Introduction
I won the Wonderland Lottery for 2024 but I was given the last window to make an itinerary before reservations were open to the public. I spent weeks logging on before my reservation window to check what was available. I built itineraries just to see them disappear the next day.
I gave up trying to find a trip in August. However, based on the historically low snowpack winter 2023-2024 I looked to July to steal an early-season trip. As 7:00 a.m. approached the morning of my reservation window I was extremely nervous.
After successfully making my reservation, I couldn't believe I got a six-night itinerary spanning the west and north sides of the Wonderland that included Klapatche Park, Golden Lakes, and Mystic Lake.
This series of posts is about my amazing six-night trip on the Wonderland Trail's west and north sides in mid-July 2024.
Day 1: Westside Road to South Puyallup River Camp
Destination:
Getting Started
I drove in from Spokane the day before we started. I had to pick up our wilderness permit at the White River WIC and then meet my Uncle at Sunrise Visitor Center to drop off my car. I'd be leaving it there for one week so we could drive it out at the end of our trip.
Timed-Entry System
My uncle had driven into the park early in the morning to beat the timed entry reservation system which kicked in at 7 a.m. I had looked at the frequently asked questions on the park's website and had a ton of information on the new timed-entry pilot program. I'm no fan of the timed-entry system, mostly because of who is profiting, but the timed-entry system really had no impact on backpackers this summer.
My Uncle was the alternate trip leader so he would have been allowed in regardless of whether or not he had a timed entry reservation. The trip leader or the alternate trip leader can go anywhere in the park the day before their trip starts to pick up permits, drop off cars, or drop off food caches.
Similarly, the same freedom applies to people joining up with groups that have already started their trip. If you need to get into the park to aide or join a backpacking party it appeared the park wasn't going to let the timed-entry get in your way. Regardless, it was one more thing I needed to research and double-check.
Picking Up the Permit
I entered the Sunrise corridor late morning on Monday, July 8th. It was a beautiful day. A heatwave was hitting the northwest and temperatures were high. There was no line when I pulled up to the park entrance. The ranger gave me a numbered card that I needed to drop off at the WIC when I went to get my permit. I don't know if they were trying to simply keep track of the number of non-reservation people to enter, or if this was a mechanism to prevent people from driving off after falsely claiming that they were going in for the daily lottery. Anyway, I gave it to the rangers in the WIC, who acted surprised.
I told the ranger my name and start date so she could look up my permit. The ranger I talked to seemed new to the park and she was young. She found the permit, asked about my start and end dates, and went to print the permit. I had to quickly stop her and ask if I could change our backcountry camp for one of the nights. The park reserves 1/3 of backcountry reservations for the daily walk-up lottery. Additionally, they use that extra inventory to help groups having itinerary struggles find reachable camps. But, they'll sometimes allow backcountry permit holders to switch camps upon request.
As a backpacker, you're responsible for what you get yourself into in the backcountry. However, the rangers are happy to help make things easier if you're trying to make better plans, and more experienced rangers know the tough stretches of trail and distances between camps.
On our last full day of the trip, we were supposed to hike from Cataract Valley to Granite Creek Camp. It's a 10+ mile day with more the 4,500 ft. of ascending. Also, it goes through an amazing section of the Wonderland Trail, Moraine Park, and Mystic Lake. Consequently, I didn't want to rush through it and have a grueling second-to-last day. Initially, I almost was able to select Mystic Camp for our last night but it got snatched up the day before I was able to log on and make my reservation picks. Knowing this was considered a "long" day, the rangers could change my reservation, and that Mystic Camp is a great place to camp, I asked the ranger if I could switch our last night from Granite Creek to Mystic Camp.
I was slightly caught off guard when the ranger asked me why I wanted, or needed to switch. Thankfully, I had a good reason. She looked up Mystic Camp for Sunday, July 14, and after initially thinking it was booked, discovered she could move our last night to Mystic Camp. I was ecstatic.
Before leaving I asked about snow, bridges, and wildlife. I also checked the whiteboard they have that discusses trail conditions, wildflowers, and animal sightings. Additionally, they have many helpful brochures available for free. I was going to pick up a fishing brochure for my brother but they were fresh out. I left the WIC and slid into my car. I was excited to get up to Sunrise. I hadn't been to the visitor center for years.
Leaving a Car at Sunrise Visitor Center
Even though finding parking for the car shuttle was on my mind, I was riding an excitement high as I drove up the Sunrise. It was the middle of July, the sun was out, everything was green and the landscape was everything I had remembered, hoped for, and been excited about. Turning west after rounding the corner at Sunrise Point I had Mount Rainier in my sights.
I left a car at Sunrise Visitor Center in 2017 when my sister and I backpacked the north side on our first backpacking trip. I remember they had a designated section for backpackers to leave cars for shuttling. Thankfully, the same section still exists and it can be found just to the east of the Day Lodge.
