Backpacking the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park is a great way to test the thru-hiking waters to see if it’s for you. Joan and I visited Mount Rainier National Park for the first time in 2018, as we were scouting trails for the Pacific Northwest Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge. We were awestruck by this majestic mountain. The 14,411 foot active stratovolcano is so massive that it creates its own weather systems. I knew I’d be back.
The Wonderland Trail is a 93-mile trail that loops completely around Mount Rainier. You might assume that it’s easier because it’s going around a mountain rather than over mountain crests. You would be wrong. The Wonderland Trail climbs and falls 23,000 feet over those 93 miles. You are constantly either going up or going down.