Wonderland Trail 2010: the "selfie" 3 day hike

I was an early adopter of helmet cams, and was excited to get hold of one of the first Contour 1080P cameras, back when Contour was VHoldR. This whole series was shot at 60fps, and in those days the best quality at this higher frame rate was 720p, which is what this video is authored in. There was an interesting article in the Seattle Times on the Centennial of Mt. Rainier National Park, "100 things to know."

86. Unverified fact: The original selfie stick was a camera mounted to a trekking pole during a 2012 Wonderland Trail expedition.

Well, the selfie stick is credited in the 1980s to Hiroshi Ueda, who worked for Minolta. And assuming they were referencing me, then they were off by two years. But I recently rediscovered these clips and decided to put them together, offering a unique view of the trail. In my recent Wonderland video for #34, I turned the camera on me but once. Times have changed. On another note, my current 3 day transits of the Wonderland are right in line with 12 years ago and even 30 years ago, time wise, so lucky I am! I hope you enjoy! Music by williswall.

Wonderland Trail in 3 Days (#34): Sep 7-9/2022

My annual Wonderland trek is more than just a hike; it's a life event where I immerse myself in the surroundings and go through all the ups and downs (literally), the highs and the lows, the elation and downright pure suffering that comes with such long days. Also, by doing this one particular hike every year I can gauge how my body and mind are coping with advancing age (now 67). This year offered up a full plate; it wasn't as easy as 2021, where I waltzed around with no particular problems. This year I didn't have the hiking resume but thankfully my aerobic fitness was good thanks to lots of cycling. Daily stats are from Strava.

Day 1: Longmire to White River (34 miles/8468' elev) After acquiring a walk up permit the day prior, I started out just before 5 AM on Wednesday heading CCW. Highlights of the day: Reflection Lake early morning with beautiful skies, the usual incredible views from the Cowlitz Divide, with the sublime environment of Ohanapecosh Park in the late afternoon approaching Panhandle Gap. I had prehydrated my dinner and sat just above Summerland to chow down, which is when I discovered I had left my filter somewhere behind. I am doing the Invisalign teeth thing so I'm having to take those in and out whenever I eat, using the filter to rinse frequently. Luckily I had cell service so called my steadfast buddy who would deliver a filter to me at the Fryingpan Creek trailhead at 9 PM. I still felt good enough to actually run from Summerland to the trailhead, arriving at 8:45 with enough time to clean my feet and ready myself for sleep. My buddy arrived right on time and gave me a ride the short distance up to White River, where I threw down my bivy for the night.

Sunset below Panhandle Gap

Day 2: White River to Mowich Lake (31 miles/7,504' elev) In sum, this was not a good day. All night I felt slightly nauseous and got little sleep. I started the climb to Sunrise feeling decidedly unstrong. Finally, I vomited up the prior evening's undigested meal. At Sunrise I was able to eat a little and drink some water, but the rest of the day was playing catch up for my body. The filter was old and put out but a trickle, so I finally decided to fill a bottle with unfiltered water so I could use Tailwind and try to catch up on hydrating. Since I had gone over Spray Park in 2021, I elected to take the lower route and head up to Mowich Lake via Ipsut Pass. This was the lowest point I've experienced in a long time; the trail is downright crappy, steep, brushy and rocky. I was struggling to make the top, with many an epithet spewing forth from my Invisaligned pie hole. Because of the harder day than expected, I could not make my intended destination of the South Mowich River camp, which did not bode well for day 3, the hardest part of the route. I bedded down and dealt with chilly temperatures in my light bivy and 40 degree quilt.

