I've been reflecting on this trip for the past week, looking through the hundreds of photos and videos taken over nine days which at the time felt like it took nine years. But now that I'm home, it feels like it happened nine years ago. Time is weird.
In May, when I accepted Byron's invitation to hike around the base of Mount Rainier, I did not know what I was signing up for—I had zero gear, had not gone on a hike in years, and had done a 1-mile, 1-night backpacking "trip" once.
Forget going "from 0 to 60"—this seemed more like 0 to 6Gs.
From getting gear, practicing using it, going on as many hikes and walks as possible then jumping head first into 93 miles of backpacking unknown, this was the biggest challenge I've ever bit off for myself.
"Here goes nothing/everything. As ready as I'll ever be."
10.9 miles | 2,600' gain | 2,600' loss
Byron, Cory, and I began our drive to Longmire shortly after dawn. Early-morning sun twinkled through the trees and we listened to a playlist that would soon become the trip's unofficial soundtrack.
After being granted access by the rangers at the Mount Rainier National Park entrance, we met Julia, Andrew, and Jared in the Longmire parking lot. After some last-minute bag packing and bacon-snacking, we hit the trail about an hour later.
It was a pretty day and a nice intro to the loop. One scary part was going across part of the trail that had been wiped out by a recent rock fall. The rocks were large, loose, and it was very sketchy.
Our group camp site is a little cozy under some trees, but there is a small, fast-flowing creek nearby so we made dinner along the rocks and soaked our feet as we ate.
Tomorrow is supposed to be our hardest day. Wish me sleep!
15.1 miles | 6,400' gain | 3,200' loss
This day wrecked us. So much elevation gain and it ended up being an over 12-hour day. The map claimed it was 15.1 miles, but my phone says 17.3 and I believe it.
The scenery today was absolutely gorgeous and I used over 30% of my phone battery taking pictures and videos.
We walked through meadows full of pink, purple, and white flowers, crossed snow-packed rock fields, and rose over massive mountain ridges with views (and sounds!) of distant glacial waterfalls.
Rainier is huge and looks so cool from here. Seeing a lot of Adams as well.
We stopped at Indian Bar around 4:30 for a break, and I'm so glad I made a hot meal. While I *did* know there was a lot elevation to come, I did not anticipate all that was in store for us in the hours between Indian Bar and Summerland.
Because of the incline, the views were incredible. They just kept getting better. Golden hour seemed to linger forever—the sky was beautiful. After the steep and steady elevation gain over the tops of several ridges, we lowered back down through snow.
We had a scary crossing in the final two hours of the hike, with a near-vertical snow pack with a very, VERY narrow lip made from previous hikers' footprints that we needed to cross. It was the scariest thing I've ever done. With my poles in my left hand, I stabbed the fingers of my right hand into the snowy cliff face to give me some more support as I crossed. I don't want to do anything like that ever again.
Andrew, Julia, and I showed up to Summerland around 9:30pm, a bit after dark. We almost got our headlamps out because it was getting hard to see the trail and know if the rocks we were walking on were slippery or not. Byron, Jared, and Cory had been at camp for a little bit and we were all borderline delirious. I didn't even want to eat. My feet are tired and tender.
Summerland's group site has a really nice shelter, so some of us will sleep in there. Julia and I tried to hang our bear bags and I'm sure it would've been hilarious if we weren't so exhausted. The pole was on an incline which combined with the weight of our bags made it impossible!
Luckily, tomorrow is a very short day (on purpose), so we will likely sleep in and take our time in the morning. We deserve it!
7.0 miles | 700' gain | 2,300' loss
Summerland is so high up (nearly 6,000'), that we woke above the clouds. The sunrise was stunning, which Julia captured in beautiful photos and videos. Hidden just underneath the soft clouds below our camp site was all we had walked through the night before.
As planned, we took our time this morning. Some remained tucked warmly in sleeping bags while others leisurely made breakfast and wrapping cold hands around hot mugs of instant coffee. As we slowly broke down our tents and packed our bags, we chatted with passing hikers eager to take in our site's view (don't blame them!).
Light rain began as Byron, Cory, and I left our Summerland site (the others would follow in a bit). After about 30 minutes, we paused to remove a layer and a day-hiker passed us and she quickly returned to tell us a bear was on the trail up ahead. The four of us walked together, Byron leading the charge with the lady's can of bear spray, calling out so the bear knew we were coming. All the sudden we turned a corner and I saw a quick blur of brown fur as the bear hurried across the narrow trail and into the trees. It looked small, but I only saw a millisecond of it. Our first bear encounter!
