My annual Wonderland trek is more than just a hike; it's a life event where I immerse myself in the surroundings and go through all the ups and downs (literally), the highs and the lows, the elation and downright pure suffering that comes with such long days. Also, by doing this one particular hike every year I can gauge how my body and mind are coping with advancing age (now 67). This year offered up a full plate; it wasn't as easy as 2021, where I waltzed around with no particular problems. This year I didn't have the hiking resume but thankfully my aerobic fitness was good thanks to lots of cycling. Daily stats are from Strava.

Day 1: Longmire to White River (34 miles/8468' elev) After acquiring a walk up permit the day prior, I started out just before 5 AM on Wednesday heading CCW. Highlights of the day: Reflection Lake early morning with beautiful skies, the usual incredible views from the Cowlitz Divide, with the sublime environment of Ohanapecosh Park in the late afternoon approaching Panhandle Gap. I had prehydrated my dinner and sat just above Summerland to chow down, which is when I discovered I had left my filter somewhere behind. I am doing the Invisalign teeth thing so I'm having to take those in and out whenever I eat, using the filter to rinse frequently. Luckily I had cell service so called my steadfast buddy who would deliver a filter to me at the Fryingpan Creek trailhead at 9 PM. I still felt good enough to actually run from Summerland to the trailhead, arriving at 8:45 with enough time to clean my feet and ready myself for sleep. My buddy arrived right on time and gave me a ride the short distance up to White River, where I threw down my bivy for the night.

Day 2: White River to Mowich Lake (31 miles/7,504' elev) In sum, this was not a good day. All night I felt slightly nauseous and got little sleep. I started the climb to Sunrise feeling decidedly unstrong. Finally, I vomited up the prior evening's undigested meal. At Sunrise I was able to eat a little and drink some water, but the rest of the day was playing catch up for my body. The filter was old and put out but a trickle, so I finally decided to fill a bottle with unfiltered water so I could use Tailwind and try to catch up on hydrating. Since I had gone over Spray Park in 2021, I elected to take the lower route and head up to Mowich Lake via Ipsut Pass. This was the lowest point I've experienced in a long time; the trail is downright crappy, steep, brushy and rocky. I was struggling to make the top, with many an epithet spewing forth from my Invisaligned pie hole. Because of the harder day than expected, I could not make my intended destination of the South Mowich River camp, which did not bode well for day 3, the hardest part of the route. I bedded down and dealt with chilly temperatures in my light bivy and 40 degree quilt.

*Flowers hanging on in September on the Wonderland Trail*

Day 3: Mowich Lake to Longmire (39 miles/8,902' elev) On the trail just after 5 had me feeling more normal; I was finally recovering from the prior day. The climb up to Golden Lakes went well and I felt good the rest of the day, trotting the descents and machine like on the subsequent climbs to Klapatche Park, Emerald Ridge and Indian Henry's. The weather was fine but starting to get some smoke, which thankfully doesn't bother me. Klapatche Park was deserted, and I correctly guessed that most of the night's residents were either not there yet or hanging at St Andrews Lake, since Aurora "Lake" was dry. Sure enough, when I arrived at St Andrews Lake there were a few people scattered around enjoying the environs, including me. I proceeded to soak my feet and splash water on my legs and face. This was a nice pick me up and I departed for the South Puyallup, which came quickly as the trail was ripe for trotting. I had assumed that I would be transiting Emerald Ridge in the dark but got lucky in the timing; I was sans headlamp until departing the ridge. There was just enough light provided by the reflecting mountain. This was also the first time I had seen mountain goats in this area, a special treat. It's these early and late times on the trail that offer up unique experiences every time I go out. We all hike our own hike, but I am not much for camping and prefer to be on trail the majority of the day for these very reasons. I also quite enjoy hiking at night, which on this day proved to be too much enjoyment. I still had to descend to the suspension bridge over Tahoma Creek, climb up to Indian Henry's and descend to cross both Kautz and Pyramid Creeks before dropping down to Longmire. Good thing I am familiar with these areas as crossing at night can be somewhat difficult with lack of clues, cairns or tape. In retrospect I was really glad I didn't have to cross the Carbon at night because that whole area was a mess.

At Rampart Ridge the sign says 2 miles to Longmire, which elicited an "Oh f%$k me" after GPS said I had already done 37 miles, but I finally staggered into the parking lot just past 1 AM. Aside from ultras, this was the longest single day push I had done in quite a few years, but I was glad I was able to pull it off. I am so lucky that my health and mechanics are still going strong as I approach 70, enabling me to hit it hard like 30 years ago. Someday I may have to lengthen my trips...but not today.

The following video is a chronicle of my 34th transit of the Wonderland Trail in Mt. Rainier National Park. As usual I rely heavily on a shoulder mounted GoPro Hero 9 with Max lens for video, and my iPhone 13 for photos and video. My advanced age shows in my methods of composition; one only sees my talking head once in the entire piece, I have no vertical video, and the viewing time is 38 minutes. Enjoy!