omlette

• Next Mile Meals Taco Meat

• Peak Refuel Peach Cobbler

• Peak Refuel Mountain Berry

• Backpacker Pantry Max & Cheese

• Peak Refuel Buffalo Mac & Cheese

• Quaker Oatmeal with Dinosaur Eggs

• Candies (Jolly Ranchers, Gummy worms,

• Clif Bar Nut Butter Bar Peanut Butter & Chocolate and Peanut Butter

Montage of food I ate on this trail IG: https://www.instagram.com/makeyourmarktravels/

• Here is the Weight of my gear before the trail

  
  

  Weighed in my apartment before heading to Mount Rainier National Park on 8/28/2024

  
  
  
  

  Weight at the Sunrise trailhead on 8/24/24 @ 12pm

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  The Wonderland Trail

Quick links in red to each section. Just click the text!

• Day 1: Sunrise Camp to Mystic Lake Camp

• Day 2: Mystic Lake to Mowich Lake Camp

• Day 3: Mowich Lake Camp to Golden Lakes Camp

• Day 4: Golden Lakes Camp to South Puyallup Camp

• Day 5: South Puyallup River Camp to Longmire

• Day 6: Longmire to Maple Creek

• Day 7: Maple  Creek to Indian Bar

• Day 8: Indian Bar to White River

• Day 9: White River to Sunrise

• Alltrails Map of our route

The beginning of it all...

Day 1: Sunrise to Mystic Lake Camp - 9.3mi / 15km

8/28/24

The hike to camp was a pleasant intro to the WLT. Views of Mount Rainier were abundant as we traveled across the north face of the mountain. During the beginning of the trail there were tons of people sight seeing but we dove deeper into the wilderness our fellow hikers become few & far between. The path was well maintain all the way to Mystic lake. It was a mix of open field hiking, forest hiking, mountain goats, rivers, & Rainier.

Originally the group was 7 people. By the time we started it was down to 4 with my girlfriend Megan meeting us a Longmire. About 600 Wonderland Trail trips can be reserved in advance during the summer hiking season (July-September). Another 300 or so are issued as first-come, first-served permits

Kirk forgets an essential tool and has to purchase one at the Sunrise Day Lodge Retail Store. His response says it all.

View of Mount Rainier on the way to Mystic Lake Camp Photo by Mitchell Denzer

Kirk striking a classic hiking pose.

Group site @ Mystic Lake. Nothing to write home about. Flat and nestled in the woods.

Hyperlapse of us setting up camp

 Day 2: Mystic Lake Camp to Mowich Lake - 12.2mi / 19.6km

8/29/24

The most challenging part of the trip in my opinion. Everything was smooth going until Spray Park. Though some of the most beautiful parts of the whole WLT. The inclination and declination took at toll on all of us.

Woke up early to get some water and explore the lake.

In high spirits at 3900 ft

One more view of Mystic Lake before we head out

The junction from the WLT to Spray Park. Every person we passed recommended we go through Spray Park. Luckily it was already apart of our route to do so!

Ezra & Kirk snagging some photos on the suspension bridge before Spray Park

Breaks were almost every minutes for us at this point. It was a steady grind getting to spray park.

Ezra traveling up the steady incline of scree filled trail

We took advantage of the scenery and did some side hiking to captures these beautiful images

Mitch and I arrived to Mowich Camp around 930pm plagued with prior injuries it took us 12-13 hours to get here

Day 3: Mowich Lake Camp to Golden Lakes Camp - 9.3mi / 15km

8/30/24

I woke up in the morning sore. The first thing on my mind was to get into the lake and "ice" the swelling. Mowich lake is accessible by car so there were lots of people camping there.

Mitch & I taking a quick dip to heal our bodies.

Ezra leave the trail with grace after suffering a fracture foot.

Mowich Ranger Station where the resupply boxes are located

We stop at the puyallup river to have lunch and take a little dip in the water.

We arrive to camp a Golden Lake Camp a few hours later. Golden Lake campsites were nice and flat and next to the lake which is nice after a long day of hiking. We ran into a ranger that night. She gave us a vital tip that change the actual course of our trip. She said you can make adjustments to your camps if there is availability. Our current route had us Lake George which took us off the WLT. Ranger Karen couldn't change our route that night so we prayed to run into a ranger the next day to make those adjustments.

Day 4 : Golden Lakes Camp to Lake George - 14.9mi / 24km.

Change to Golden Lakes to South Puyullap River Camp - 11.8mi / 19km.

8/31/2024

This was supposed to be one of our longest days. We wake up around 6am to get an early start. Early starts means we dont have to race the sun. Our route led use off the WLT but we took a risk and decided to stay on the WLT route in the hopes of finding an alternative campsite. This was a big risk. If we couldn't find a campsite we would have to back track to Lake George adding milage. We decide to cut through Klapatche Camp.