The hike today was a pretty level after a nice descent to start. If all our hike days could be like this, I'd be pumped!
At one point in the trail, there had been a temporary sign put up advising caution and alternate routes. Byron and Cory felt checking out the river was worth the 1.5 miles of backtracking to the road if the river was unsafe. Luckily, the river wasn't as high as it had been when the notice was posted, so we crossed and got to White River in around 4 hours. Once reunited with Jared, Andrew, and Julia, we learned they'd taken the road route.
White River is a car camping site with bathrooms and food lockers, so it feels like a bit of a treat.
After arranging our tents in one of the two reserved group sites (fitting five—and soon to be six—tents in these group sites was like real life Tetris at times), we spent the rest of the day on the porch of the vacant (and locked up) White River ranger cabin.
It was nice to *not* sit on dirt!
We made dinner, relaxed, and chatted with the super friendly volunteer site ranger, Kelly. She was great to talk with and had some amazing life stories to share.
Starting to feel a bit smelly now. You're constantly sweating while on the trail and I'm rotating the same two pairs of dirty clothes... there's little to be done. I've also got a decent collection of bug bites, but trying not to let them bother me. My feet are taking quite a beating, but I know it's nothing as bad as what would be happening if I were wearing my hiking boots. Trying to handle it with Leukotape and caring for them as much as I can.
Ben joins us tomorrow and is bringing our first food cache!
3.5 miles | 2,100' gain | 100' loss
Cache day! Everyone spent the morning swapping out food and leaving things behind to pick up on our way back to Seattle.
The hike was mostly uphill today, but it was such a short distance that it was fine.
It rained overnight and there was still quite a bit of mist covering the mountain tops. Got a few pretty, brooding photos.
It took us a couple hours to get to Sunrise Camp, then after dropping our bags and setting up tents, we walked the mile or so to the Sunrise Visitors Center to eat junk food at the snack shop, which was a fun treat. I wish I had snapped photos of us hanging out here!
In addition to sitting outside the snack shop laughing, eating, and joking together, we chatted with a fellow "loop group" of five from Pittsburg that we met at White River last night (their site had a bees nest!). They also started at Longmire and are going counterclockwise, too.
After a few hours, we filled up our water bottles and camelbacks and returned to our large camp site to hang out on some logs until dusk and the cold set in. I really like this group, we get along really well!
13.7 miles | 2,900' gain | 6,000' loss
We are officially halfway through the trip. I'm laying in my tent now at the end of day 5 at Carbon River with the water flowing nearby. My feet are bare and I'm hoping over night the blisters will dry out and keep toughening up. They are not doing well.
Today was a good day besides my feet hurting. It was a long day with another rock washout like we experienced on day 1, and the precarious rock falls today were a bit longer of a stretch than we experienced then.
I'm feeling more confident with all my gear. That does feel very cool and I just wish my feet weren't in so much pain.
There were some beautiful views today. Huge boulder fields across mountainsides and the Carbon glacier and at least one cave on the side. It's hard to take in everything because you're so focused on the steps in front of you, but it's all really stunning.
Ran into the Pittsburgers (now given the group trail name of "the Yinzers") at a trailside lake and our group decided to stop there too to have some lunch and take a dip (once again wishing I snapped some non-hiking pics!).
Byron and I left the lunch spot a little earlier than everyone else and we saw some frogs. Made me think of Popeye. Still seeing golden butterflies and thinking of Mom.
Feeling a bit down today because my feet are hurting. Crossing my fingers for the morning. I'll have the whole 8 miles from here to Mowich to consider what to do: Leave with Ben or keep going to the end.
I *loved* the suspension bridge we crossed today today but was *not* a fan of the slanted log crossing to get to our camp site. Thankfully, Jared helped me out!
via Spray Park // 8.5 miles | 3,900' gain | 2,200' loss
Before leaving for Wonderland, our group agreed to take the alternate Spray Park route due to some questionable trip reports about the main trail.
Man, was that a good choice!
While this day was a hard one mentally for me because my feet hurt intensely, the views were spectacular. Plus! we spotted TWO bears in the early afternoon.
Both were apparently black bears, but one was cinnamon-y brown. We saw the brownish one first—it was grazing near some granite outcroppings. The black one we saw almost immediately after in the same winding meadow. It was surrounded by bear paw flowers, which looked really special. Each glanced in our direction, but I'm not sure they noticed us. If they did, they didn't care.
