From Wildfire to Burnt Toast: Adventures in Wonderland: Part Two, Day 2, 4.5 miles

View shortly after leaving Summerland Camp

"Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting. So go, get on your way!" - Dr. Seuss

Journal entry for day 2: 'Weird night! Woke up at 10:30 pm and could have sworn it was at least 5 in the morning. I'm really not used to going to bed early. Other than that I slept like a baby bear. Emily, on the other hand, swore she heard a herd of elk pass through our camp.'

Waking at 10:30 ended up being one of the greatest blessings of the hike. Lying there in the dark, I decided to open the flap on my side of the tent to see what the night sky looked like from up here on the mountains. (It didn't get dark on the mountain until after 9 pm and usually by this time we were sleeping). The sky was ablaze with stars like I'd never seen before! I stared at the sky in disbelief as I tried to reconcile how it could be so light and so dark all at once. The landscape was black but the sky lit up with so many millions of stars I felt like I was inside a globe and the stars were all around me. It was one of the many great moments on the mountain that made me feel so incredibly grateful to be a part of something much more grandiose than myself. It was a magical moment that I will never forget.

Rereading the above entry made me laugh at the memory. Upon waking, Emily asked if I heard the "elk" passing by our tent during the night. She said she saw the shadow of a elk/deer head fall upon the walls of our tent and that it sounded like a whole herd wandered through the camp. I told her I heard nothing and doubted I could sleep through a herd of large animals walking just a few feet from my head. After we emerged into the cold mountain air, however, we did see one set of deer prints in the soft dusty ground around our tent. To her credit, everything is more intense at night, especially in the wilderness.

Emily's morning view from the tent.

The view from our tent on the morning of Day 2 was something I wouldn't mind waking up to every morning. The sun was shining and our camp looked out over a vast expanse of mountains and river valleys. The air was crisp and cool. We didn't hurry as we knew we only had four and a half miles to hike that day. The warmth of our sleeping bags kept us in the tent for awhile after waking. Shortly, however, the thought of hot coffee helped us endure the thought of being exposed to the chilly outdoors. It was 8:22 a.m. when we left our camp.

The hike began easy and very enjoyable. We were surrounded by so many varieties of wildflowers; Indian Paintbrush, Lupine, American bistort and Avalanche lilies to name a few.

The stretch from Summerland to the site of our next camp, Indian Bar, presented us with arguably the most beautiful scenery and the most challenging terrain. Once we left camp we began a steady climb that took us above the tree line and into rocky, snowy territory where oftentimes the trail was barely visible. We had to search for stacks of rocks or red-painted rocks left by rangers to guide us in the right direction. At one point the previous days' footprints of other hikers in the snow was the only way of knowing we were on the Wonderland Trail. It felt as though we were climbing to the summit of Mount Rainier itself!

These pictures show various ways the trail was marked on the way to the Panhandle Gap. Rock stacks, red-painted rocks, footprints...and sometimes with no visible marker (as in the top picture) we had to make an educated guess.

The trail crossed through the Sarvent Glaciers, dotted on either side of the trail, and the Fryingpan Glacier was high above on the flanks of Rainier. We passed by a seasonal lake that was partially frozen. The water reflected the sky above and sparkled an icy turquoise. Up above we commented on a snowy overhang on a steep slope way ahead of us. We speculated about the possibility of someone walking on top of the ridge realizing that there was no support beneath the snow...the only way down a tumultuous slide down a seventy degree slope. The thought was a scary one, made even scarier upon the realization that that snowy overhang was the Panhandle Gap itself....the very place we were heading and the highest elevation on the entire Wonderland Trail. We hadn't seen anyone all morning and once again it felt like we were the only ones on the trail, so we had no one to confirm the fact that straight ahead (and seemingly straight up) was indeed the Wonderland Trail. Nonetheless, we trudged methodically over the snow fields one foot in front of the other as we began to climb higher and higher.

To our surprise, as we struggled to secure our footing in the hard, icy snow, suddenly there appeared two college-aged men in shorts and running shoes almost directly behind us. We were so concentrated on not slipping that we didn't even hear their approach. They seemed impatient at our slow pace and so I graciously allowed them past. This wasn't easy as the trail was so narrow and the down slope side of the path was just a slight misstep away from what could be a very dangerous fall. First they passed up Emily, then as they passed me and my bulky backpack it became a tricky, personal-space-invading, maneuver of trading places. I was glad when they were ahead because then I would simply have to step in their footsteps until I reached the top of Panhandle Gap. Or so I thought.

The two men, burden free, but lacking trekking poles, struggled with their footing and ended up asking me to go first. They figured ~~if I died trying then they wouldn't attempt it~~ with my hiking boots I might have an easier time stomping footholds in the icy snow. They eventually realized that it was more danger than their day hike was cut out for and they turned around to return to wherever they came from.

