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 2: South Puyallup River Camp to Klaptache Park
Destination:
Getting Started
No one in the group slept great. It stayed hot for most of the night and the sky was bright past 9:00 p.m.. We had a slower start, but that wasn't concerning with only four miles to hike to Klapatche Park.
In the trip report for Day 1, I mentioned the privy is listed at 600 ft. from camp. It's further than 600 ft. and it feels way further in the morning when you're trying to get there quickly.
I had a lot of new gear, including a new backpack, so I spent a little extra time making sure I packed everything the way I wanted. By the end of the trip, I would have a reliable routine, but things took a little longer this morning. Before we left, I walked the 0.3 miles counter-clockwise on the Wonderland to fill up on water at the better water source. I wasn't sure if there would be a water source ascending the ridge on the north side of the South Puyallup River.
After filling up with water and strapping in we broke camp around 9:30 a.m.
The Hike
The heat wave was melting a lot of snow. This was apparent when we crossed the South Puyallup River (on a large sturdy wooden bridge) and could see the high water mark from the day before.
Not far from the bridge on the north side of the river, 0.3 miles from camp, is a nice stream. This would have been a better place to fill up (rather than walking counterclockwise to fill up before we left). However, we didn't know about this stream so after taking note we started our big ascent for the day.
Climbing through the trees was challenging but fine. In some areas, the trail is exposed but it gave us a chance to turn around and take in some views. At one point we stopped to identify the Gobbler's Knob Lookout to the southwest. Back in the trees, the trail was steep but in good shape. Aiding us was the thought that we only had one short climb for the day, then it would be smooth sailing to Klapatche Park.
After about 1.75 miles we reached the ridge with most of our climbing out of the way. The view opened up north and we could see a large valley and make out what might be Aurora Peak on the other side. The trees were thin and the wind felt nice after the hot climb. The trail became a trench I enjoyed the start of subalpine terrain and wildflowers.
On day 1 we passed an elderly couple that was going to take the West Side Road and climb up St. Andrews Creek Trail to avoid the snow patches still on the trail. St. Andrews Creek Trail comes up from the Westside Road to Klapatche Park. I knew there would be snow on the trail, but I read one report before we started the trip where someone said they took it slow and were fine. I'm not one for taking big risks on the trail, but some risks are justified. Dealing with some snow on the trail seemed like a justified risk.
Snow
Snow was on the trail as we started ascending the ridge on the Wonderland Trail below the Puyallup Clever. The trenched trail posed a problem because it created mini-snow bridges where we were supposed to walk.
Crossing the large snow bridges, and losing the trail, meant we had to pay extra attention to where we walked. Stepping back onto the trail toward the end or beginning of the snow patch could send our foot through. The worst-case scenario on the flat sections is lower leg energy. Thankfully, we managed the sections without incident.
The other situation where snow becomes dangerous on the trail is where there is a chance that a slip may lead to a slide. We came across one such area as we traversed St. Andrews Park toward St. Andrews Lake.
The snow patch crossed the trail at an angle. Fortunately, the snow was soft enough to kick in foot holds and others crossing the trail had already done some of the work.
St. Andrews Park
St. Andrews Park is gorgeous. It was open and green, and we quickly found the purest stream to get water from. It was the best water we had seen in the last 2.5 miles from South Puyallup Camp. We would have plenty of water in the next mile.
I stopped a couple of times to take in the wilderness and not-so-wilderness views. The westside of the Wonderland pushes up against the edge of the park and it's hard not to notice the clear-cut forest areas in the distance. Conversely, St. Andrews Park is still worth a panorama.
St. Andrews Lake
Coming up on St. Andrews Lake, I was surprised to find how much snow was still on the trail and around the lake. Additionally, most of the lake still had ice on it!
Not all the lake was iced over. There was access on the west side where the trail came up close to the shore. This is also where the outlet stream is, a great place to filter some of the purest and coldest water you'll find on the trail. We didn't hang out for long because I intended to come back later and wanted to get into camp to get a good site.
The trail climbed slightly out and away from the lake before descending toward Aurora Peak. This was not a fun part of the trail because snow was lingering over the trail and the trail was, again, a deep trench. The snow was soft and we noticed the multiple post holes from previous hikers. I was thankful when we reached the south-facing slopes.
Not far from Klapatche Park, the Puyallup Formation is visible from the trail near a dramatic drop-off. Also, on the other side of the trail is a steep meadow, offering wildflowers and views to the southwest.
It's a short walk from St. Andrews Lake to Klapatche Park camp. Klapatche Park was very green and scenic. Aurora Lake was still quite full. Dropping down toward the camp I was excited to find a camp, get set up, and go on some side trips. The stats for day two are below:
Length: 3.93 miles
Duration: 3 hours 41 minutes
Asc.: 2,047 ft.
Desc.: 875 ft.
Max. Alt: 6,046 ft.
Min. Alt: 4,241 ft.