Flowers hanging on in September on the Wonderland Trail

Day 3: Mowich Lake to Longmire (39 miles/8,902' elev) On the trail just after 5 had me feeling more normal; I was finally recovering from the prior day. The climb up to Golden Lakes went well and I felt good the rest of the day, trotting the descents and machine like on the subsequent climbs to Klapatche Park, Emerald Ridge and Indian Henry's. The weather was fine but starting to get some smoke, which thankfully doesn't bother me. Klapatche Park was deserted, and I correctly guessed that most of the night's residents were either not there yet or hanging at St Andrews Lake, since Aurora "Lake" was dry. Sure enough, when I arrived at St Andrews Lake there were a few people scattered around enjoying the environs, including me. I proceeded to soak my feet and splash water on my legs and face. This was a nice pick me up and I departed for the South Puyallup, which came quickly as the trail was ripe for trotting. I had assumed that I would be transiting Emerald Ridge in the dark but got lucky in the timing; I was sans headlamp until departing the ridge. There was just enough light provided by the reflecting mountain. This was also the first time I had seen mountain goats in this area, a special treat. It's these early and late times on the trail that offer up unique experiences every time I go out. We all hike our own hike, but I am not much for camping and prefer to be on trail the majority of the day for these very reasons. I also quite enjoy hiking at night, which on this day proved to be too much enjoyment. I still had to descend to the suspension bridge over Tahoma Creek, climb up to Indian Henry's and descend to cross both Kautz and Pyramid Creeks before dropping down to Longmire. Good thing I am familiar with these areas as crossing at night can be somewhat difficult with lack of clues, cairns or tape. In retrospect I was really glad I didn't have to cross the Carbon at night because that whole area was a mess.

At Rampart Ridge the sign says 2 miles to Longmire, which elicited an "Oh f%$k me" after GPS said I had already done 37 miles, but I finally staggered into the parking lot just past 1 AM. Aside from ultras, this was the longest single day push I had done in quite a few years, but I was glad I was able to pull it off. I am so lucky that my health and mechanics are still going strong as I approach 70, enabling me to hit it hard like 30 years ago. Someday I may have to lengthen my trips...but not today.

The following video is a chronicle of my 34th transit of the Wonderland Trail in Mt. Rainier National Park. As usual I rely heavily on a shoulder mounted GoPro Hero 9 with Max lens for video, and my iPhone 13 for photos and video. My advanced age shows in my methods of composition; one only sees my talking head once in the entire piece, I have no vertical video, and the viewing time is 38 minutes. Enjoy!

Tanzania Safari August 2022

Following our Kilimanjaro climb, my daughter and I spent 4 wonderful days amongst creatures great and small. The sheer number of animals seen every day was mind boggling, especially in the Ngorongoro Crater. We also visited Tarangire and Serengeti National Parks, tent camping in the Serengeti for two nights. We especially liked spending time with the elephants, simply watching the families interacting and munching on various flora. We continued with the same company (Peak Planet) for the safari. Highly recommended! Complete photo selection can be accessed here on Flikr.

Animals galore in Ngorongoro Crater

Secretary bird on the prowl

Mt Kilimanjaro (19,341')

My daughter and I joined 8 other people to do the Northern Circuit route to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, trekking from August 4th to August 12th. Our guide service, Peak Planet, turned out to be utterly fantastic. Not only did they employ excellent safety standards (procedures and equipment), but the guides with their staff of porters were some of the most quality human beings I have met. The Northern Circuit provides arguably the best opportunity for a successful summit due to the excellent acclimatization schedule. Despite varying levels of fitness and experience in our group of ten, everyone summited without major problems. Music provided by the entire Peak Planet staff for this climb. For the extended cut of this Northern Circuit and Kilimanjaro climb, go to the travel section pulldown.

STP: July 16, 2022

The dynamic trio!

This was my 10th STP (Seattle To Portland), but that pales in comparison to my buddy and his daughter: Jon has done 33 STPs and his 34 Y/O daughter has done 25! Yes, she started very early. On top of that, the majority of their rides have been one day events. This was only my third one day, 21 years after my others. It was good to revisit that kind of sufferfest. Actually, the conditions were pretty good, with cool temperatures and smatterings of rain showers. Unfortunately, the majority of our ride was against headwinds. One can’t complain when there wasn’t a flat tire, minor mishap or crash amongst us! Nor did we witness any others (aside from the occasional flat tire) that had problems, so a good day indeed. Rider quote of the day: “I used to like my bike!”

Summerland (MRNP) 5.27.22

We got a ton of snow in April, and his May has been especially cool. On this Friday when the roads opened, I took a jaunt up to Summerland. Although I packed my skis, one look at the trailhead convinced me to leave them behind. The snow pack is deep and the snow is unconsolidated, making for post holing and annoying inconsistent footing. The water content was very high, and wet slides were evident on the slopes above Summerland. Last year at this same time I had a nice ski from Panhandle Gap, but we need some melt/freeze cycles to get this snow in shape for a more typical spring outing.

