Mount Rainier Area

“If you had a magic wand, what would you do?”

Without hesitation, my then-6-year-old son answered “The Wonderland”

14 days?

That got me thinking - it might actually be possible this year.  Over the years we had been working on our family’s backpacking capabilities.  When my youngest kids were 3 (twins), we took them on their first backpacking trip - a 3 day trip on the coast at Ozette Triangle.  Ever since then we’ve been building up distances, elevations, nights out, and trail complexity.  Our kids’ capabilities did not seem to be a limiting factor - they approached the trips with enthusiasm and skill, and often had energy left over at the end of the day.  Instead, we were limited by how much food we could carry (both in volume and weight).  

We had gotten up to 3 nights out, and I was hoping to do a 4 night trip this year.  We had just bought them bigger packs, which would allow them to carry their sleeping bags.  That freed up a little space and weight, which we expected would allow a 4th night’s worth of food.  When we hiked the Wonderland in 2013, our longest stretch between food caches was 5 days.  If we could figure out a 5th day, then the Wonderland Trail was within reach!

We quickly figured out a solution to this problem.  We ditched some of the luxuries (big camera, box of wine, but not the coffee!) and reduced weight by renting some lighter gear (quilts and ultralight tents).

Permits

The next step was the permits.  My wife and I both applied in the permit lottery.  I got a slot around a third of the way through the early access, and was able to construct a full circuit.  Summerland was the limiting factor, since it was only available on two nights.  The itinerary had a couple of challenging days, but it seemed achievable.

I booked a campsite near Rainier for the nights before the trip, so that we could pick up our permit the day before and attempt to fix up the itinerary.  The end of the trip was particularly messy - we had a zero day at White River, then a night at Summerland, and then a long ~12.5 miles out at Box Canyon.  When we picked up the permit, we were able to shift our 2nd night at White River to Summerland, and then our Summerland night to Indian Bar, leaving us with a ~4.5 mile day and an 8 mile day.  Much better!

We tried to resolve one of our other long days (~11 miles, 4000’ elevation gain), but nothing could be done.

On The Trail (summary)

We started off with a lot of enthusiasm, but soon found that we were not yet the well-oiled machine that could cheerfully cruise down the trail and efficiently complete camp chores.  No worries - we’d have plenty of time to streamline our back-country skills.  

We developed and maintained better attitudes in the face of challenges like early mornings, long days, heat, and bugs.  My daughter in particular was proud to wear a shirt with the phrase “anything is possible” on it.  We learned the nuances of setting up, organizing, and taking down the tents.  We got better at estimating water usage and efficiently filtering water for our family of 5 (13 liters when full).  The daily work was more concrete and visible than “writing code” or “keeping the household running smoothly”, so the kids were able to see what needed to be done and be genuinely helpful.

We taught the kids proper river-fording technique on Kautz Creek, where they experienced fast flowing cloudy water that was only mid-calf deep.  We adapted to changing conditions with ease, handling changes to itinerary (our choice), conflicts about camp sites, and last-minute water supply issues.  

We saw wildlife numerous times, ranging from bears, goats, and baby deer all the way down little Pikas, which were plentiful on the hillside next to our Cataract Valley camp.  We generally had warm and hot weather, with clear skies.  Sometimes there were clouds, and once we got to watch a cloud form.

There is generally a great sense of camaraderie on the trail, with everyone in the process of doing something challenging and beautiful.  We met all kinds of people along the way.  People happily gave us info on the trail and on bear pole technique (turn it the opposite way than you think it should be).  We encountered people of all ages: toddlers being carried, a teenager who planned the trip and convinced her parents to come, a 30-something who was glad he could do the Wonderland, because he was worried that anything over 25 was old, and a 70 year old who was inspired by us to enter the permit lottery next year.  We lost things and were reunited with them by acts of kindness by unrelated hikers traveling in opposite directions.  We were congratulated several times on the trail, which really felt good

We spent a substantial amount of time enjoying ourselves, whether it was in stillness at a meal or foot-soak, in motion while hiking at a good pace, or in between when we balanced the need to move forward with the need to eat berries or appreciate a view behind us.  We saw things that were familiar, things that we’d missed on our last trip, things that had changed, and things that were entirely new.

