I did not remember how i decided to hike the wonderland trail! I guess right after I did the John Muir Trail (https://jmt.netdan.net) in August of 2018, i was looking for other epic thru-hikes around the world to add to my long (getting longer!) bucket list. Wonderland Trail seems to be short and can be done in less a week and also gave me a chance to visit my niece in Seattle. So i applied and lo and behold I got the permit to hike early in September for six days. I picked six days since I did enjoy John Muir trail in 14 days. Since Wonderland Trail is less than half the distance and half elevation gain so i can enjoy the hike in six days without worrying food cache and logistics transportation issues.

Training: I do run and walk a lot and I really enjoy hike so training for Wonderland Trail is not an issue for me. However I do concern about steep ascend and descend that people were warning about. Since living in Southern California, finding a 10,000 ft peak to hike is not that hard. I picked Mtn Baldy is my training peak. There are many trails to hike up to Mtn Baldy, i decided to go with Bear Canyon route! It is roughly 6000ft/6 miles up to Baldy summit. I hiked as fast as i could and I did this route 5 times in multiple weekends. This kind of training really paid off! I was in the zone during my six days thru-hike. I guessed the beautiful scenery surround Mtn Rainier gave me the energy that I needed to enjoy every steps of my hike!

Lucky Mojo! The park ranger told me i had a good mojo! My most concern about the Wonderland Trail is rain! Mtn Rainier makes its own weather and the chance of rain is high. I had almost the perfect weather for early September. After my fourth day, I wished that I would experience "some rain" and my prayer was answered on the fifth day. It rained about an hour in the morning. It was enough for me to see if my hiking gears that I prepared for raining day would work!

Wonderland Trail is a very special wonderful place. I really enjoyed meeting/talking to many wonderful people along the trail. Even after 93 miles, i did not want to end. I know one day I will come back....

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Here are a few of my favorite photos: