Wonderland Wonderland

when you do the same thing twice, you'll probably learn the same lessons

Last year, I hiked the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier (and wrote about it here)

Wonderland

A year later - with a whole lot less planning, I decided to do it again. As with last year, skip the first section if you don’t care about the trip details.

The Hike

Friday, Sept. 13 (White River->Mystic Lake) - Left home early and arrived at White River Ranger station around 7:40am. Picked up almost the exact itinerary I wanted, parked my car, and took off hiking. Was surprised/disappointed at the dozen tourists at the top of Skyscraper Pass tromping all over the meadow for their picnic lunches, but I bit my lip and hiked on to Mystic Camp. I got there just in time to witness a helicopter evacuation, and then set up my tent while a fog rolled in.
12.2 miles, 4300 feet up, 3000 down

Saturday, Sept. 14 (Mystic-Mowich) - I zipped out of Mystic early for a big day. Cloud cover was low, so I decided to not take the spray park alt (I took this last year) and try the long way around. It was long and uneventful. I was supposed to hike to South Mowich, but the sky opened up with rain as soon as I got to the Mowich campground. I thought a moment about hiking 4 more miles in the rain, but since the campground was nearly empty, I set up my tent, quickly ate, and then dove under my quilt to dry off. Ranger came by an hour later to check permits - I explained the situation, and they were really nice about my self-reschedule.
13.8 miles, 3800 feet up, 4500 down

Sunday, Sept. 15 (Mowich->N. Puyallup) - Rain had stopped by the time I got up, so I shook off the tent and pushed on. Fortunately, it didn't rain all day, but as soon as I got to camp at North Puyallup, it started raining again. Same drill as the previous night. Got set up, ate, and dove inside. It was wet, but fine.
15.3 miles, 3300 feet up, 4500 down

Monday, Sept. 16 (NP->Pyramid Creek) - Rain had stopped by morning, and the sun was out at noon, so I rotated various things to the top of my pack to dry a bit throughout the day. This was a big elevation day, and my legs felt it. For the first time on trail, I had time to sit in camp for a while rather than dive into a tent to avoid getting wet.
15.7 miles, 5500 feet up, 5500 down

Tuesday, Sept. 17 (PC->Maple Creek) - Coasted into Longmire and ate a HUGE breakfast at the lodge. It felt great to eat "real" food and drink hot brewed coffee. Took off for the remainder of the day just after 10:00am. As expected, a lot of tourists in this section. My left hip was hurting a bit, but vitamin I helped. There is a re-route on the trail to get around ~50 feet of washed out trail. On one hand, the reroute is an amazing amount of work from our trail workers, and full respect to them. OTOH, I freaking hated it. I don't know what the long term plan is for this section, but hopefully it gets a bit better in the future.
14.2 miles 3000 feet up, 4000 down

Wednesday, Sept. 18 (MC->Indian Bar) - shorter mileage day, but the climb was never-ending. Saw a mountain goat on the way down doing his thing. Got to camp around 2:30, and claimed the best campsite on the trail as the clouds were lifting for a view. Had a lot of time to hang out and rest and admire the view. The full moon was so bright that I felt like someone was shining a flashlight on my tent all night.
10.4 miles, 4300 feet up, 2000 down

Thursday, Sept, 19 (IB-White River) - started the day with "the big climb" - I'm not sure if going up or down the constant stair case is worse, but as much as it hurt, I still think I prefer up. Skies were clear, and it was an absolutely perfect day for that part of the hike. Had breakfast at Summerland, and then booked it out to the end of the trail - as nice of a trail as that section is, I still passed two sets of crews making it even better. Got to the parking lot around 2:00pm, and then hung out there trying to get into my car with a dead battery for the next 6 hours. Eventually got a ride out, but will still need to get my car towed. A bit of a bummer end to a fantastic trip.
11.7 miles, 2800 feet up, 3500 down

Lessons Learned

As I hinted above, I learned a lot of the same things I learned the last time I did this trail, but I’ll share my 2024 observations.

Routine and Limits

The biggest takeaway (and my favorite part) from hikes like this is the routine. Every morning, I woke up, packed, and walked. Once I got to camp, I did my camp chores. I got the tent set up, unpacked everything else, cooked and ate dinner, brushed my teeth, hung my bear bag, and went to bed. It was a consistent routine (sometimes rushed by rain), and a routine with limits. Stuff had to get done, but it was a list limited by what was in my backpack.

Consistent routines work well for everyone - but we all forget this a lot. ToDoist helps me with this to some extent, but I thought a lot about where I would like add more routine to my non-hiking life. I also thought a lot about what I can do to limit the number of things I have to do. I think a lot of us take on too much and end up doing ok at a lot of things instead of doing really well at a few things.

Adaptability

I showed up at the Ranger station without a permit (all campsites need a permit in Mount Rainier National Park). I got lucky and got the permit I wanted, but I was prepared for changes depending on what was available. I also adapted to the rain, mileage, and campsite availability to call a long day short and change my campsite on Saturday. It was the right choice for safety, and knew I could still make it to my Sunday campsite on time.

Adaptability is critical for knowledge work. We make plans (formal or informal), we execute against those plans, and when we get new information, we have to adapt and change course as needed. Paying attention to external factors and weighing options frequently is necessary for consistent forward progress. I know people who really struggle with adversity and change - and as you’d expect, they struggle in the world of knowledge work as well.

Resilience

As quickly as weather changes in the Pacific Northwest, it changes even more frequently around Mount Rainier. I had two nights where rainstorms beat like a drum against my single walled tent. I had damp clothes and equipment making my pack heavier than expected, and overall, a lot of reasons to bail early. But you don’t hike in this area without expecting some adverse weather. Wet things will dry out, and the miles go away even if it’s just one step at a time.

As leaders, we often face long, difficult challenges that require staying resilient and maintaining focus despite setbacks or obstacles. Embracing tough moments rather than avoiding them is an important part of growth.

Self-Reflection

This post wouldn’t exist without self-reflection. Long climbs are a great time to let the legs do their thing while letting the brain go into deep thinking mode. This is the Anti-Flow I talked about in last year’s post.

I consistently take time for deep(er?) thinking, but realized that I rarely get to anti-flow levels of thinking. I probably can’t do 10+ mile hikes every day, but I wonder if a few miles on the treadmill without screens would be good for my creativity and mental acuity. As weird as it sounds, I need to think more about thinking.

Completing the Loop

My favorite part of hiking loop trails is that, even though you finish right where you began, you’re not the same as when you left. The miles, the challenges, and the thinking change you. Every step is something new. According to my iPhone, I took over 275k steps, so that’s a whole lot of new.

Whether it's navigating life’s obstacles, adapting to unexpected changes, or finding moments of reflection amidst the chaos of daily life, completing the loop is less about the finish line and more about the journey—and how we grow through it.

As I wrap up this year’s adventure, I’m reminded that completing the loop isn't an end—it's just the beginning of what comes next.

-A