Ron’s Hike for Discovery Weblog

Words and photos by an amateur writer/photographer are not adequate to describe the immense natural beauty and splendor that I experienced this past weekend on the Wonderland Trail. They do not capture the feel of the wind, the smell of the forest, the sounds of the back country, and the spiritual energy that radiates from all around you in a setting so far removed from every day life that it’s almost like being on another planet! The Hike for Discovery leaders who chose this trail for our big hike absolutely got it right. This was the perfect hike on the perfect weekend.

After arriving at the White River Campground Friday afternoon and setting up camp, we all took a short walk before dinner to the White River to gaze up at the now so close Mt. Rainier, lit by the setting sun, and brushed by wispy clouds. I could feel the enthusiasm and excitement for tomorrow’s hike building as we all realized that the weekend we had been working for had finally arrived. I stood on the log bridge over the river watching the water rush down a near empty wide river bed. Well, nearly empty of water but filled with boulders and debris brought down from the mountain over hundreds of years. Fed by the Emmons Glacier – the largest glacier in the contiguous United States – the White River truly is white. A quick dip of my hand found that it is also icy cold!

Our return back to camp led us straight to a fantastic spaghetti dinner (yes, they served rice noodles for us gluten-free types) and a wonderful time of inspiration around the campfire. We made “prayer flags” to hang on a line across the camp. Written on the flags are the names of those we have been hiking for this summer – for me it was my brother-in-law Ken, my uncle Jay, my friend Chris, and my on-line pal Brandi. I’ve had ribbons with their names (among others) on my pack, but it brought it all home to see their names on these flags. The evening ended with several moving talks by Christine (the wife of one of our guides) who is a cancer survivor; Kim, one of our fellow hikers who is also a cancer survivor and owes her life to new drug treatments paid for by money raised by Hike for Discovery hikers in years past; and finally by Diane, who’s son Dylan is our official honored hiker. Dylan is battling leukemia, and was in camp with us this weekend along with his two brothers. The evening was a good reminder of why we’ve been doing this, and that as much fun as the hiking is, there is a greater purpose for what we are doing. Becky closed out the evening by announcing the hike teams, where we’d be hiking, and what time we were scheduled to leave in the morning. We had four teams, each with seven to ten people, grouped together based on hiking ability and how far we had chosen to hike. One team hiked six miles in to Summerland, two teams leaving at different times hiked the 7.5 miles in to Panhandle Gap, and my team hiked the full 11 miles to Indian Bar. Being as we had the furthest distance to go, my team was assigned the first departure time of 6:00 AM sharp! So it was off to bed immediately after that to get well rested for the upcoming adventure.

My alarm went off at 5:00, but truthfully I’d been awake since 4:00 eagerly anticipating the start of the hike. It was worse than the night before Christmas! A quick breakfast of gluten-free waffles with peanut butter and jelly, a check that everything was packed, a cup of coffee in my hands, and I was ready to go! Our guide Emily joined me, Jill, Nancy, Dave, Allison, Aimee, and Rebecca beneath a sky full of brilliant stars and a rapidly approaching sunrise, and we headed out.

A mile into the hike I realized that the long johns and long sleeve shirt I’d put on as a base layer in camp was going to be way too hot on the trail. Others in the group had similar issues, so we all stopped to “de-layer” ourselves. I got down to just shorts and my yellow polyester hiking shirt and was ready once again to go. The first few miles were pretty easy hiking through old growth forest around the east end of Goat Island Mountain then west up the mountain along Fryingpan Creek. We heard we might see bears but they must have not gotten the memo. Eventually Mt. Rainier came into view just as we crossed the creek and headed up a series of steep switchbacks to arrive at Summerland – a large meadow at 5900 feet with fantastic views of Goat Island Mountian, the Emmons Glacier, Little Tahoma, and the Rainier Summit.

After a short break, we headed on up the trail toward Panhandle Gap, a windy pass at 6750 feet and the highest point on the entire 93 mile Wonderland Trail. The trail crosses through rocky moraine, and being as it was mostly above the tree line it was easy to imagine we were on the moon. We passed a couple of small lakes formed by the melting snows of Fryingpan Glacier, and where herds of mountain goats can often be seen. We saw none so I guess they didn’t get the memo either, although maybe they just got it late because we later heard that other hiking groups behind us saw some. Once on the Gap however, any disappointment about not seeing any mountain goats was quickly forgotten. What views!! Each direction has it’s own unique panorama to revel in. To the west, and behind the peak of Little Tahoma, is the bright north face of Mt. Rainier highlighted by the icy sheen of the Emmons Glacier; to the north, the broad forests and meadows on Goat Island Mountain; to the east, the rocky crags of the Cowlitz Chimneys; and to the south, the Tatoosh Range, Mt. Adams, and even Mt. Hood way down in Oregon! We ate “first lunch” at about 10:30 and savored the quiet solitude and feeling of almost being on top of the world. However, with 7.5 miles down and 14.4 to go before dinner time, we couldn’t sit and just soak in the sights, although it was very tempting.

The trail continued south through Ohanapecosh Park which is almost more desolate and barren than the trail from Summerland to Panhandle Gap, although strangely beautiful. Some might not think rocky moraines, wind blown ripples on melting snow fields, piles of black shale rock hundreds of feet high, deep gorges carved by streams thousands of years old are beautiful, but I do. Mix in lots of wildflowers that you don’t see at lower elevations, gnarly evergreens stunted by the thin air, the soulful whistles of marmots, and the whisper of high mountain winds, and it makes for an experience unlike any I’ve ever had.

The last mile and a half of the trail to Indian Bar winds down almost 1500 feet through meadow and forest to the Ohanapecosh River and the shelter at Indian Bar. We met a couple of other groups of hikers at the shelter who had been out on the trail for a couple of weeks. After “second lunch” at 12:30 and a trip up the hill to an outdoor toilet with the best view in the world, we prepared for the return hike that lay ahead of us and the 1500 feet heading the other direction – up! I have to be honest – the climb out of Indian Bar was very tough and a real physical test. The amazing scenery and concentrating on deep breathing (not a problem!) helped take the mind off the pain however. Soon we were back on more level ground crossing back across Ohanapecosh Park, Panhandle Gap, Summerland, and eventually back to camp in time for dinner.

Here are a few of the 100+ pictures I took. (Note – clicking on a picture will open it, and clicking on it again once or twice more will enlarge it.)

During Saturday night’s celebration dinner, we got the great news that our group had raised over $105,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Woo hoo!!! Our goal was $99,999 so we blew right past that thanks to all of you generous people. I know I’ve said it many times before, but your generosity and willingness to give when asked has touched me deeply and I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart. When you give a gift like this, you never know who’s life it will touch and if it really makes a difference. It does. I’ve heard it from many who benefit from what these funds provide, and to a person they say that it means hope and another chance for a healthy, normal life. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Thank you again for participating with me in this extraordinary journey, for your gifts and your support. Thanks for “paying it forward” and may God bless you richly.

Happy trails!

Ron