Training Log Archive: Yvonne

The Wonderland Trail dished out every bit of backpacking adventure that I could ask for. And then some! Sparkling sunshine, fog, rain, marmots, pikas, bears, huge trees, wildflowers galore, miles of blueberries, infinite awe-inspiring views and a sprinkling of friendly folks sharing the trail and camps.

Oh, and I thought it was massively difficult terrain but I survived uninjured and was only miserable once or twice for brief periods. I found it hugely rewarding to complete this solo with no support other than the gear on my back and my one food cache. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

One notable piece of gear: I purchased a Garmin InReach Mini 2 wks. before the trip and it was worth every penny. I set it on extended tracking w/ 1 hr. track points and sent 2 "I'm OK" preset messages per day to my husband and sis. John sent me a few custom messages that were nice to receive. I had the ability to send messages back to him. There was plenty of battery life for the trip and the SOS feature gave me peace of mind. My family could sleep at night. Winner!

C • woohoo!! 4

Devils Dream -> Box Canyon; 4,750' elevation loss

Last day! My camp at Devils Dream was not the damp, bug-filled experience that I expected, it was actually quite lovely. Packed up camp quickly and headed out. Within minutes, ran into a hiker on a 3-day schedule and he looked a little rough. This was his last day (30+ mi.) and since he started so early, the ranger station in the area wasn't open yet so he missed his food cache. He had a total of 3 energy bars for about 15 hrs. of effort. Not good! I made him take any of my food he wanted. That was kind of the theme of the day - any hiker I passed it was "do you need anything?". I handed out more food (yay - lighter pack!) and even a bunch of Benadryl to some poor guy that had been stung by bees several different times and wasn't reacting well (his face was red and a little puffy). Yikes.

This was the southern, more traveled part of the trail so there were many day hikers, tourists, and roads/cars so it was a bit of a culture shock after days of relative solitude. Passed the reflection lakes, some really beautiful waterfalls, a short but super narrow loose/sketchy/steep section, the last excruciatingly long miles of shady forest, and then I was done. Woo!

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the solo experience, I think it would be even more fun in a group and with the right mix of fitness, gear, and motivation, could definitely be knocked out in far less time than what I did.

Golden Lakes -> Devils Dream; 4,970' elevation loss

After yesterday's late arrival and big effort, I vowed to get on the trail earlier. No hot breakfast! Quickly packed up camp, downed a bar and an "iced latte" (flitered mountain stream water w/ S-bucks Via, creamer/dried milk, stevia - shake vigorously - actually not too bad) and was off. I figured out that my R foot pain was only a minor bruise from getting it wedged between 2 rocks while descending the glacier valley on Thurs. - so no biggie. It was very foggy all day. The trail climbed high into a subalpine area w/ loads of blueberries. Yum! At one point I was powering up a hill w/ tall log steps and kept hearing a rustling sound I assumed was my pack. I stopped for a 2 sec. breather and strangely, heard the rustling again. To my right, literally 15' away, was a giant black bear munching blueberries in the fog. Oh, Ok, HELLO. The biologist in me knows black bears are rarely a threat to humans, but at some point instinct kicks in and logic goes out the window. I put my head down and got the heck out of there. Adrenaline rush! I alerted upcoming hikers. Besides bears, there were also lots of marmots to provide trailside entertainment. Plus squeaky pikas.

More climbing, more descending, then a 1 mi. oopsey navigational error on the S. Puyallup Trail. Doh! Didn't really need that extra mile...

Then, almost to camp, what do I see but yet another bear - this time an older cub scampering accross the meadow and into the woods about 200' ahead. Didn't see mom - and didn't want to. Made it to camp uneaten. Feet were pretty worked over - the ascents today were so rough and rocky. But amazingly, no blisters!

Carbon River -> Golden Lakes; 4,450' elevation loss

I did the Spray Park trail alternative which added a bit of mileage and climb from the classic WT route. But sooo worth it - sunny alpine splendor!

Big day w/ lots of climbing and miles. Feet were tender - especially my R arch. This was a little troubling so I favored it, esp. on the downhills. Started my 3,000'+ climb to Spray Park in foggy mist that gave way to clear views of Rainier above a certain elevation - but then it was back to fog on the other side of the divide. I had a detour to Mowich Lake to get my food cache - unfortunately that added an unplanned .5-.75 mi. while I attempted to locate the cache bin. Frustrating! I obviously had WAY too much food so fiddled around w/ recalculating my needs and was forced to throw away the rest. Boo.

Then headed down 2,300' (somehow avoiding the hornets/bees that stung many other hikers) and back up another 2,300'. This was a low point. It was later in the day than I would have liked and the climb seemed like it would never end. Lots of positive self-talk, interspersed w/ occasional negative commentary. Made it to Golden Lakes and was beat. Good thing it was gorgeous! My campsite was right next to the prettiest alpine lake imaginable.

White River -> Carbon River; 5,200' elevation loss.

Headed up a cool, misty 2,000' climb w/ many switchbacks. Up, up, up, through the chilly/foggy subalpine Sunrise and Berkeley Park areas, past tranquil Mystic Lake, then down, down, down - about 5,000'. Tough. Very steep, rocky and difficult w/ some exposure. Although this is a well-established trail, there are still plenty of places where a misstep on shaky legs could result in a plummet to your death. Trekking poles came in handy! This section of trail passed next to the lower tongue of the Carbon Glacier and you could hear constant cracking sounds and rockfall along w/ the roaring of the glacial river. So cool! Then there was a long, wobbly suspension bridge (1 of 2 on the trail) over the river and just beyond was Carbon River camp.

My campsite felt like a little fairy house - 2 small earthen platforms at different levels nestled in between huge tree trunks. Fun! A backcountry ranger was staying at the site below - super nice guy w/ some tips for the next day. He checked my permit (a recurring theme - the NPS runs a tight ship on this trail). It rained that night and I did a crappy job w/ the tent pitch so I had major condensation issues - not uncommon w/ single wall tents. I packed up my sleeping bag to keep it dry then put on every piece of clothing I had. Stayed pretty warm, but not the best night's sleep.

Box Canyon -> White River; 3,930' elevation loss.

Checked in w/ rangers and was on the trail by 8:30AM. Cruised through the first 3,000' climb and enjoyed clear, sunny views of Rainier and Mt. Adams. I had some issues w/ the next 2,000' climb - significant enough to cause a major trailside puke episode which worried me a bit (very remote section of the park)...until about 10 sec. after when I promptly felt like a million bucks! So I immediately adjusted my eating for the duration of the hike and all was well. Exertion/altitude/fitness were prob all contributing factors. I breezed over the high subalpine areas, across the small snowfields, over rocky Panhandle Gap (high point on the WT) and down through huge forests to my 1st camp at White River.

BTW - right before my little stomach issue, I was crawling along at a snail's pace and was passed by a gal who said she was trying to complete the loop in under 30 hrs. Turns out this was Candice Burt and she did it, setting the FKT for an unsupported female on the WT. Just awesome! Not surprised - she looked amazing.

This is total time - didn't track moving time, but for the duration of the hike, only stopped for quick breathers, pics, chit-chat w/ hikers/rangers, bio breaks or to treat water (and quickly rinse gross stuff like previous days' socks). No extended stops during the day.

Wonderland hike Aug 29 - Sept 2! Felt intense guilt leaving my family again but better once I got on the plane. Pack weight w/ 2.5 days of food and 1.5l of water is around 19 pounds - super happy w/ that. Prepared for full-on rain, low temps in the 30s, and some glorious sunshine too. Hiking counterclockwise.

C • Excited for you! 3