Klapatche Park Camp
Talking with my Uncle and cousin later on the trip, or maybe after the trip, I asked what their favorite camp was. It was unanimous, we all said Klapatche Park. I can explain in greater detail why later, but it was mostly due to our awesome campsite, the views, and the availability of side-trips.
Before I get too far ahead of myself, I'll get back to our arrival in camp. We were the first to show up in camp and quickly chose Site 1 for our stay. We hadn't seen that many groups of backpackers, or anyone really, on the trail so far.
Site 1 is big. There are two levels both of which are nice and flat. I also found plenty of trees to string my hammock between. It's worth the extra traffic coming by your camp due to the other three camps further back in the trees.
Another bonus of site one is you have a little view of Mount Rainier and Aurora Lake. It has some trees for shade but is also open and out of the trees which helps keeps the bugs down.
Adding to the list of positives for Site 1 it's a good distance from the bear pole and bathroom. Not too close and not too far away. There are only a handful of sites at Klapatache Park, with no group site, so it's a peaceful camp. The other sites at Klapatche Park are also not bad, actually, and some have great views to the west for the sunset.
The bathroom is an enclosed outhouse affording more privacy than normal.
Water
I read multiple warnings about the water situation at Klapatche Park, especially for later in the season. Aurora Peak is stagnant with frogs and algae, and as my uncle observed, it is a favorite bathing spot for campgoers. A member of a group who came in later was fully lathered up in soap bathing in the lake. I'm not against going for a swim but it was another reason to find an alternative source.
Thankfully, it wasn't early season! Coming in from South Puyallup Camp, a tenth of a mile from the camp, a snow-fed stream came off the small slope to the south of the trail and provided a perfect cascade for us to fill up our Katadyn BeFree's.
If this water wasn't available, and it was later in the season, I would take the advice of others and hike down the St. Andrews Creek Trail to find some flowing water or hike to St. Andrews Lake.
Bear Pole
There are only four sites at Klapatche Park and no group site. There is only one bear pole at Klapatche Park with four pegs. Doing the quick math you can see that every group gets one peg.
The bear pole is easy access for everyone in camp.
Aurora Peak
Destination:
After getting setup in beautiful Site 1 it was time to get out and explore. I knew you could make it up Aurora Peak by reading various trip reports and guides online but I wasn't sure how. Aurora Peak is the small hill blocking your view of Mount Rainier. This means you should climb Aurora Peak to get the best view of Rainier.
After looking at Aurora Peak from camp we thought we could almost make out a trail through one of the meadows. However, coming from someone who has "seen trails" before and been wrong I wasn't convinced. Still, it was worth checking out. I thought I might have to go myself. The temperature was cresting 75 degrees and my uncle and cousin were on the fence. Eventually, my uncle said, I'll go if you [my cousin] go. After that,the group was united. We were all in.
It was hard for me to estimate how long the hike would take but using my Maps 3D App I knew it would only be about 500 feet of elevation change.
We started back on the Wonderland Trail in the counter-clockwise direction stopping to get water from the snow melt. A quarter mile from camp, near the saddle between Klapatche Park and St. Andrews Park, is the old trail up the Aurora Peak.
The trail is unmarked but it's obvious that there's a footpath. I was shocked to see wooden steps laid perpendicular across the trail. Seeing the steps meant this was a maintained trail at one point and made me feel even better about bushwacking up to the top of Aurora Peak.
It was hot and we were at elevation pushing up a steep hill through overgrown trees, but I was determined to get to the top quickly. I was surprised at how much progress we were making. My uncle told me to go ahead, he and my cousin would see me soon at the top. The trail was easy to follow, more or less, with a few splitter trails. I made it to the summit in 15-20 minutes and the view was incredible.
I could hear my cousin and uncle coming up behind so I sat down, dodging ants, to eat a snack and try to stop sweating. Did I mention the view was amazing? Sitting above two valleys we had an up close view of Rainier. At the foot of the glaciers on Rainier was the Puyallup Formation. In all directions we had views.
We took turns tight roping out over the rocks, with increasing exposure, to get pictures and take in the full experience of the peak. After spending a decent amount of time baking in the sun and enjoying the fruits of our hiking we headed down.
The trail is always more visible on the way back down. Still, we had to take it slow. The trail is very steep and is sometimes obscured by tree branches. Keeping conscious of possible loose footing we worked our way down off Aurora Peak. Looking back, heading up Aurora Peak was one of the best moments on the trip and helped make the stay at the Klapatche Park Camp a memorable one.
Length: 0.95 miles
Duration: 45 minutes
Asc.: 501 ft.
Desc.: 516 ft.
Max. Alt: 5,986 ft.
Min. Alt: 5,499 ft.
St. Andrews Lake
Destination:
We arrived pretty tired back in camp after hiking Aurora Peak. The mileage for the day was low but the heat and elevation made it feel like a long and difficult day.
