For the past two years, my friend, Matt Powell, and I have been planning to hike the Wonderland Trail. Let me clarify. We haven’t been planning for two years, per se; we planned on hiking it two years ago; that fell through. Then, we planned on hiking it last year, and that fell through. Well, I think we’re finally going to do it. Date of departure is September 1^st. Matt has actually purchased his plane ticket to get him here to his old stomping grounds, so it looks like it will be a reality this time around. You know what they say about that third time. 

Matt is scheduled to arrive Tuesday, August 30^th, in the evening. Wednesday will be a full day, as we have several last-minute preparations.

First, we’ll go to the Wilderness Information Center at Longmire, just inside the Nisqually entrance to Mount Rainier National Park (located in its southwest corner) to set up our itinerary for the hike. There are 40 backcountry campsites inside the park (18 along the Wonderland Trail), some of which will have already been completely booked via reservations. We will work with a park employee at Longmire to figure out which sites are available along the trail during our two-week hike. We’ll need to be somewhat flexible, but shouldn’t have any trouble finding places to camp.

Next, we’ll leave some supplies at strategic locations around the park. Although it's possible to carry a two-week supply of food in a large backpack, it's also possible to re-supply at a couple spots around Mount Rainier. This makes for lighter backpacks, easier hiking, and a more enjoyable trip. We'll leave a 5-gallon bucket right there at Longmire which we will use for re-supply 4 or 5 days later. Then, we’ll proceed to Sunrise, on the east side of the park, and drop off another bucket of food, which will be our second and final re-supply on the hike.

Last, we’ll head back to Tacoma, pick up any last-minute items at REI, and go home and prepare our equipment, making sure to pack everything properly and not leave anything out. We’ll leave early the next morning for Mowich Lake, our jumping-off point.