Wonderland Gear Checklist
The Wonderland Trail circles Mount Rainier in about 93 miles with roughly 23,000 feet of climbing, and the people who wrote about it split into two camps: fast four-day hikers with tiny packs and ten-day hikers who mail food ahead. Everyone agrees on what matters here. You hang food on the bear poles at the 18 camps, you plan for glacier-silt water and wet weather, and you check snow and bug reports for your month before choosing between microspikes, a head net or neither.
What shapes your gear on Wonderland Trail
- Distance and time
- About 93 miles with roughly 23,000 feet of elevation gain. CleverHiker says most people take about 10 days, while a 2023 report covered it in four days and called 4.5 or 5 days the ideal.
From CleverHiker and Washington Trails Association
- Camps
- Whole-trail hikers may camp only in designated camps, never in the cross-country zones. Each camp has marked sites, a primitive toilet, bear poles for food and garbage, and a water source nearby.
From Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations and CleverHiker
- Party size and season
- Summer, defined as May 15 to September 30, limits parties to 5 people at trailside camps. Winter parties may be up to 12.
From Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations
- Water
- A 2023 August hiker never needed more than 1 liter of carrying capacity, but ran into dry ground from Indian Bar through to Nickel Creek and a nearly dry South Puyallup camp. The park says to boil or treat all water.
From Washington Trails Association and Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations
- Snow window
- Snow can sit on the high stretches into summer, and Reddit posters planning late June and early July starts worry about Panhandle Gap. The August 2023 report found only minor snow at Panhandle Gap and Spray Park.
From Washington Trails Association, Reddit r/backpacking: Wonderland Trail July 4-10 gear shakedown request and Reddit r/backpacking: Backpacking the Wonderland Trail June 25th - July 4th. Too Early?
- Walk-up permits
- The park issues walk-up wilderness permits year-round for a $6 non-refundable fee, and advance reservations for June to September go through Recreation.gov.
From Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Camping at Mount Rainier National Park
What the agency requires on Wonderland Trail
A wilderness permit and the camp named on it
Anyone camping in the backcountry needs a wilderness permit and may camp only at the site named on it for that night. The park lists the camps and zones on its wilderness zone map.
From Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations
Hang your food and everything with a scent
The park says to hang food, and to put toothpaste, deodorant and trash with it. In some sub-alpine areas without tall trees, it highly recommends a bear-proof canister.
From Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Camping at Mount Rainier National Park and Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations
Treat all water, and no wood fires
The park wants all water boiled or otherwise treated. Wood fires are banned, but white gas, iso-butane cartridge and alcohol stoves are allowed. Stoves that burn twigs or cones are not.
From Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations
The park's 10 essentials
The park's list includes map, compass and GPS, sun protection, extra warm clothing and rain gear, a light with extra batteries, first aid, fire starter, a repair kit, extra food, extra water and an emergency shelter.
From Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations
What hikers carry on Wonderland Trail
A waterproof sack for the bear pole
Camps have poles, not boxes, so CleverHiker says to bring a waterproof sack for food and hang it at night along with garbage and scented items such as sunscreen and bug spray.
From CleverHiker and Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations
A real rain shell and rain mitts
A hiker in a 2017 gear-list thread pushed back on a plan that had only a light wind jacket and an umbrella. They said that in windy rain over Panhandle Gap they would have been miserable, and wished they had rain mitts. One older trip had a jacket and a pack cover that both leaked, and the writers tell people to test waterproof gear before leaving.
From Backpacking Light forum and Aaron and Doug's Wonderland trip page
A filter with a pre-filter for glacier silt
Glacier-fed rivers are full of ground rock that clogs filters. One pair's second filter clogged mid-trip and coffee filters on the intake hose helped. CleverHiker also tells hikers to pack a lightweight filter, and the older trip says a filter you can clean in the field is worth having.
A sleep system for lows near 40 degrees
One August hiker found nights in the low 40s and felt chilly most of them in a light summer bag. A 2000s trip chose a synthetic bag because it stays warm when wet, which matters in such a rainy place.
From Backpacking Light forum and Aaron and Doug's Wonderland trip page
A ground sheet for the volcanic dirt
A hiker says the sandy volcanic soil clung to a damp tent and made it filthy in days. Another poster says a tent with a bathtub floor helps when your assigned site is a puddle.