Emily followed as I stabbed my trekking pole into the snow, swirled it around a few times to make a decent hole in which to place my foot. I had to do this for each step I took and the whole endeavor took quite some time.

Emily on the "trail" to Panhandle Gap. Beyond her the two hikers who turned away unprepared for the danger.

With deep concentration and meticulous footing, we reached the top of Panhandle Gap. What an accomplishment this was for us! And what a reward! When we climbed over the top of the snow and made our way to the other side it was like we arrived at the first level of heaven. We could see two of the Cascade Range volcanoes, Mount Adams and Mount St. Helen's. While snow still blanketed the ground in patches, flowery meadows began to emerge and it was an instant change from the rocky, treeless distance we just covered. Our spirits soared and I couldn't refuse my souls urge to twirl among the wildflowers like Maria from the Sound of Music. They talk about a 'Rocky Mountain' high...well this was a rocky mountain and I felt like I was on top of the world.

The little is creature is there for scale but even he is a little bigger than we would have looked from this angle. The snowy overhang we were worried about is on the right side of the ridge.

Mt. Rainier summit from just before Panhandle Gap.

From the top of the Gap, the arrow indicates
the direction of the trail.

View from the top of Panhandle Gap, looking at Mt. Adams.

The weather was perfect at this point, but clouds were on the horizon. We left the gorgeous meadows and headed into some light alpine forest to begin our seemingly endless decent into Indian Bar. A park superintendent named this area in 1929. It was a sandbar where Native Americans frequently camped while hunting.

The long downhill trek into the Ohanepecosh Valley was rough on our knees, but we heard a group of hikers a short distance behind us and we were determined to get to the camp site before them so we could snag the coveted site #2 with the amazing views. The trail was a wide, rock and dirt path 'stairway' from which we could spot the Indian Bar shelter long before we reached the valley. The descent was so steep our legs quivered, our knees hurt and I actually fell not once, but twice. Thankfully, both times the only thing that got injured was my pride. Finally, the forest opened up to a huge meadow with a creek meandering through and a large rock river bed (bar). We paralleled the creek for a short way walking right next to the edge.

The wilderness camp at Indian Bar was found up and to the east on a hillside. Our campsite (#2) had unbelievable views of the meadow below and the glaciers above. We both fell in love with this place and decided we could happily stay here the remainder of the week. After setting up our tent (quickly, not like the first night) Emily and I walked down to a bridge with a thin wire handle that crossed over the raging Wauhaukaupauken (wow-HOW-cow-pow-ken) Falls. The waterfall looked like an angry white-water rafting park. From 1:30-5:30 we were the only people around. We enjoyed lunch in the sun atop a large warm rock as our tired feet hung in the cool water. We washed our clothes in the crystal clear stream and purified our water using my SteriPen Adventurer Opti Water Purifier.

Our amazing view from campsite #2

The roaring Wauhaukaupauken Falls

Indian Bar group shelter.

Emily making sure we have water
for the rest of the day.

With all that we had accomplished the day was still young and we had Paradise to ourselves. Even the "John" was in a picturesque location. I called it the 'Loo With a View'. It was, simply put, a toilet set in a box, set in the woods. That was it, no walls, no doors, but an unrivaled view!

The Sign

The Loo

The View

Around 3:30 I took a nap in the hot tent but I woke up shivering an hour and a half later. Emily and I shared a hot dinner of Chili Mac. Then, because it was Sunday, we said the Mass prayers that I printed onto a sheet of paper the night before we left. After we prayed the Rosary, Emily retired for the day.

I was determined to see a large group of either elk, deer or bears down in the meadow and so I sat outside the tent on a log and watched through my binoculars at the valley below. The only mammals I saw were another group of hikers who seemed to be taking their time getting water by the creek. Not ready to hit the sack, I put on a headlamp and headed down by the stream to see if I could intimidate the group to leave so the animals would feel safe to make their appearance. Apparently, I am not very scary and the people continued their lighthearted conversation as though I weren't there. I stood my ground, however, and set the sights of my binoculars on the rocky cliffs high above the valley floor on the opposite side from where I stood, pretending to be looking for something specific.

It was either sheer determination or a stroke of luck but through the lenses I saw something move. I focused in on one particular area and wah LAH! I spotted a single mountain goat grazing on a grassy patch of ground way, way, way high up on the cliffs. I tried to see it without the binoculars and could only make out a white dot, but with them I could see that it was eating and soon I saw two more!

We had been seeing signs of mountain goats all day; dung and fluffy tufts of hair. In one particular area I could smell the distinct smell of grazing animals and it was then I thought for sure we would see some, but we didn't. I watched the goats until dusk made it difficult to see, then I headed back to the tent and, satisfied, I crawled into my sleeping bag and fell fast asleep. The day that was short on mileage was anything but short on adventure!

Pictures from Day 2