WONDERLAND | An Unexpected Adventure

The tale of an early season thru-hike of the Wonderland Trail, with much snow travel and river fording. It's called An Unexpected Adventure because when we originally got our permits for a July 8th start, we knew there would be at least some snow, but we were planning on a relaxed, easy going trip. Instead, Washington kept getting snow even into June and we were faced with about 60% snow coverage and several bridges out. I had not gotten in any good postholing since the CDT in 2019, so we decided to give it a whirl. The result was an exciting (and unexpected) adventure! The Wonderland Trail is a 93 mile loop around Mount Rainier with consistently excellent views and normally easy travel, traits which make it very popular. So it was truly special to experience solitude on such a well known and often crowded trail. Gear List: https://lighterpack.com/r/var5mw Trip report:   / tr_early_season_wonderland_thruhike   Trip itinerary: Clockwise from Longmire Day 1, Longmire to South Puyallup River Day 2, S Puyallup to Golden Lakes Day 3, Golden Lakes to Mowich Lake Day 4, Mowich Lake to Dick Creek Camp Day 5, Dick Creek to Sunrise Day 6, Sunrise to Summerland Day 7, Summerland to Nickel Creek Day 8 back to car