Inhabit Mats for Winnebago Solis Review

I learned about Inhabit Mats from a post on some forum having nothing to do with a Solis. I checked out the website and called to leave a message on some weekday night around 8 PM, expecting to hear back within a few days. To my surprise I heard from Brian shortly after I had sent the email, and called him later in the week to set up a possible time to come into his shop. I live on the outskirts of Seattle so decided to make a trip down to the Portland OR area for an in-shop fitting and installation. I also scheduled my cab window treatments the next day while I was there as the two establishments were close to each other, staying the night in an RV park on the Tualatin River.

Front living mats: snaps hold upper mat in place, velcro strip holds entry L shaped mat in place

My appointment was for 10 AM on a Monday morning and I arrived a bit early at 9:15. However Jon, the co-owner with Brian, drove in and started working on my van before 9:30. They had already done a Solis P the week before and I was thinking this would be a quick job as the templates were already made. However, it should be no surprise that each van is slightly different on the exact measurements of existing floor area due to the variables of each build….Winnebago does not employ exacting tolerances when putting these relatively inexpensive interiors together. But Jon spent considerable time getting the measurements and trimming spot on for my van. Every corner fits with about an eighth of an inch gap around the cabinets and bathroom area, including the tiny notches found along the way.

Bonus bath mat! (Inhabit)

I chose to do my van in “Deep Grey” (their most popular color) vice the previous Solis, which the owner decided to do in “Fawn.” Fawn does indeed fit well in the Solis, complimenting the cabinet colors nicely. It’s a lighter mat that also brightens up the space. However, for my taste the Deep Grey blended splendidly with my Wet Okole seat covers and the cab area in general.

Inhabit under bed storage mat (Jon fitting in background)

Trying not to be a pest, I walked to Starbucks to while away some time while the work was being done. But not until I thoroughly cleaned the floors, which took close to an hour. I personally did not want mats over dirty floors so I scrubbed those pesky coin floors as best I could using wet wipes. When I came back most of the fitting and trimming had been done and the mats were in the shop to have the edges bound. I want to emphasize that Jon (and Brian) were a delight to work with, answering any questions I had during the process. As of this writing Inhabit has only had two Solis Ps in the shop and they would like to have a few more to get an idea of how far the tolerances vary. Since every van will be slightly different, the only way to get that custom fit is to come to the shop and have them do it. Eventually they will be able to ship directly to the customer but they will have to allow some leeway for Winnebago’s inexact construction.

I had some pleasant surprises, the best one being a bath mat! Fantastic!. After I shower I just hang it on the pole above to drip dry. Just a note on the drain cutout, Jon said the hole is too small to bind the edges so it’s left with the raw cut. The other surprise is the fact that they made mats for the small spaces in the rear of the van on either side of the under bed storage. I showed them how I had duct taped under the Nautilus as dripping water during fill up would weep into the join, especially as it always seemed the rear of the van was higher than the front, urging the water towards the interior. The water was also affecting the cheesy laminates in that area with trim pieces separating etc. We decided on just bending the small mat in the middle so that it would wedge under the Nautilus panel and direct any water away, which it does nicely. Another bonus, they replaced the screw that holds the bottom of the screen door behind the passenger seat with a snap, allowing owners to unsnap and clean out this hard to reach area. Lastly, you also get small mats for the steps up into the cab, covering those pesky screw holes that are specifically made to annoy owners by collecting dirt, hair and any other nasty particles that approach. They are notoriously hard to clean and I am delighted they are covered.

Under Nautilus mat to prevent water dripping into joins

Attachment is simple; the area right behind the cab (floor in front of the seats) is held in place by snaps along the angled edge. The cabin area mat is joined to the cab mat by a strip of Velcro (not attached to the floor, just to each mat). To access your now stealthy small storage area by the table hole, you will have to unsnap the mat and reach under. That arrangement is good for my uses. The main “L” shaped piece is held in place by a Velcro strip on the door side edge with the rest of the mat free floating, which is no problem at all. I did have some discussion about the under bed storage doors, which as always a PITA to access if you have items on the floor, which I’m sure most people do. A slide out drawer arrangement is in my future (the way it should have been engineered in the first place) but Brian discouraged making multiple mats for this area. I store items in the left area that will be seldom used, but the right one houses items like shoes, ice axes, poles etc . For now I am storing items on top of the left side and just lifting the mat for the right storage area. I’m thinking that I may at least reverse the hinges. I would like to point out that if I had insisted on separate mats for this area, they would have done it.