The shared experience has made us a stronger family, and will be both a source of good memories and of inspiration when encountering challenges.

On the Trail (details)

Box Canyon to Paradise River

We got a relatively early start at Box Canyon, and proceeded clockwise to Paradise River.  Along the way, we stopped at a couple of waterfalls and Louise Lake.  We had a lot of enthusiasm in the morning, but had not yet picked up the experience and grit that 14 days of continuous backpacking provides.  Around Reflection Lakes, my son declared that he could never walk another step in his whole life.  I ran out of water 2 miles before camp, which made the remaining portion of the hike harder than it needed to be.

Eventually we made it to camp, got our tents set up, and began the water/dinner process.  Paradise River is an outstanding place to collect water, prepare dinner, soak your feet, or just play in a stream.  It’s clear, and there is plenty of room to spread out, and there are a few calm pools for the kids.  

Paradise River to Pyramid

We got up early again, and had a race to pack up our tents.  I was obviously winning the race, and my twins were getting discouraged.  I gave them some general life advice: “never give up”, and then proceeded to roll up my tent without the fly.  Oops!  I corrected the mistake, but not before they won the race.

We hiked down to the Nisqually River, where we crossed the raging river on a big solid bridge and more confidence than I expected this early in the trip.  At Longmire we picked up our food cache (3 buckets), and then made another attempt at fixing up one of our hard days.  Our proposed itinerary was still unavailable, but the ranger there came up with a good alternative.  We had a long-short-long set of days, and we were able to convert this into a long-short-short-long sequence, with the first long day being shortened by a mile.

After packing up our food, we proceeded to Pyramid, fording the Kautz along the way.  The Kautz was moving very swiftly, but was only mid-calf deep and the braided channels were relatively narrow.  It took time to cross, but was a good learning opportunity for our kids.

Pyramid to Devil's Dream

We had an extremely short day (an artifact of campsite availability when we booked our permit).  Rather than rush to Devil's Dream (notorious for being buggy), we got up and had a leisurely breakfast at the creek.

The hike to Devil's Dream was uneventful, had we had our tents set up quickly.  After doing this, we took a short day hike up to Indian Henry’s.  We got lucky with the bugs, and were able to stroll through this wonderful meadow and have dinner undisturbed at the cabin.

We collected water on the way back from Indian Henry’s, knowing that the source at Devil’s Dream was running very low.

Devil’s Dream to Klapatche

We woke up at 5:00 with the goal of completing our first long day before sunset.  Packing up a camp with 3 young kids takes a while, especially when you wake them up before sunrise.  I think we left camp around 6:45, with early morning light, cool weather, and no bugs.  We made short work of the hike down to the impressive Tahoma suspension bridge, and then headed up to the moonscape above.  Along the way my wife lost her sunglasses, backtracked much further than made sense, and eventually gave up on them.  We also met a really empathetic hiker going counter-clockwise who said she would keep an eye out for them.

When we were at Emerald Ridge in 2013, it looked like the trail could fall down the cliff at any moment and the bugs were so thick that I could kill 5 with a single swat.  This time was completely different.  Bugs were minimal, and the trail had been rerouted away from the cliff.  The old trail was blocked by a giant pile of rocks, and shortly after that disappeared into the abyss.

We slowly made it down the trail, which was composed of baseball sized rocks, and arrived at the water source for South Puyallup Camp.  This was going to be our destination for the day, until we got our updated itinerary.  As we collected water, we were greeted by an older gentleman.  He asked my wife if she had lost some sunglasses earlier that day, and then told us that he had them.  That woman we met earlier had found the sunglasses shortly after my wife gave up, and she had given them to a clockwise hiker.  We had the sunglasses back only a few hours later!

We headed out for the second half of our day on a steep trail, distracting ourselves from the heat and bugs with the plentiful berries.  I was dripping sweat and doing everything I could to keep up with my 7 year old daughter as she practically danced up the trail picking berries and identifying flowers for me.  Midway up the trail she cheerfully announced “this hill is nothing” and continued on.

We had some snacks at the ridge and waited for the rest of the family to join us.  We then proceeded up through some hot meadows, thankful that there were fewer bugs.