I was tired myself, but I had a need to get into St. Andrews Lake. The previous day we found a very cold stream to cool off in near South Puyallup River Camp at the end of a hot day and it made such a big difference. Additionally, getting in very cold water is a favorite past time of Retz's so it was going to happen.
I loaded up my backpack with my survival and clothing essentials. I also through my backpacking flask in because I would need some help getting into such cold water. I started back on the trail in the direction of St. Andrews Lake. Hiking back to St. Andrews Lake was the other side-trip I had on the itinerary. It's not more than a mile away and the area is scenic enough that any walk out from camp is valuable.
Immediately upon arriving, I knew I made the right choice to come back to St. Andrews Lake. There was a nice breeze moving over the lake outlet keeping the bugs away. The weather was perfect, even more so for such a high elevation in early July.
Before getting into St. Andrews Lake I wetted a towel and wiped off the parts of my body where I had applied sunscreen and bug spray. I knew I would be getting into a lot of water on this trip so I consciously applied sunscreen and bug spray. This was only to my face, the back of my hands, and my calves. Then, before getting in water and rinsing off, I would wet a towel and wipe off these areas. Additionally, I didn't use soap when rinsing off or swimming.
St. Andrews Lake was mostly still frozen over. The water was the coldest I've ever climbed into in my life. My skin hurt before I was even able to feel really cold. Climbing out I felt perfect.
I was cold, but the sun warmed my skin. The subalpine terrain was green with spring, but also partially blanketed with snow from winter. I sipped a little more Buffalo Trace from my flask and realized this was what it was all about. I backpack for moments to enjoy the twilight hours with a view. It was hard to image leaving after acknowledging how unique my experience was compared to the rest of the world at that moment.
Medicine Man
Hanging out by the outlet of St. Andrews Lake I talked to a few people on the trail. The first was a day hiker who biked up to Round Pass, hiked to Klapatche Park via St. Andrews Creek Trail, and was heading back to the South Puyallup Trail to eventually hop back on his bike and head back to the Westside Road. This was not Medicine Man.
Medicine Man was skinny. He came down the trail wearing a collared shirt, shorts, and earphones that were wired to a phone somewhere in one of his many pockets. It was hard to tell if he was a day-hiker, backpacker, or completely lost.
He asked what my name was, and I told him "Jarrett", because that's my name. Being polite, I asked what his name was and he said "Medicine Man". Later, as I was retelling this encounter, my uncle informed me that some people have trail names. Trail names are something people acquire on the big trails while hiking. They are often given by other people. However, I never knew they were a thing, and after hearing about them my opinion of trail names, and of "Medicine Man", didn't change. We already have first names, let's just use those, right?
Despite my confusion and concern talking to someone who I thought mentally wasn't with us, "Medicine Man" had been on quite a journey. He was thru-hiking the PCT but was detouring around Mount Rainier. He hiked something like 30 miles the day before and needed to hike another 9 miles to reach Devil's Dream. I was a bit shocked. It was 6:00 p.m. and he was pretty optimistic about hiking another 9 miles to his camp.
Most importantly, he told me he had come from Mowich Lake, which meant he had crossed the North and South Mowich Rivers. The day before, a backpacker told me and my uncle that the North Mowich bridge was out as we hiked up to Emerald Ridge. This was a major problem. I didn't know what we were going to do. It's a pretty big and fast-moving river. We would need to find downed trees to cross. We were still two days out from dealing with that, and I figured we would run into people traveling counter-clockwise who could tell us how they managed the crossing.
I didn't think my reassurance would come from a young hiker named "Medicine Man" but I was happy to hear the news all the same.
I packed up my things. I felt refreshed after rinsing off and soaking my feet in the freezing cold water. I had brought clean clothes with me to change into. Heading back to Klapatche Park I practically floated down the trail.
Below are the stats from my trip to St. Andrews Lake from Klapatche Park Camp.
Length: 1.51 miles
Duration: 36 minutes
Asc.: 533 ft.
Desc.: 528 ft.
Max. Alt: 5,973 ft.
Min. Alt: 5500 ft.
Back at Camp
My uncle and cousin were a little cold back at camp but passed the time playing cribbage. We made dinner and sat around waiting for the sunset so we could go down to the water and take some pictures.
I walked down the St. Andrews Creek Trail near camp to check it out around 8:30 p.m. It was still light, but I didn't walk far before turning around. I was thrilled to discover another great place to take a few shots of Mount Rainier.
The Wonderland Trail just outside Klapatche Park Camp is lined with large trees providing perfect seats to gaze at the mountain, take reflection shots in Aurora Lake, or cook some coffee in the morning and watch the sunrise. It was almost 9:00 p.m. but twilight colors were still shining on Mount Rainier.
Another fun view is out of the back of Klapatche Park. I walked back behind the bear pole to see the sun drop below the horizon.
It was an amazing day on the trail with memories and views that reminded us why we spend so much time preparing for and hiking around the woods. After not getting much sleep the previous night and spending time running around Klapatche Park all afternoon, we were ready for a great nights sleep.