Even the cab step up has a mat that covers screw holes

In sum, I like ‘em! Not just because I spent a bit of coin (they are not cheap) and have to justify it, but they are indeed easy to clean and sweep. They feel good on the feet, and I did actually notice less road noise underway. They look OH so much better than the coin flooring, and they are noticeably softer and warmer under foot (I have already spent one night in sub freezing temperatures). I am trying to be prudent spending money on van upgrades, but this one makes a world of difference in everyday use. NOTE: for now I am leaving the OEM cab floor mat in place on top of the mats as more skiing is on the docket. I use my Solis as a basecamp for outdoor activities that usually track in a mess…hiking, skiing, biking…sometimes all three in the same day. I am confident that these marine grade woven vinyl mats will stand up to the dirt challenges and at the same time provide eye pleasing comfort that adds a touch of higher end finish to the Solis P.

Even this small space in the left rear gets a mat

My 2020 Solis P (27,000 miles) at the Inhabit shop, Oregon

Diggin' It! Spring skiing at Crystal

Blog post for skiing? Why not. The beauty of having no affiliations and no monetization is I can write about anything I desire. And believe me, the April spring skiing at Crystal Mountain (WA) was epic for a lot of people. I heard stories on the chair lift like “I had put all my stuff away, but just had to pull it out again, I couldn’t miss out on these conditions.” My favorite; talking to a fellow parking lot RVer who was heading south in Oregon and turned around to come back….”How could I miss the best skiing in the country?”

My van parked at the Crystal Mountain RV lot (B-Lot)

My daughter had talked me into purchasing at end of season pass so we could enjoy some slushy warm spring turns. The lower areas were showing grass and dirt (the top photo was on the Rex lift above “Sunnyside”), and south facing slopes were starting to get bare. And then the weather changed. Temps dropped and the Cascades got a big dump on Monday April 4th. I drove my van up on Tuesday and started the ski fest. Despite crowds, the conditions were most excellent and pockets of stash could be found all over the mountain. Wednesday was sunny but continuing low temps kept the snow silky. Thursday was excellent. Etc. When my daughter joined me for that weekend, she experienced knee deep powder for the first time, quickly adjusting to these conditions that hadn’t been seen since December. But wait, there’s more! I stayed on, spending Monday night at an RV spot in Enumclaw (I skied Monday morning) to dump tanks, replenish supplies and refill water, then drove back up on Tuesday for 3 more nights (of course, I skied Tuesday afternoon). Continuing cold temperatures and flurries that varied from dustings to inches persisted; off piste skiing was still excellent, even if it was skied out. I missed Friday but my daughter and I came back up for Saturday and Easter for continued ski bliss. In all I logged 13 days on the hill during a 15 day period, allowing me to continue working on technique and challenging myself by skiing more difficult terrain. Yes, even at 67 Y/O the quest for improvement is always present. My 13 days allowed me to log 283,000 feet of vertical.

I took so much video over this period that in authoring I just had to stop editing….”oh wait, I have to add this one….wait, I need to replace that one….” Eventually I squeezed snippets of this experience into 3 minutes with representative clips from most of the days. The music “Diggin’ It!” was a piece I had done with local guitarist Dan McInerney a few years ago and seemed appropriate. One can never be sure about the vagaries of weather and when we’ll get lucky for excellent conditions, but retirement allowed me to take advantage of some of the best conditions I’ve seen in years. Enjoy!

2022 Wonderland Trail Prep

My goal this year is to do the Wonderland twice; once in 2 sections as a trainer, and once as a thru. Long term I’d like to do the Wonderland 50 times. To date I have hiked it 33 times, and at age 67 once a year would mean #50 at age 83. I’m optimistic that this is possible, but I might want to get a head start on the numbers.

The Hikes….my plan is to first section hike between Longmire and Sunrise, self supported by bike. By parking at Sunrise both times I can at least start at a high point, making the biking portion a little less strenuous. The eastern section hike involves 36 miles with about 6000’ of elevation, so I would do this one first. The western section is longer at 57 miles with about 16,000’ of elevation, surely making for quite a long day. Hopefully I can space these approximately 2 weeks apart, completing hike #34, then doing #35 as a thu hike before the season is out. The following map shows the distance and elevation on bike: 57 miles with 4400’ of climb and 8000’ of descent.