The meadows, lakes, and canyons on this section of the trail were all new to me.  When I hiked this section in 2013, I was sick and had barely enough energy and attention to keep moving up the trail.  This time I was able to look around and appreciate the natural beauty.  We took a brief break at St Andrews Lake to soak our feet and collect water (the source at Klapatche was not expected to be very good).

We made it to camp in daylight, and enjoyed the sunset from our campsite while setting up camp and making dinner.

Klapatche to Golden Lakes

We debated our wake-up time.  Sleep would help us recover from our previous long day, while an early wake-up might allow us to get to Golden Lakes earlier and get a better choice of campsite.  In 2013 we arrived late and ended up with a pretty small site.  This time we had 2 tents, and I wanted to make sure we had enough space.

I don’t remember much of the descent to the North Puyallup camp.  The ascent out of the valley was pleasant, with a reasonable grade, no bugs, lower temperatures, and a gentle breeze.  My son was in front of me, hiking up the trail at a good pace while engaged in some make believe with my daughters.  Suddenly, he paused and said “this is really hot and steep, isn’t it?”  I pointed out how much better it was than yesterday, that he was doing a good job with the hike, and that the make-believe seemed to be making things easier for him.  He pondered this for a moment, resumed the make-believe, and resumed the good pace.  That was the last complaint I heard from him on the ascent.  

The last section leading up to camp had excellent berries, and a bear, both of which slowed us down.  This first bear did spark a little worry, but later my son declared that the best part of the trip was the bears.

With the distraction of the berries and bear, I mismanaged my food intake on the final approach to camp.  When I got there I was exhausted and hungry, and as a result I spent way longer than reasonable setting up our tents, making numerous mistakes.  Eventually we went to bed.

Golden Lakes to South Mowich

The South Mowich bridge went in 2 weeks before our trip started, and is prone to washing out.  The rangers said it would probably be good unless we got more 90 degree days.  The forecast was only for 85, so no problem, right?  The South Mowich camp was also damaged by windfall, resulting in smaller sites than normal.  Because of these two things, I wanted to get an early start, arrive at the river as early in the day as possible, and hopefully have our choice of campsites.

We did this successfully, but fortunately it was unnecessary.  The bridge was present, and we ended up being the only people at the camp that night.  We spent the day doing laundry and playing in little side channels of the river.  It’s impressive how much it rises over the course of the day.

South Mowich to Cataract Valley

We got another early start so that we could get up to Mowich Lake before it got too hot.  We then picked up our cache and had a nice conversation with some jubilant backpackers as we sorted through our buckets of supplies.  Pro-tip: when hanging food from a bear pole, turn the lifting pole the opposite way than you might intuitively pick it up.  This allows you to rest the lifting pole against the horizontal rebar and easily guide your stuff sack onto the rebar.

We soaked our feet in the lake, listened to a weather report, and then continued on.  We had lunch at a pleasant stream, and then filtered water near the junction with the Spray Falls trail (worth the side trip!).

We hiked through Spray Park, dismayed at the heat and clouds covering Rainier.  The clouds cleared by the time we made it to Seattle Park, but the heat intensified as we crossed the barren stretch of rocks.  Eventually we descended into Cataract Valley and we found a nice campsite next to the resident pika population.  

Cataract Valley to Yellowstone Cliffs

For variety, we opted for the Northern Loop instead of the Wonderland on this trip.  The climb up to Yellowstone Cliffs is described as steep, so I wanted to tackle it early in the day.  We tried to get another early start, but were disorganized and slow and it took 3 hours to depart.  The suspension bridge was cool, and we had a nice break after crossing.  The climb up was hot and rather boring, but at least there weren’t bugs.

At Yellowstone we met a family who was out with their 2 year old, and talked a little about our experiences hiking with younger kids.  In the evening, we watched a mother and baby deer walk around camp for a while before going to bed.  The sunset colors were very pretty.

I generally don’t sleep well when backpacking, and earlier in the trip I’d been enjoying the stars when I’d wake up in the middle of the night.  At this camp I set up the tent with the fly off, anticipating some good star gazing.  By this time of the trip, though, I was so tired that I’d wake up, see the stars, think “I should look at those”, and then fail to keep my eyes open long enough to even look for a constellation.