I met my Uncle outside the Day Lodge. Surprisingly, I had service from the visitor center. He had hiked out to the saddle below Skyscraper. He noted some snow but said it wasn't bad. This was surprising for early July but it was all a side effect of the poor snowpack this winter.
I said goodbye to my car for a week and we headed out.
Westside Road Trailhead
We could have started at Longmire but my Uncle, Mom, and I already backpacked from Longmire to Devil's Dream, with a side trip up to Indian Henry's Hunting Ground, back in 2021. My desire to backpack the same stretch, and double our mileage on day one, was very low. The mileage from Westside Road to South Puyallup was good for a first-day hike.
The biggest drawback to not starting at Longmire was missing the trail up to, and over, Emerald Ridge. But, I still planned to hike up to the top of Emerald Ridge after setting up camp at South Puyallup River Camp. Ok, let's get back to the Westside Road Trailhead.
The Westside Road is an active geohazard area. The park service warns, “Geohazard Area Note that this is a geohazard area. Move immediately uphill at least 150 feet if the ground shakes and/or you hear a rumbling noise.” The road is gravel and goes for a long way up the west side of the park. I believe you could walk the road all the way to North Puyallup River Camp. That said, the park has closed the road to cars starting at Dry Creek Trailhead, which is a little hard to find on a map.
We headed to the mountain early on Tuesday morning, July 9. My mom drove me, my Uncle, and my cousin planning to drop us off. After dropping us off she wanted to drive up to Paradise for an early season hike. We arrived at the Longmire corridor entrance (where timed entry reservations are required) and I showed the ranger my backpacking permit. Early on a Tuesday morning, and with the timed-entry restrictions, the wait was minimal.
The ranger let us in without incident, and we drove a short distance before turning left onto Westside Road and heading to the trailhead. The driveable part of the Westside Road is in good shape. It's not a very wide road but it's fairly smooth.
The temperature was going to be very high, even for early July, but it felt perfect when we arrived at the trailhead in the morning. We had no trouble with parking or finding a place to unload our gear. However, there is no bathroom at the trailhead, so we had to make do.
We got our gear squared away and prepared to walk approximately four miles up the gravel road until we reached the South Puyallup Trail. I said goodbye to my mom and wished her luck on her hike.
She didn't have a timed-entry reservation but because she was already in the park I suggested after dropping us off she head up to Paradise. She thought that was a good idea and made the trip to drop us off worth it. I found out later that, despite the limited parking, she had a beautiful (but snowy) hike on part of the Skyline Trail.
The Hike
The first four miles were along the gravel Westside Road. The road is a bit exposed if you walk in the middle but we found shade walking along the sides. Staying out of the sun was key today because temperatures would be into the 80s and a heat advisory was still in effect.
I wasn't worried about water because it was July. The heat would ensure all water sources were flowing. We crossed Fish Creek not long after starting and the water was clear and plentiful.
We couldn't find shade all the time, and the gravel made the sun-less stretches extra warm. Just before reaching the junction to the Tahoma Creek trail the road runs along Tahoma Creek. The Tahoma Creek Trail is closed and no longer maintained due to Tahoma Creek washing out large portions of the trail.
Tahoma Creek looked wild and turbulent. It's a big reason why trails and roads in this area struggle to survive the seasons.
Despite the dangers, we still saw a couple of cars driving the road—a pair of government vehicles and a van full of trail maintenance workers. We passed the government vehicles further up the road. I assumed they were training. We didn't see the van until we were well onto the South Puyallup River Trail.
Westside Road Considerations
The Westside Road is a resource when backpacking the west side of the Wonderland. We passed a pair of elderly backpackers who were going to use the road to avoid the snowy conditions between South Puyallup Camp and Klapatche Park. There are multiple ways to cut over from the road to the Wonderland Trail.
In addition to using the road as an alternate route option, it can also be a valuable resource if something goes wrong. For example, if a group member suffered a leg injury and needed to evacuate the road could serve as a way to get a vehicle or help quickly to the injured party. Or, it could serve as a less risky way to hike out, compared to navigating the trail.
South Puyallup River Trail
After winding up the road we got to Round Pass. The pass has a few things going on:
- Gobbler's Knob and Lake George Trailhead
- Marine Memorial
- South Puyallup River Trail junction
We explored the memorial before ducking down onto the South Puyallup River Trail. It's a beautiful trail. The ground was soft, the grade was gradual, and the trees provided shade.
We spent two miles on the South Puyallup River Trail. It was getting toward the middle of the day and we could feel the heat. I took note of the large trees and wildflowers when we stopped to take breaks.
As we got closer to South Puyallup River Trail I kept an eye out for the Colonnades and water sources. The Colonnades are cool rock formations near South Puyallup River Camp.
My Maps3D GPS map had the South Puyallup River Camp in a different place than where we found it. It's been off before but this was a bit more than usual. Still, approaching the camp from the west we passed a small but sufficient water source.
