Wonderland Trail

Infobox Hiking trail
Name = Wonderland Trail
Photo = CowlitzDivide.jpg
Caption = Mt Rainier from the Cowlitz Divide along the Wonderland Trail
Location = Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, United States
Length = 93 miles (150 km)cite web | title = Wonderland Trail Profile | publisher = National Park Service | url = http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/upload/wonderland_trail_profile.pdf | format = PDF | accessdate = 2008-09-25 ]
Start/End Points = Longmire Lodge
Mowich Lake
Ipsut Creek Camp Ground
Sunrise parking area
White River Camp Ground
Fryingpan Creek Trailhead
Box Canyon
Reflection Lakes
Cougar Rock
Use = Hiking
ElevChange = 8 miles (12 km) approximately
HighPoint = Panhandle Gap 6,750 feet (2,057 m)
LowPoint = Ipsut Creek Campground 2,320 feet (700 m)
Season = Summer to early Fall
Months = Mid-July through late September

The Wonderland Trail is an approximately 93 mile (150 km) hiking trail that circumnavigates Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, United States. The trail goes over many ridges of Mount Rainier for a cumulative 20,000 feet (6,000 m) of elevation gain. The trail was built in 1915. An estimated 200 to 250 people a year complete the entire trailcite book | author = Filley, Bette | year = 2002 | title = Discovering the Wonders of the Wonderland Trail: Encircling Mount Rainier (5th edition) | publisher = Dunamis House | pages = p. 52 | id = ISBN 1-880405-09-1 ] with several thousand others doing shorter sections of it. The average time taken to complete the entire trip is 10 to 14 days.cite book | author = Spring, Ira | authorlink = Ira Spring | coauthors = Manning, Harvey | year=1999 | title= 50 Hikes in Mount Rainier National Park | publisher= The Mountaineers | id=ISBN 0-89886-572-7]

The Trail

The trail is entirely within the national park and most of it is not near roads or buildings. The trail passes through major life zones of the park, from lowland forests to subalpine meadows of wildflowers. As the trail circles the mountain, hikers see different faces of Mount Rainier, carved by 25 named glaciers.

The trail is considered strenuous as it is almost always climbing or descending the ridges around the mountain. The highest point is 6,750 feet (2,057 m) at Panhandle Gap.

There are many river crossings on the trail including two suspension bridges. Many of the rivers are crossed on primitive log bridges which can wash away during heavy rain or when there is a lot of snow melt in the rivers. Most of the bridges washed away during a major storm in November 2006, so much of the trail is expected to be impassable to most hikers throughout 2007.

The main hiking season is late summer, which is often dry and sunny. However, Mount Rainier's high elevation and proximity to the Pacific Ocean can also bring moisture as rain or snow to the trail. In many years, the Wonderland Trail is still mostly snow-covered during June and early July.

The traditional route between Mowich Lake and the Carbon River is via Ipsut Pass and Ipsut Creek. Many people take an alternative route across Spray Park and Seattle Park.cite book | author = Spring, Ira | coauthors = Manning, Harvey | year = 1998 | title= 100 Classic Hikes in Washington | publisher= The Mountaineers | id= ISBN 0-89886-586-7]

Complete trail descriptions may be found in a variety of trailbooks. [cite book | author = Smoot, Jeffrey L. | year = 1991 | title = Adventure Guide to Mount Rainier: Hiking, Climbing and Skiing in Mt. Rainier National Park | publisher = Falcon | id = ISBN 0-934641-40-4]

Camping

Camping along the Wonderland Trail is extremely popular throughout the summer and Wilderness Camping Reservations are essential for many of the most popular campsites. Eighteen trailside camps, 3 to 7 miles (5 to 11 km) apart, are located along the Wonderland Trail. Each camp has 1 to 8 sites for 1 to 5 persons per site. These sites will hold at most 2 tents. Parties requiring space for 3 or more tents must camp in a group site. Group sites are available at certain camps for parties of 6 to 12 persons. These sites typically hold 3-5 tents. Each camp has cleared tent sites, a pit or composting toilet, bear pole for hanging food, and a nearby water source.

Wilderness Camping Permits

A backcountry permit, including reservations for designated camping areas, is required to hike the Wonderland Trail. Advance reservations for permits can normally be submitted starting March 15 each year, with a lottery normally taking place on April 1 to attempt to meet the permit requests of as many hikers as possible.

Due to the damage suffered as the result of a flood in November 2006 the park service did not accept reservations for the 2007 summer season for attempts to hike the entire Wonderland Trail. The trail was reopened on August 3, 2007 after extensive work by the park service, the Washington Conservation Corps, Student Conservation Association and 1,700 volunteers.cite news | first = Terry | last = Wood | title = Volunteer labor worth $1 million-plus helps rebuild Mount Rainier trails | url = http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2003922084_nwwrainier040.html | work = Special to The Seattle Times | date = October 4, 2007 | accessdate = 2007-10-12 ]

ee also

* Tour du Mont Blanc, a trail circling Mont Blanc in France, Switzerland, and Italy

References

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/mora/trail/wonder.htm National Park Service page about the Wonderland Trail]
* [http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/the-wonderland-trail.htm Wonderland Trail page on the Mount Rainer National Park website]
*
* [http://brl.ee.washington.edu/People/_Rosen/Wonderland_Trail/Wonderland.html Pictures and Info about the Wonderland Trail Summer 2006]
* [http://picasaweb.google.com/ewolin Annotated trail and flower pictures from the Wonderland Trail, Summer 2006]
* [http://DerekRowley.com/WT/ Photo Log of 14 Days Around Mt. Rainier - Summer 2002]
* [http://wonderlandtrail06.blogspot.com/ Summer 2006 Wonderland Trail Trip Report]