Tag: backpacking

Berkeley Camp to Yellowstone Cliffs

Just one overnight put us on a much less traveled part of the park. The farther we got from Sunrise the fewer other hikers we saw, and while we shared our camp with 2 other groups our first night, we would have Yellowstone Cliffs to ourselves. Our trip was going counterclockwise and most people do the route clockwise. This meant that we didn’t have the experience of traveling alongside a similarly-paced group for multiple days.

More wildflowers, including avalanche lilies which we did not see in other parts of the park. There were more tadpoles than I expected in some of these mountain pools, I suppose I thought it would be too cold for them, but where the water was shallow they were full of tadpoles.

North of Berkeley Camp there was a huge open field with a trail that branched off to another destination (perhaps we will go back one day). This area reminded me of Valles Caldera in New Mexico.

This area had a many tiny waterfalls and jagged peaks, even when we couldn’t see Rainier itself.

We got to this viewpoint and realized we had to climb ALL THE WAY down to that river, then all the way back up the mountain on the other side. Who booked this itinerary anyway? Oh yeah – that was me.

We weren’t 100% alone at Yellowstone Cliffs. When we arrived there was a mama bear and her cub nosing around between the campsite and the pit toilet. We talked loudly to each other until she moved on. I didn’t get a photo of the baby, but I did get a pretty good one of mama.

(edit) My notes from the trail:
Left Berkeley @7AM and hiked to Grand Park – reminded me of Valle Grande + why are there no trees here? 2nd Breakfast. Hiked down into the Abyss for elevenses. Note that I am Sam, S is Pippin, K is Frodo, R is Merry. We want to watch LoTR when we get back. Crossed a scary log before the bridge (also scary), then hiked uphill forever. 11+ miles and over 3k feet.
S thinks Little Tahoma looks like a moving castle that has remained still too long. At WIndy Gap – beautiful streams and a lake where we rested. Yellowstone cliffs are amazing. Bears and deer in campsite. Arrived 6pm. Tomorrow we Split The Party. Saw frogs, deer, bears, salamander.

White River to Berkeley Camp Aug 8

Back in August I had the chance to check something off my bucket list – I don’t really have a bucket list but this trek was definitely a goal. There are so many epic hikes in Washington and every year I apply for permits to at least a few with the understanding that most of them won’t pan out. This year I won a slot to book an early itinerary on the Wonderland Trail. For those who don’t know, the Wonderland is a 93 mile trail that circumnavigates Mount Rainier. It is not a climbing permit and I did not summit Rainier. Winning the lottery didn’t actually guarantee I could do the whole trail either, at the time I tried to sign up I was only able to book reservations for the ‘northern loop’ but I spoke with my 3 hiking partners and we decided that I would go down to the ranger station the day before and try to switch our permit to a whole loop. This was a bit of a gamble but it paid off! We were able to get all our desired sites plus our final days camp at the coveted “Summerland” campsite and complete the full loop. We spent that night at the drive-up campsite at White River and on the morning of August 8, set out on our journey. Our hiking group was me, my daughter S, a local friend K, and her good hiking buddy from out of state R. My daughter and I shared a tent but the other two each brought their own.

The day started off with a steep uphill from White River to Sunrise, followed by some rolling terrain along the Wonderland, then diverting north onto the “Northern Loop”. For those playing along at home – yes this means we wound up doing more than 93 miles of the regular Wonderland, we did the “super wonderland.” In the meadows below Sunrise we saw our first bear browsing around and minding his own business about 50 feet off the trail.

Bugs were bad at Berkeley. I’m still not sure if some locations were buggier than others, or if some days weather conditions promoted more bugs than others. There were so many wildflowers! I no longer have exact mileage for each day but most days were between 10 and 11 miles, with our shortest day being just under 8 and our longest day being about 12 miles with between 2000 to 3000 feet of elevation gain. This was a shorter day so we’d have an easier one when we set out.

(edit) My actual notes from the trail:
On the trail by 730AM. Up the big hill. Met 3 girls who recognized R from another long distance hike. 2nd Breakfast at Sunrise. Saw a Bear, ground squirrels, a frog, butterflies. Lots of mosquitos and flies. Reached Berkeley @2pm, So many Wildflowers. Passed a creek that went underground.