Day 1: Thursday, July 13 - Longmire to Devil's Dream
The first day on the Wonderland Trail was relatively easy, much to our surprise. We thought the first few days were supposed to be hard, but we cranked out six miles uphill in four hours on the first day, primarily just gaining elevation, and no real views of Mt. Rainier. Throughout the trip, all our hikes took place between 3,000 feet and 7,000 feet above sealevel.
Below is the creek bed of Kautz Creek. We usually had to go through one of these once a day or every other day. When there was a sandy trail, it was easy to navigate through the rocks but my short legs and bad knees weren't too keen on the large boulders and rocky terrain that we came across..
We camped at Devil's Dream that first night. We found the pit toilet - two in fact - and a hidden waterfall, (below). The forest was very similar to what we were used to in the Olympic Mountains - lots of tall firs and minimal understory...
Climbing up.... and the discovery of a much bigger water fall than expected... what is above was only 1/3 of the actual height of the falls. The photo to the right, below, is the rest of the upper portion. It probably went up another 75 feet. It was a great find - this lovely little waterfall in the middle of nowhere.
The fashionable world of the Wonderland ...fleece/wool hats, long underwear, soft shell jackets, Merino wool socks and Tevas. We're so hot.
