Wonderland trail, July 16-19

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rick and I at Longmire. We didn't start up the trail until 6PM. The building behind us, built of logs and river boulders, is a National Historic Landmark.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Kautz Creek, 2 miles up the trail from Longmire, experienced a large "jokulhlaup" or glacial outburst flood in 1947 and several smaller floods since, which explains the small stream in the very large channel.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Devil's Dream creek at sunset. We meant to stop at Pyramid Creek but missed it so ended up climbing an additional 1200' and didn't make camp until dusk.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Devil's Dream camp the next morning. At nearly 5000', it was a little chilly for my flip-flops.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Avalanche Lily, very common along the trail.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Splintered snag in camp

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Snow crater melted out around a snag below Indian Henry's Hunting Ground

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Approaching Indian Henry's Hunting Ground. Snow would normally be gone here by now but a cool wet spring delayed the snowmelt.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Ranger cabin at Indian Henry's Hunting Ground. Though nice, this area wasn't as scenic as I'd been led to believe. Perhaps the scenery was still partly buried under the snow.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Avalanche Lily among Glacier Lilies. Both flower in meadows soon after the snowbanks recede but the white Avalanche Lily also frequents forest.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Waterfall below Indian Henry's Hunting Ground

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Mule Deer fawn in the trail. Mother leapt out of the trail then waited while her little one checked us out.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rick crossing the suspension bridge high over Tahoma Creek. On my third try I made it all the way across the flexible bridge without once grasping the hand cables.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Suspension bridge from the trail heading up to Emerald Ridge

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rest stop below Emerald Ridge. Both of us felt fatigued on our second day out and we were only able to make the first 6 of our intended 12 miles.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Hover flies hovering over a Beargrass flower head. Though colored like yellowjackets, these nectar-sipping flies are actually very friendly.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rick settling down to rest down to visit with a man and his daughter after a tough climb up to Emerald Ridge. It was Saturday and we saw a fair number of day hikers at the Tahoma Creek suspension bridge and above it on Emerald Ridge.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Lateral moraines on Emerald Ridge. Over the past couple of decades the glacier has receded but the moraines remain. The one in the foreground is recent but the meadow slope in the background is also a moraine which is probably several hundred years old.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Red mountain heath on ledges above Emerald Ridge. I took a little side trip while Rick took a nap.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Looking up to the Tahoma glacier and Point Success on Mount Rainier from Emerald Ridge.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rick on the trail down to South Puyallup camp from Emerald Ridge. This long descent was difficult due to lots of loose rocks underfoot.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Our campsite at South Puyallup camp. Five out of six sites were vacant when we arrived at 6PM but by dark, all were filled.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Columnar andesite in a 100' cliff below South Puyallup camp. The individual six-sided "columns" are 12-18 inches wide.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Mertensia along the trail up to St Andrew's Park. Clumps of these bluebells are common in moist avalanche gullies along with Valerian and Cow Parsnip.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Avalanche lilies lining the trail below St Andrew's Park. We climbed up through the morning overcast not far above this point.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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More avalanche lilies. I actually took this photo the day before, over by Paradise, but I liked it so much I had to include it.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rick crossing a snowfield in St Andrew's Park. This one was OK compared to the previous one which was steeper and more exposed, one drawback of hiking the trail relatively early in the season. On the other hand, there weren't any biting flies yet, just a few mosquitos in the evenings.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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View of the awesome headwall above the North Puyallup river valley from St Andrew's Park.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Klapatchie Park, around the corner from St Andrew's Park. The camp here is one of the nicest on the entire trail but has only a few sites so is difficult to reserve.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Sun, mist and waterfall on the descent into the North Puyallup river valley from Klapatchie Park

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Bleeding Heart, fragile yet robust, forms nearly pure stands in steep moist areas

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Fallen hemlock log cut to clear the trail. This tree was about 350 years old when it blew down in a storm a few years ago.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Tiger Lily and two other flowers, all with recurved petals, near the North Puyallup river bridge.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Swallowtail on Slide alder. The alder is reclaiming the old West Side road which terminated at an apparently never-completed bridge. The tree-shaded stone abutments stand like old ruins guarding the river gorge.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Paintbrush. Though this was the only specimen I saw along the trail, I included the photograph because I love the brilliant vermillion color of the flower heads.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Contorted stump over the North Puyallup river

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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North Puyallup River. The overcast returned while we ate lunch along the river.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rick in forest heading up to Sunset Park. Though not bad here, this section of the trail above the North Puyallup river traversed forested slopes steep enough to be a little intimidating.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Silver snags in an old burn below Sunset Park. Lots of Beargrass and huckleberry bushes in this area.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Day 4. We hiked out to a little peak to get a final view back towards the mountain from beyond Golden Lakes camp before the long descent to the Mowich river. Golden Lakes camp, not visible, sits on a wooded bench above the talus slopes to the right of center in the photo. It had mosquitos.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Switchback in more fine old forest above the South Mowich River

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Deer fern and Vanilla Leaf

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Stream in the verdant woods along the South Mowich river

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rick crossing log bridges over braids of the South Mowich river, which chews up a little more of the valley floor forest with each new flood.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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There are still some big trees left along the Mowich river, one of the lowest elevation areas in the National Park

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rick and I eating lunch in the North Mowich river channel. Rick cooked up Top Ramen and Himalayan Lentils and Rice which I augmented with bread, sardines and the last of the Brie cheese.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Wood Nymph in dry hemlock-fir forest above the North Mowich river. It was accompanied by Twinflower, Pipsissewa and Wintergreen, all characteristic of somewhat drier forest slopes than are typical along the Wonderland trail.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Forest above the North Mowich river, along the trail up to Mowich Lake.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Double blowdown along the way up to Mowich Lake. Here and there we came across openings in the forest where multiple trees had been toppled, apparently by intense but very local winds. Here the trees were uprooted but we also passed areas where big trees had simply been snapped off 50' above the ground.

Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Mt Rainier NP Wonderland Trail
July 16-19, 2010

Rick and I hiked from Longmire to Mowich Lake on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park over 4 days in mid-July, 2010. We camped at Devil's Dream the first night, South Puyallup the second and Golden Lakes the third night and hiked 6, 6, 12 and 10 miles daily with a cumulative elevation gain of just over 10,000'. Perfect weather, lots of magnificent forest, beautiful flowers, a few other hikers and quite a bit of snow above 5000'.

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Rick emerging at Mowich Lake camp after 40 miles and 10,200' of hiking in the previous 70 hours and 20 minutes. Not that anyone is keeping statistics or anything like that. Too bad the hike is over though, because we're just now beginning to get in shape.