Bug protection matched to the month
CleverHiker treats clothing with permethrin and uses a small amount of picaridin on skin. A Reddit commenter says Devil's Dream camp had awful mosquitoes and uses a repellent device. The August 2023 report found few bugs and left the head net in the pack.
Reports conflict because bug seasons vary year to year. A forum poster says a bad year can have 20 times the bugs of a good one.
From CleverHiker, Reddit r/backpacking: Wonderland Trail July 4-10 gear shakedown request, Washington Trails Association and Backpacking Light forum
Microspikes only for an early or snowy trip
A Reddit commenter said an early July trip over Panhandle Gap might call for microspikes and even an ice axe. The August 2023 hiker needed neither poles nor traction. Another Reddit commenter said the real snow problem is finding the trail, so load GPS waypoints and skip the ice axe.
From Reddit r/backpacking: Wonderland Trail July 4-10 gear shakedown request, Washington Trails Association and Reddit r/backpacking: Backpacking the Wonderland Trail June 25th - July 4th. Too Early?
Food drops or a real resupply plan
CleverHiker says most hikers on the ten-day plan arrange one or two food caches, in hard plastic containers with detailed labels. An older trip mailed two boxes to each of two ranger stations, and one of the boxes had gone missing by the time they arrived.
A guidebook, a paper map and a spare dinner
An older trip carried a Trails Illustrated map and a guidebook, and warns that the guidebook's elevation figures are not exact. They always kept a spare dinner in the pack.
5 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Wonderland Trail
Sneakers for the whole loop
One hiker's ankles hurt for the second half of the trip in sneakers, and they regretted the choice for a trail this long. Their partner's waterproofed leather boots still let water in through cracks.
Too much fuel
Two hikers tested their stove at home and found that 22 ounces served two people for eleven days, yet they carried 44 ounces and ended up with far too much.
A 45 to 55 pound pack
One partner's pack was far heavier than the other's because of extra food and clothing. They dumped a large amount of extra food at a ranger station along the way.
A full enclosed shelter in a dry August
A 2023 hiker said a tarp would have been enough, cowboy-camped on clear nights, and did not use a head net.
A pace of 18 miles a day
A forum poster says an 18-plus mile day on this trail hurt a knee late in the loop. They also say the climbs are big enough that three extra miles can mean thousands of feet of extra gain.
Gear questions for Wonderland Trail
Do you need a bear canister on the Wonderland Trail?
The established camps have bear poles for hanging food, so most hikers hang it. The park highly recommends a canister in some sub-alpine areas without tall trees. CleverHiker also says canisters are accepted.
From Mount Rainier National Park (NPS): Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations and CleverHiker
Do you need microspikes for the Wonderland Trail?
It depends on the month. A hiker in August 2023 needed no traction at all, while hikers planning for late June and early July talk about snow at Panhandle Gap. Check current trail conditions with the park.
From Washington Trails Association, Reddit r/backpacking: Wonderland Trail July 4-10 gear shakedown request and Reddit r/backpacking: Backpacking the Wonderland Trail June 25th - July 4th. Too Early?
How much water should you carry on the Wonderland Trail?
One 2023 hiker never needed more than 1 liter of capacity, and CleverHiker suggests about a liter per 6 miles or two hours. Plan for a waterless stretch from Indian Bar to Nickel Creek.
From Washington Trails Association and CleverHiker
Do you need to mail food drops for the Wonderland Trail?
Most ten-day hikers plan one or two caches. Four-day hikers carry everything, as one 2023 report did.
From CleverHiker and Washington Trails Association
Sources
- Wilderness Guidelines And Regulations · Mount Rainier National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Wilderness Camping at Mount Rainier National Park · Mount Rainier National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Wonderland Trail trip report, August 9, 2023 · Washington Trails Association · Trip report
- Wonderland Trail: Our Gear · Aaron and Doug's Wonderland trip page · Trip report
- August 2017 Wonderland Trail trip: Gear list help · Backpacking Light forum · Forum thread
- Wonderland Trail backpacking quick guide · CleverHiker · Blog
- Wonderland Trail July 4-10 gear shakedown request · Reddit r/backpacking, u/BarnabyWoods · Reddit thread
- Backpacking the Wonderland Trail June 25th - July 4th. Too Early? · Reddit r/backpacking · Reddit thread