Finally, we passed the backcountry toilet for the camp and we knew we were close. Tired and hot we arrived at South Puyallup River Camp. Below are the stats for the hike.
Length: 6.04 miles
Duration: 3 hours 15 minutes
Asc.: 2,367 ft.
Desc.: 866 ft.
Max. Alt: 4, 398 ft.
Min. Alt: 2,848 ft.
South Puyallup River Camp
We were the first to arrive at camp and took a look at all of our options. We passed an older couple on the trail (we would see them multiple times as we backpacked up the west side) who had stayed in the camp the night before. They told us they were the only ones there the previous night.
Site 1 was nice, closer to the bathroom, and not near the other sites, but it was exposed. On a sweltering hot day, setting up camp in the sun sounded like anti-fun. We stopped to look at sites 2 & 3, but they didn't have good hammock setups. The trail to each of sites 2-4 meant that people would be walking past, or through your site if you were in 2 or 3. Therefore, we opted to go with site 4 because it had two flat spots and a good place for my hammock setup.
Although the sign in the camp said the toilet is 600 ft. away, that's more of an estimate, an underestimate. It's further. Regardless, it wasn't a bad backcountry toilet.
Water
We passed a couple of small streams coming in on the South Puyallup Trail. One was about a mile from camp, which ran pretty well and we did get some water from there.
In Tami Asars's book, Hiking the Wonderland Trail, 2nd Ed., she mentions the water source is past the group site (west) along the South Puyallup Trail. This may be true later in the season, but the best water source for the camp in July was 0.3 miles counterclockwise on the Wonderland Trail, or towards Emerald Ridge if you were coming from South Puyallup River Camp.
We came upon this water source on our way up to Emerald Ridge. It was clear, cold, and deep enough to get your whole body in if only for a moment. I took a painful, but also amazing, dip after our hike up to Emerald Ridge.
Bear Pole
The bear pole was located close to sites 2 & 3. We also used the group site's bear pole because no one showed up. The group site has a view of the South Puyallup River making it a bit more breezy and a bit less buggy. We ate our meals down at the group site.
Emerald Ridge
Destination:
Backpacking on the Wonderland in such a unique place like Mount Rainier means there's an opportunity to explore more wherever you are. For each day of our trip, I tried to plan side-trips after we got into camp, or possibly on the trail.
Emerald Ridge is a gem on the Wonderland Trail and it's only about 1.5 miles from South Puyallup River Camp. It's a subalpine area of the Wonderland known for green fields, wildflowers, and expansive views.
Despite the short distance, the hike was pretty hard. The trail was rocky as we climbed up toward the ridge, and the trees were smaller, meaning it was hotter and we were more exposed to the sun. I was shocked at how warm I felt and how much I was sweating despite not having a heavy backpack.
My Uncle and I were able to refill on water 0.3 miles from camp but the rest of the way it was unclear if we would see any more water sources. It was such a relief when we found snow closer to the top. We pulled over and put some in our hats to help cool us down.
The Wonderland Trail gets a little sketchy near the top of the ridge. It's washed out and drops off significantly to the hiker's left. I have to imagine they'll need to get creative here soon because the trail is almost washed away in one or two areas.
Even though the hike was hot and difficult the views were getting better. It took us roughly an hour and 15 minutes to reach the top and, wow, it was worth it. The meadows were a lively green and, like a desert oasis, there was still water at the top!
We drank our remaining water aggressively and filled up with the clear, but slow-moving water at the top. We took in the views from all directions. We looked up at Mount Rainier, down at the muddy water flowing out of the Tahoma Glacier, across the valley to clear waterfalls on the valley walls, and out—away from the mountain—over the top of green meadows to hazy ridges below.
We sat on some of the large rocks just off the trail to get a rest. My thermometer read 85 degrees Fahrenheit! After almost falling asleep, it was time to head back down.
The descent was steep and the footing was terrible. We both slid multiple times, even with poles. Once we were back in the trees my mind was fixed on that cold stream near camp. All in all, the hike stats from South Puyallup River Camp are below:
Length: 3.48 miles
Duration: 2 hours 13 minutes
Asc.: 1,479 ft.
Desc.: 1,452 ft.
Max. Alt: 5,631 ft.
Min. Alt: 4,299 ft.
Back at Camp
It was hot, slightly buggy, and quiet back in camp. No one else showed up to camp at South Puyallup that night. We had the camp to ourselves. We found that surprising, but maybe the heat kept people away.
At night, we sat around camp waiting for the sky to get a little darker and for the temperature to drop. My thermometer refused to drop below 70 degrees. It wasn't until closer to 9 o'clock it read 69 degrees.
I had a hard time falling asleep, for whatever reason, but I was grateful to be out there. I had a slight view of the night sky and woke up to see stars once or twice. It was the first of six nights and I was looking forward to Klapatche and St. Andrews Park the next day.