Found a way to skip the worst part of the Wonderland Trail

I did the full loop around Rainier last August and the climb out of Indian Bar up to Panhandle Gap is just brutal, especially with a full pack. Everyone says to camp at Summerland and do it early, but those sites book up fast. My trick was to push past Summerland to a small, unnamed spot I found on the map about a mile before the gap. It's just a flat patch off the trail, not a real camp. I got there around 7 PM, set up my tent, and had zero people around. Next morning, I hit the gap by 6 AM with fresh legs and had the whole sunrise view to myself. It cut the hardest climb into two much easier days. Has anyone else found a good unofficial spot to break up that section?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_miller101mo ago

Isn't this just making the problem worse for everyone? You're telling people to camp off trail in a fragile area that can't handle the impact. Those rules exist for a reason, to keep the place from getting loved to death. Finding a secret spot might work for you once, but if everyone starts doing it, that spot gets ruined. Maybe the real trick is just getting in better shape or accepting that some parts of the trail are supposed to be hard.

felix_williams711mo ago

Oh perfect, so the solution is just to be a superhuman athlete. Got it. Next time I'm exhausted after 15 miles I'll just tell my legs they're "supposed to be hard" and magically find the energy to hike another five to the crowded site. Because clearly the only two options are be an Olympian or destroy the ecosystem. No middle ground at all.

sullivan.spencer28d ago

Huh? Nobody said be an Olympian. @felix_williams71 the point is just don't blast through fragile spots to save yourself a few miles. Carry map, check soil, find existing bare ground. That's it.