Before the bear sightings, we had lunch and a rest after a strenuous climb through Seattle Park's rocky remnants and debris. Our stopping point wasn't a true resting spot, but it had a breathtaking panoramic view overlooking the Mother Mountains. Ben had been waiting for us for over an hour (he's so fast!) and he thought this was a great spot to stop. He was right. As we relaxed a bit, the Yinzers showed up! They sat with us and started their lunch.
I walked a lot of the hike this afternoon by myself. It gave me some time to think and go at my own pace. I *do* want to continue on the trail, but my feet are very much a concern. They hurt so much! Blisters under calluses and so much Leukotape protecting the bottoms of my feet, and moleskin and athletic tape wrapping my toes.
Tomorrow we have a 15-mile day and the day after that is 14. They aren't as intense elevation-wise as day 2 of our trip, but it's still a lot of mileage, especially on such tender feet.
I have to keep thinking "they're just blisters" and be relieved that it's not something like persistent knee or ankle pain. My muscles are tired, but that's a discomfort I'm used to and know. My calves feels like I did 1,000 double unders!
The question:
What will I remember more: the painful feet that caused me to leave early, or the painful feet that *didn't* keep me from making it to the end?
15.3 miles | 3,300' gain | 4,500' loss
So, I stayed.
And I'm so glad I did. I knew it was the right choice almost right away. I could imagine myself in Ben's dad's car wondering what the group would see today, tomorrow, and Sunday.
My feet still hurt, but I think more pain reliever at specific times will help manage it. At least it worked today! My spirits are up way more, and today was actually really fun.
We started on the trailhead (without Ben) around 9am en route to North Puyallup. We had a 14.5-mile day in front of us, and we were together for several miles at the start, but then Byron and I went on ahead while the others stopped to filter water. It felt like a huge trudge up from a river through tons and tons of forest, along the ridge, and past many trickster lakes that I thought were the site of our pausing point: the porch of another ranger cabin. This time at Golden Lakes.
Byron went on ahead to North Puyallup and the rest of us hung out at the ranger cabin laughing and chatting until heading out maybe an hour later.
The afternoon was really fun because the five of us (Cory, me, Jared, Julia, & Andrew) stuck together (in that order on the trail!) and chatted about random things like tv shows, past hiking stories, etc. Lots of the hiking to this point has been split off into smaller groups (or solo), so it was nice to laugh and pass the time together. It made it one of my favorite days so far.
I'm glad I stayed.
Tonight we had dinner under the shadow of a huge mountain with slight patches of snow, waterfalls, and a raging river (Puyallup?) below. We ate with two other Wonderland hikers who are on day 4 or 5. Afterwards, we came back to our group camp site, which is the entire old, overgrown, and unfinished gravel parking lot. Needless to say, the six of us had plenty of room to space out.
History time: The west side of Mount Rainier, the area between Mowich and Longmire, is the most remote. This is because there are no established roads between the two sites, thanks to unfinished road projects during the construction boom of the 1920s.
Not only did this mean that we did not encounter more than a couple loop hikers this entire day (we did see the Yinzers once!), it also explained the seemingly random man-made stone bridges and barriers around North Puyallup that are common in the more visitor-focused areas around the National Park (Sunrise, Longmire, Mowich, etc.).
When we emerged from the thinning tree line to North Puyallup's site after walking in dense forests, across burn fields filled with bare tree trunks, and through thick, green meadows, it was eerie to make out a clearly engineered stone bridge intended for cars. (I'm a bit annoyed at myself for not taking a picture or five.)
This same stonework was present where we ate dinner, which was about a 30-second walk from our parking lot campsite. To me, it seemed clear that this spot was intended to be a visitor lookout, and it really was a spectacular view, especially when the sun peeked out to say good night.
Tomorrow is another 14-miler. And Gramma's birthday.
13.2 miles | 5,400' gain | 4,100' loss
Another day when the estimated mileage on the map and my phone did not match. Once again my phone said we walked more.
Today was exhausting! We all were so wiped when we got to camp. Today's hike included three ascents, and two of them were pretty steep. Getting to Emerald Ridge really took it out of us and then we had a descent, the Tahoma Creek suspension bridge, and then another ascent and descent in order to get to Devil's Dream.