Yellowstone Cliffs to Fire Creek

We set the alarm for an hour later than the previous day and still left camp at the same time.  It was good to get that extra rest.  As we were about to leave camp, a hiker came into camp and let us know that he had just had an encounter with a snorting bear, and that the bear had run off toward camp.  We stuck close together and made a bunch of noise, so that the bear would not be surprised when we encountered it.  We passed the bear cautiously and without incident.

There is a fantastic tarn up at Windy Gap, and we spent a lot of time there, soaking our feet, observing frogs, and having a snack.  We also contemplated what to do about the natural bridge.  I wanted to see it, but it didn’t seem wise to tack on another 2 miles onto the kids’ day.  My wife proposed an excellent compromise.  They’d eat lunch at the junction while I quickly hiked to the arch with minimal supplies.  I was able to complete the side trip in ~45 minutes, and then quickly finished the remains of lunch.  The arch was ok, but the real treat was the first little bit of trail that overlooks the valley below.

After this side trip, we descended to the West Fork of the White River.  We’d heard conflicting but mostly negative things about the water source at Fire Creek, so we filled up on water at Van Horn Falls.  Given that this water needed to last until Lodi Creek midway through the next day, we filled up as much as we could (13 liters for our family of 5).  Van Horn Falls was beautiful, and worth getting your feet wet to see it (not that I needed an excuse for a foot soak).  Crossing the river involved a new bridge as well as several old bridges that were now less necessary.

The climb up to Fire Creek was steep, long, and uninteresting.  We were excited to reach the junction for the camp, but dismayed by the long distance to the first camp site and each subsequent site.

Fire Creek to Sunrise

This was the one cold day on the trip - the temperature dropped ~20 degrees from the previous day.  My wife mentioned that my convertible pants were in the “shorts” mode, and I pointed out that the lower legs don’t matter too much for maintaining body temperature.  Maybe I should have heeded her warning - on the way out of camp I was stung by a bee right behind my knee.  It hurt for a few days, but caused no real problems.

We got an early start and knocked out much of the climbing before it got too hot.  There is a nice viewpoint of Mt Rainier soon after camp where he had a break.  When we arrived, the mountain was completely clear.  In the short time we were there, we watched it form a lenticular cloud, release it, and form another one.  It was very cool to see the clouds moving so quickly.

We continued by Grand Meadows, remarking that the broad flat treeless area reminded us of meadows in Yellowstone National Park where we had seen bison in the distance.  When we arrived at Lodi Creek, we found a nice large area to sit and take a break while we collected and filtered water.

This section of the trail was especially beautiful, with wild flowers, towering cliffs, and Lodi Creek all fighting for our attention.  Along this section of the trail I was bestowed the honor of “Father of the Year” by a fellow hiker (sorry guys - better luck next year).  We also saw the 3rd bear of our trip as we approached the junction with the Wonderland Trail.

As we neared Sunrise, the number of people on the trail increased dramatically.  We made our way through the crowds and found a nice campsite at Sunrise Camp surrounded by tiny subalpine conifers.  We set up camp early enough that we thought that we could make it to the snack bar for a meal.  Unfortunately, it was closed due to “technical difficulties”

Sunrise to White River

Our initial itinerary involved a zero day at White River, so I had mapped out some day hikes.  We debated going to White River via the direct route or going via Burroughs.  We ended up going via the direct route, setting up camp, offloading some weight, and then going on a day hike up the Emmons Moraine trail for a foot soak and a view of an emerald green lake,

Returning to White River, we found that someone else had set up tents in our campsite site.  I was not totally surprised, since the site was big and it wasn’t clear to me whether it was one site or two.  Most of the sites on the Wonderland are very clearly labeled, but the backpacker sites at White River are unlabelled and ambiguous.

I introduced myself to the woman and started trying to figure out what the situation was and how to resolve it.  She seemed cool enough, mentioned that her group had 5 tents, and we walked through the campground trying to figure out how we’d fit the extra tents.  There didn’t seem to be an obvious way.  The rest of the group wasn’t present, and I was hopeful that we’d be able to get creative and find a solution.