We find a ranger @ Klapatche camp!!! Our gamble paid off. We change our route from Lake George to South Puyallup Camp. The ranger radio into Lake George ranger tower and they checked for availability at South Puyallup River. Luckily for us there was. We carry on our marry way and never looked back.

The ranger changing our campsite.

South Puyallup Camp was unique. Though it was not surround by mountain views it contain these large pillars called Andesite. Andesite forms from magma crystallizing outside of the volcano in this case Mount Rainier. Mount Rainier last major eruption was thousands of years ago though last minor eruption was recorded in 1884.

Andesites at South Puyallup River Camp

Day 5: South Puyallup River Camp to Longmire 12mi / 19.3km

9/1/2024

Our original plan was to do 9 miles and camp at Devils Creek. Hearing from fellow campers that Devils Creek was subpar campsite we decided to opt our of the camper there and add 4 miles to the day and head to Longmire saving us a day. This took some coordination with my girlfriend who was meeting us at Longmire to join us on the WLT. Texting through my in-reach mini was less than ideal but we locked in out rendezvous time and started on our trek. This section would become my second favorite part of the trip.

Megan arrvied just in time. We talked to the ranger at Longmire to try to find lodging or campsites near Longmire. Nothing was available. We opted to drive home to Tacoma. This turned out to be a good move. There is nothing better than showering and recharging all your gear.

Day 6: Longmire to Maple Creek 9.3mi / 15km

9/2/2024

We wake up in my apartment reenergized for the trail. This was our shortest day. The trail passed through some major sections of the park like Reflection Lake and some popular waterfalls. It was supposed to be a cake walk but we underestimate it. On the trail we kept hearing about this place called "Summerland". Supposedly it was the best campsite on the WLT. We tried and tried again to change our Indian Bar to Tomanos Creek to Indian Bar to Summerland but no luck. We did manage to save use 3 mile by changing out Tamanos Creek camp to White River camp. After speaking with the ranger at Longmire she informed us that some of the trail was washed out heading to Maple Creek. Kirk and Mitch decided to hitch hike that section while Megan and I chose the wash out. Should have hitched hiked....

Megan cooking breakfast as we collect all our stuff to head back to Mount Rainier National Park to start the trail again

Our wettest day by far. It didn't rain a single day except this one. We embraced it. It provided a different version of the trail

Megan and I arrive to the Maple Creek Camp. Mitch and Kirk beat us there by 30 minutes.

My legs were so sore I need to sit in the creek to heal my legs.

Day 7: Maple Creek to Indian Bar 10.4mi / 16.7km

9/3/2024

After a rainy night we head up 4300ft. We pop up above the clouds to nothing but sunshine and an astonishing view of Mount Rainier. This section to Indian bar was the best part of the Wonderland Trail. I've lived in Washington for over 30 years and never seen Mount Rainier from this point of view. Beautiful valleys, rivers, flowers, and rolling hills surrounded the mountain. The view distracted you from the grueling hike in front of you. Hours laters we hike down into a valley with river flowing through it. The best campsite on this trail and maybe even top 10 in all of Washington.

Day 8: Indian Bar to White River 10mi / 16km

Orginally Indian Bar to Tamanos Creek 13mi / 21km

9/4/2024

Indian bar was a dream. This day we actually slept in a bit. We didn't know what to expect from White River Camp since it wasn't apart of our original plans. All we knew is that it was going to set up for an easy 3 mile exit. We head over the pass seen in the photos of Indian Bar passing the legendary Summerland Camp. We did visit Summerland's group site and ate lunch there and in my opinion that camp didn't have the wow factor like Indian Bar. It definitely worth a visit though. The trek was beautiful but it felt long. The start of the trail was a challenge thats probably what made this section seem long. The closer we got to White River Camp the trail became road and walking on the road seems like a breeze but the road is hard on the legs. It felt like the longest 1-2 miles to end the trail. We got there and rested immediately. We planned out exit and the group planned a sunrise exit. A symbolic exit. We planned to see a sunrise at Sunrise walking Sunrise to Sunrise.

Day 9: White River to 3mi / 4.8km

The final day. To reach Sunrise by sunrise we had to start at 3am. Hiking in the dark is always a challenge but after over 90 miles its even harder. This slightly uphill hike was the only standing between us and glory. After the longest 2 hour hike ever we arrive at camp just in time to see one of the best sunrises of the whole trip. The trip of a lifetime was completed. We overcame many obstacles to get that trail. My knees by the time i finished this blog on 12/21/2025 @ 7:30pm stll hurt from this trail. Mitch almost quite on day 2 due to knee problems. Ezra fracture his foot day 2 and had to leave. Kirk trucked through the trail like a beast and Megan handled herself like a champ. The WLT was completed. If you have the opportunity to do this trail do it! Its challenging but its worth every step.

Our route

Please use this is you like! Thanks for reading about our Wonderland Adventure!