Every morning began with: changing back into dirty hiking clothes, packing up my pjs and sleep gear, breaking down my tent, making instant coffee and breakfast, separating out the day's snacks from the rest of the food in my bear bag, refilling my 4 liters of water, and then packing up my bag.
But the actual last thing before leaving camp would be for me and Byron to tend to my feet. They were a mess. Bless that man!
I kept an eye out today for purple since it would've been Gramma's 99th birthday. There were meadows full of it! Tons of lupine and other pretty purple-hued flowers. Julia took some photos of me with them.
I'm quite certain this was the most purple we encountered throughout the whole trip. It felt really special. Plus, a periwinkle butterfly landed on the trail in front of me during one of the hottest and hardest parts of day 8. I would have absolutely shown her all the purple we saw on her birthday if she were still here. I can hear the delight in her voice even now.
This lake was not a bad spot to pause for a snack!
In addition to lots of purple flowers and turquoise lakes, this day was filled with some amazing mountaintops—craggy, enormous, and breathtaking.
While I didn't take many pictures during our ascent up Emerald Ridge (it would've been strenuous enough without the 30+ pound pack on my back), I did snap a few photos and videos when we reach what is called Glacier Island. This view was spectacular and only later did I learn that I was looking at the Tahoma glacier, South Tahoma glacier and the Puyallup cleaver. Amazing. What I did know at the time was that the rock debris looked like gold, especially under the mid-day sun.
There were no good places to stop for a snack or a rest until after we crossed the Tahoma Creek suspension bridge, but at that point I was so ready to get to camp that I decided to keep going with Byron while Cory, Jared, Andrew, and Julia paused to filter water.
I couldn't tell you if the pain in my feet hurt so bad that my brain shut if off or if it was so constant that I became numb. But any time we stopped (for food, water, or a rest), when we started walking again, my feet would blaze with pain all over again. It was awful.
So, that's another reason why I kept going.
I had risen through the final incline of forest switchbacks from the suspension bridge to emerge in a wide meadow of larches. The Tahoma river was below and behind me and Byron was a ways ahead. I was enjoying this welcome flat section of trail, listening to the humming of happy bees in flowers on the edge of the trail.
Out of nowhere, I heard a huge distant rock fall. Because of tall trees and flat terrain, I couldn't see where it was coming from, but as the crashing sounds echoed off the countless peaks and ridges from where we had just come, I knew it was somewhere behind us. Byron came running back once he realized what the sound was. The rumbling could have been mistaken for the sound of a distant plane, which we had heard once or twice on the trail.
It lasted a good 15-20 seconds and it sounded like it came from way up. Hope it didn't impact the trail and no one was on it. Byron wants to check at the ranger station at Longmire tomorrow.
5.8 miles | 500' gain | 2,800' loss
I wish I'd documented more on our last day, but we were all jonesing for brunch at the Longmire Inn! We left camp earlier than any day prior.
Although today's hike was short (comparatively), it had more uphill than we remembered.
The last couple of miles felt so long, and I kept hoping for the thinning of trees or some sort of structure welcoming us to the end of the loop and the entrance to Longmire.
At one point we reached a clearing and realized this was probably our last view of Rainier before completing the loop, so we all paused to take one final Wonderland photo before turning our attention back to the trail and our quest for "the road."
It was a couple miles more before we reached the road, but once we got there, it was crazy how noticeable the smell of asphalt was. And the occasional car seemed so loud!
"The road" was our first sign that Longmire was near.
We cheered probably 20 minutes later when Jared announced he saw a building, and we made our way to the parking lot we had departed nine days prior. Here we threw our backpacks in the cars before immediately getting food.
We entered the restaurant, assuredly smelly and dirtbaggy, and each feasted over our own big, eggy entrees and shared three plates of marionberry pancakes that most of us slathered in syrup. Cory mentioned how odd it was to be sitting in a chair with a back on it, and I realized I wasn't even leaning on mine.
- - -
Completing the 93 miles of Wonderland was one of the most challenging things I've ever done. It was humbling and scary and beautiful and brutal, and my feet were in pain almost the whole time—but I did it! Thanks in huge part to my six hiking friends, especially Byron who knew I could do it when he invited me back in May and tended to my feet like a personal MacGyver meets Dr. Scholl's while on the trail.
While I don't plan to do the Wonderland loop again, I have finally caught the backpacking bug, so there will definitely be more adventures in my future. Stay tuned!
© 2026 Kelsi
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)