Wonderland Trail Day 10: Sunrise to Summerland

For Day 10 on the Wonderland Trail, we returned to double-digit mileage after three short days. Our legs were well rested, and we were looking forward to seeing Summerland.

The trail begins by heading along the rum of the canyon, then turns and drops 2,000 feet in two miles to White River Campground. There is a backpacker’s camp here, but I wouldn’t choose to stay there. You’re surrounded by RVs. It took a little work to find our way through the maze of campers to pickup the trail on the other side of the campground.

The trail followed cairns to a log bridge crossing the White River that was looking a little dicey. Later in the day as the river level rises, this might not have been a safe option. The optional detour took you a mile down the road, but thankfully we were able to avoid that.

Once across the White River, the trail parallels the river down to the Frying Pan Creek Trailhead, roughly 6.25 miles in. We stopped for a break, and then started the climb.

The trail parallels Frying Pan Creek for about four miles, then crosses and begins a series of switchbacks up to Summerland.

Summerland is indeed stunning, and we were fortunate to have beautiful weather to enjoy it. Views, wildflowers, snowfields, babbling creeks–Summerland delivers on all counts.

We were also lucky to be assigned the group site here (it was designated on our permit). The group site is a three-sided stone shelter, which meant we didn’t need to pitch tents.

It also provided a great venue for an impromptu birthday bash for a fellow Wonderland Trail hiker from Las Vegas, Brian. A few other hikers that we had met along the way including Brad and his daughter and some nice ladies from Canada joined in and we shared a beer, some awesome homemade jerky and wished a fellow hiker happy birthday.

Sunrise to Summerland Trail Map and Elevation Profile

Download file: day-10-sunrise-to-summerland-81419-74857am(cleaned).gpx

Originally hiked on August 14, 2019 with Derek and Jason.

Back to Day 9  |  Continue to Day 11, Summerland to Indian Bar