I think of this hike as something I had to go back and “repair.” I'm planning on doing the Wonderland 3 times this year to bring my total to 40 at age 70. That way I can tick off one per year as I march on towards 80 Y/O and aim for a total of 50x. These yearly jaunts on the Wonderland are one of the goals that keep me moving. As usual I planned on a 3 day trip, probably 'cause I'm just used to it. 3 days logistically are much easier, as I can always get a walk up permit and target days with good weather, plus 3 days of food is very manageable. However, I have to admit, on day two this year as I was climbing to Spray Park I was thinking to myself WTF am I doing. But at the same time the weather was pristine and the flower show was non stop in the alpine, so it was a mixed bag of suffering and reveling. But let’s backtrack a bit. I have been using Inov8 shoes for over 11 years. I can always buy a size 11.5 off the shelf and be assured of a good fit. But recently it's been harder to find them on sale so I deviated this year and bought a pair of La Sportiva trail runners, as they have a narrow last for my narrow feet. I put 100 miles on them hiking in Switzerland and Rainier, including one 26 mile day, and things seemed dialed in. BUT, these days were long and lots continuous foot flexing adjusting to varying terrain.

Day 1: Longmire to White River CCW (33 miles/8800' elevation) This day went as planned, covering the east side of the park with a splendid trip over Ohanapecosh Park and Panhandle Gap. I had company for a while with 3 ultra runners who were doing the Aspire supported thing. We kept pace with each other in Ohanapecosh and Panhandle Gap, and I stopped with Mike to film him taking a dip off an "ice berg" in the Green Tarn. After that he turned on the burners and dropped me to catch up with his other partners, so I enjoyed quiet solitude in Summerland and all the way to White River, only having to use my headlamp for the last hour or so. When I arrived at White River I saw Mike at the Aspire site, and while chatting the Aspire guys offered up beer and chips. That was an unexpected treat for sure. I settled down in my very minimal sleep system (Borah Gear bivy/NeoAir NXT short pad/Timmermade custom Alpha Direct overquilt: 24 ozs total) and got decent sleep, waking up around 5:30 and back on my feet by 6.

Day 2: White River to Mowich Lake (26 miles/8200' elevation) Sometime during this day I started to notice my outside heels talking smack. When I inspected the feet, there was only callus there. Onward. At some point between Mystic Lake and the Carbon Glacier, I ran into Rita who recognized me from YouTube. She was also doing a 3 day trip going opposite direction, CW, and we had a nice chat. She asked if I was going over Spray Park and I said that if I hit the bridge before 5 PM, then I'd do it, assuring I had plenty of light. As it turned out I was at the bridge by 4, so set off on the climb. By now it was becoming obvious that my heels had a problem and upon closer inspection I knew that I was developing blisters under the callus. Turns out my shoes were just a bit too stiff, and contorting over roots and rocks over two days of practically constant movement for 16 hours a day; well, by then it was too late to do anything about it except slow down and try to be very cognizant of foot placement. I was dealing with the PITA of babying my feet and at the same time soaking in the glorious late afternoon sun backlighting every species of wildflower one can imagine. It was especially cool to see large patches of Avalanche Lilies sprouting where snow had obviously been just maybe a week before. Speaking of which, there was some snow to contend with but very normal for this time of year. I slowly limped into Mowich Lake around 10 PM and set up my system. Mowich can be on the raw side and I had to make some adjustments to my sleep system, feeling cold moist air on my back when side sleeping. I draped an original 3 oz zpacks tarp over the left side of my bivy to block the air and also donned a silpoly rain pullover, and this seemed to block most of the chilly intrusion so I could get some consistent sleep. I woke up and saw no stars in the sky, telling me that predawn was here so I packed up at 4:30 AM and was on the trail by 5.

Day 3: Mowich Lake to Longmire (36 miles/6200' elevation) This was a tough day dealing with my feet, and my pace had slowed somewhat. However, there were long stretches of trail that allowed even foot placement so my suffer meter was lower range. The descent to the Mowich Rivers (pretty much unchanged from last year) and nice steady grade up to Golden Lakes went well. The bugs had not been bad and the climbing was mostly shaded. The North Puyallup was aroaring and the climb to Klapatche Park was overgrown. I was glad to see Aurora Lake still full, as my usual transits later in the summer see no lake to speak of. When I arrived at St. Andrews Lake I had a good foot soak, and a couple who I had seen off and on most of the day offered me some Leukotape (gotta get me some), which is slightly slippery on the outside and very sticky so stays put (unlike moleskin). By now I could see the blisters poking through the callus so the tape over a padded bandaid gave me a great deal of relief. I was also thinking of an alternate plan; exiting the Wonderland at the South Puyallup camp to the West Side Road, then walking the road to the main drag. Although I was at the South Puyallup junction with plenty of time to have daylight over Emerald Ridge, I was concerned about the final outcome on my feet having to do so many more hours over rocky, rooty terrain. The road would allow normal foot placement and then it is just a matter of self extricating and walking out. When I hit the main road it was past 11 PM and only two cars passed me as I walked towards Longmire; can't say I blame them for not stopping. Around 1:30 AM a car approached from the opposite direction, and it turned out to be Rita, who had just finished her CW 3 day loop and was heading home. She slowed down and said hi ("It's Rita!"), turned around and saved me a few miles of road walking. Rita is an angel.

* Forward a few weeks to August 13. In good conscience I couldn’t count #38 truly done until I actually hiked that last bit of trail from So. Puyallup to Longmire. I parked at Longmire and set off at 8:30 AM, biked to the parking area on the West Side Road, then walked the road to Round Pass, then hiked the Round Pass Trail to the So. Puyallup River Trail and the intersection with the Wonderland. I guess you could consider this extra mileage to get there (8.5 miles biking/6.5 miles hiking) a downside, but the upside was I could do this whole remaining section to Longmire in daylight, good for video and photos! I carried my full frame S9 since it was only a day hike. It stayed cool the entire day and even blustery, but the breeze felt great and the sweat factor was near zero. Bonus, flowers were still hanging in there. I ambled into Longmire at 6:30 PM with plenty of time to shower in the van and have dinner at the Inn.

*Tahoma Glacier, on the climb to Emerald Ridge*

This extra make-up-bit compressed my time between hikes, so next week I will embark on WT #39. Let’s hope the old legs will scream a little less this time around. Video will be forthcoming. Happy Hiking!