Shortly after that, the leader of that group showed up and started a conversation with us that was in no way friendly, claiming that we were occupying her site, that we need to move, that she’s talked with the ranger, etc.  We were there first, and it seemed to me that they were in our site.  This argumentative tone did not sit well with us, so I went off to find the ranger.  It’s a long walk to the ranger station, and I didn’t end up finding him.  

A walk gives you a chance to think, though, and that’s what I needed.  This is not supposed to be the vibe of the Wonderland Trail.  I did not come out here to argue.  I also didn’t care much about “being right” or “the best site”.  I just wanted a flat piece of ground big enough for two tents and to not get a ticket from the ranger.

I went back and redirected the conversation in a more civil tone.  I worked with some of the other members of the group to find a space for our tents.  I don’t know if it was a legal site, but I figured that I’d be able to have a convincing conversation with the ranger if there was any issue (and I also set my alarm early so that this wouldn’t be necessary).

The backcountry camping situation at White River is a mess.  I don’t believe there is actually a group site (nothing says “group”, Tami Asars’ book says “0” for “# of group sites”, and recreation.gov says “coming soon”).  However, that doesn’t prevent rangers from telling groups that there is a group site, or that they can kick people out.  I hope that they make the situation more clear in the future so that people can stop getting into stupid arguments.

White River to Summerland

Another early day.  We made some good time on the trail until we were within a mile of the bridge over Fryingpan Creek.  After that, heat slowed our progress.  Last time we were on the trail there were some great blueberries here.  This year, there were none.  

The campsites were also different.  In 2013, we had a campsite with a view of Mt Rainier from inside our tent.  Trees can grow a lot in 9 years, even at high elevation, and the in-tent views are no longer possible.  They’ve also replaced the fancy “composting” toilet with a different experimental model, with a passive-aggressive note criticizing the old toilet’s inability to make compost and mentioning how they’re “testing claims” by the toilet company that the new model is better.  My wife and I had a good laugh imagining politics and meetings that must have been involved in putting in the fancy toilet, taking it out, and replacing it with another experimental model.

Summerland to Indian Bar

I slept with the fly off, hoping to see stars.  While I again failed to stay awake to enjoy the stars, I did happen to wake up right around sunrise.  I debated whether I should get up or go back to sleep, and then I checked the time on my phone.  The sunrise was close enough to my planned wake up time that I wasn’t really going to get more sleep either way.  I got up as quietly as I could, and went to check out the sunrise.

I roamed around camp, noting that nearly everyone else was up and in their own “check out the sunrise” spot.  Eventually I ran into my wife, who had heard me get up and decided “I know what Mike is doing - that’s a good idea”.  I’m glad it wasn’t “I could have slept another 30 minutes!”.  We sat together and watched the first light on Mt Rainier for ~15 minutes, then woke the kids up and started the morning routine.

Fryingpan Creek (the other fork) is currently unbridged and can be high in the afternoon.  People that we met speculated that it might be a rock hop in the morning.  That seemed more dangerous than a ford (more fall hazard), so we forded.

The next potential obstacle was Panhandle Gap.  This is the high point of the trail, and can have snow on it (as it did during our 2013 trip).  We weren’t too concerned, but did want to tackle it before any snow had a chance to get too soft.  It turns out that we could have crossed it at any time of day - there was no snow.

We found some shade above the gap and had a quick lunch while watching a mountain goat on the opposite ridge.  We then descended back to the gap to meet up with some nice ladies who had carried camp chairs all the way to the gap.  They were astounded that we were doing the whole trail and gave our family a round of applause.  One of my kids later referred to this as their favorite part of hiking the trail (other answers to “What was your favorite part” included “the berries”, “the whole thing”, “being out in nature for so long”, and “the bears”)

Descending from the gap, we continued on toward Indian Bar.  At a pleasant stream, my wife asked me if I needed any water.  I checked, and I was a few sips away from being empty.  Good thing she asked!  We spent a bit of time relaxing while gathering water, and I observed that my son had a remarkable talent for building cairns in the stream.  Before we leave, he knows that he needs to restore the rocks to the state he found them (no unnatural, out-of-place cairns to mar the scenery or confuse people!)

The final descent to Indian Bar was long, hot, and featured numerous stairs.  Luckily, it was beautiful.  There were numerous waterfalls on the opposite side of the valley, and frequent blueberries on our side of the valley.  The rock shelter at Indian Bar is visible from a distance, providing an indicator of our progress.

For dinner that night, we had mission burritos (the idea being “Mission Accomplished”, but we still had another day).  We also celebrated with a can of champagne for us, and cans of ginger ale for the kids.  It doesn’t take too long to chill these in an icy glacial river, you just have to make sure that they’re not going to get away from you!

Indian Bar to Box Canyon

The last time we did the trail, we had thick fog on this section.  This time we had sun, and we could finally see the views.  It turns out that they’re pretty great!  There were also plenty of berries.

We hiked for a while, until my wife declared that she was out of water and wanted to fill up at Nickel Creek.  It seemed foolish to stop and filter water 1 mile from the end of our hike.  When we got there, though, we decided to stop.  The trail was almost done, and we weren’t ready for that.  We spent a bunch of time lounging around, soaking our feet, snacking, and even filtering water.

The bridge at Nickel Creek is slightly sketchy.  It’s big enough, but has no railing and has been tilted to an angle that might be awkward to walk on (or fall off of).  4 of us were already soaking our feet, so we decided to ford instead of using the bridge.

We walked the last mile without urgency, savoring the remainder of the trail.

When we got to the parking lot, one of my kids let out a “woo hoo!”, which started one of my favorite conversations of the trip.  A nearby day hiker said “did you just come from Silver Falls?”  My wife answered “We just hiked the Wonderland - 90 miles around the mountain”.  Impressed, the day hiker yelled across the whole Box Canyon area to his wife “They just hiked 90 miles!”.  His wife took a moment to digest this, then turned to her kids and said “You are never allowed to complain again!”

Questions

Did the kids want to go?

Yes.  If they didn’t, we wouldn’t have gone.  Prodding someone along for 90 miles would be miserable.  My wife and I had already had the Wonderland experience - we didn’t need to have it again.  Apparently we talked about it enough that the kids wanted to experience a long trail.  It was within our reach, so we made it possible.

How much did the kids carry?

~10 pounds.  Sleeping bag, pad, clothes, water, headlamp, warm stuff.

How has this changed the family?

The kids got to work side-by-side with us, doing the same camp chores as us, contributing to the same goal.  It makes the teamwork much more concrete and apparent than during “regular” life when my wife and I are doing more abstract work like writing code or keeping the household running smoothly, and the kids might be sorting laundry.  Our time on the trail was much more cooperative and harmonious than at home, even though every day we spent hours hiking challenging trails in hot weather.

Plus, now we’ll have an awesome shared experience that we can reference when we want to remember that we can do big challenging things.

One of my daughters wore a shirt that said “Anything is possible”.  She truely adopted this mindset, and now repeats that phrase whenever she encounters an obstacle.

Will you do it again?

Maybe, but we have no plans right now.  One of my daughters asked if we could do it again next year.  Another repeated a line that I’d said about our previous hike: “If someone kept bringing me buckets of food, I’d keep hiking around the mountain”.  There’s a nice network of trails in the Olympics that I have my eyes on.  PCT section J also sounds interesting, but I haven’t investigated the logistics of food or river fords.

What kind of conditioning hikes did you do?

On past big goals, I did a pretty nice job selecting a ton of conditioning hikes and making sure that we would not fail to achieve our goals due to factors that we could have controlled.

This year was not like that.  This was a high snow year, and we had some other plans that made it difficult to fit in as many conditioning hikes as before.  We did what we could, but it was more of a “test out” methodology.  I’d select a trip that exercised some capability (distance, elevation gain, weight, nutrition, camp setup time, bridge traversals, heat, snow travel, etc).  We’d do the hike, and based on that determine if our capabilities were sufficient or needed additional work.  I used the results to select future trips.  We had enough base-level capabilities from previous years that we didn’t actually need a ton of conditioning for this trip.

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2013-08-19.3957617199