Biking from Sunrise to Longmire: 57 miles/4400’ climb-8000’ descent (Google maps)

Old Trek 5500 on Kikr Snap trainer

Training is paramount. For general fitness and leg strength, I am upping my bike game this year, utilizing a bike trainer. This allows me to target specific thresholds and allows for consistent training. If I’m traveling and unable to bike, I will run. As spring approaches I will concentrate on trail running, hitting the excellent local training ground of the Tiger Mountain complex. I have a background in running, mountaineering, ultrarunning, off trail travel and scrambling. I am very comfortable in the outdoors and this experience means I can pack appropriately. Most of my prior Wonderland hikes have been in 3 days, or shorter in sections. Last year I was comfortably able to cover the 30 plus miles and over 8000’ elevation days, usually turning in about 17 hours per day on trail. This leaves plenty of lounging time during the day.

Borah Gear bivy on the Colonnade, Mt. Rainier National Park

The Gear I’ve been “ultralighting” for quite some time, since the early 90’s. I constantly seek out improvements in gear that will make my outdoors sojourns more comfortable and/or safer (gotta love that InReach). My plans this year will not involve camping on the shorter Eastern section, and maybe one night on the Western section, probably utilizing Mowich Lake. Therefore I don’t need to get embroiled in the permit process, unless I do a walkup like last year. This also means that I can time my hikes for periods of good weather, as I have been doing for over 35 years. However, I always carry shelter and a sleep system, so this year I will probably use:

Shelter: Custom Borah Gear bivy (WPB): 9.1 ozs

Sleep: Timmermade Alpha Direct “overbag” (sized down): 8 ozs

Pack: Orange Mud 20L Adventure Pack: 22 ozs MAYBE I have been using a smaller Orange Mud pack of the same design for trail running and biking. The Adventure Pack is quite a bit heavier than my other options (the lightest being a zpacks DCF at 4.7 ozs) but the Adventure Pack is made for running, and I plan on these hikes to involve a bit more trotting than in the past. The higher riding pack with no hip belt will also fit well with the bike segments. I will have 2 bottles available in the shoulder holsters and a container of Tailwind plus gear, and this pack keeps everything centered high with little to no bounce. This will probably be a last minute decision, as I can always use my Zimmerbuilt (14 ozs) that I used last year. Decisions decisions.

Pad: MLD 1/4” Goodnight EVA foam pad: 6.6 ozs (or less if I cut to 3/4 length)

I really hate fussing with a bunch of individual items, so the system above is intended to be “throw down.” I will leave the pad and bag inside the bivy and just roll it up. If it doesn’t fit inside my pack I will strap it to the bottom. My system last year was fine, but extracting each item from its individual stuff sack (and keeping tabs on them) and blowing up the pad was still a PITA after a 17 hour day, along with doing this in the dark. My plan this year is unroll and get in. Although I have enjoyed the cush of blow up pads for a few years now, I always did OK with minimal padding in the past….and just a few years ago I had no pad, I just rolled out on some soft duff. I will probably cut the foam down to 3/4 size as I always put my pack under my feet/legs.

Even with the relatively heavy Adventure Pack, my “big 4” still come in under 3 lbs. This leaves plenty of room for food and clothing. I am making a few changes on clothing this year, namely my pants will be Beyond Clothing Avid Ultralight pant (oh so comfy but still with zippered pockets and no belt needed). For quite some time I’ve been using the ever popular OR Echo hooded shirt (I must be careful about sun exposure), but have found what I believe to be a better alternative: the Ketl No Fry sun hoodie. It fits better, has the front snaps for some ventilation, and has a higher UPF rating of 30. I am awaiting my Timmermade products, the above mentioned Alpha Direct overbag and an Alpha Direct 4004 Hoodie (hopefully not beyond the 14 week lead time). The Hoodie will be paired with an EE Copperfield wind shirt if needed. I will probably pack my trusty zpacks poncho/groundsheet (5.7 ozs) for rain and other uses.

Cycling: important cross training

Other Items: I use my iPhone 13 as a camera and pack along a shoulder mounted GoPro Hero 9. I may also bring my GoPro Max for 360 if it works out. Plus throw in the usual doodads like sunscreen, toothbrush, minimal foot kit and first aid, hat, gloves, sunglasses….sorry Redditors, I don’t weigh eveything out and post it on lighterpack, as I know that all my stuff, including clothing, food and 1 liter of water will not exceed 12 pounds, which I find unnoticeable. That has always been my guage.

My methods and gear list is obviously not for someone doing an 8-14 day hike of the Wonderland. Plus I know that, philosophically, many don’t understand fastpacking. But it’s what I do; I revel in being on my feet all day and into the night, carrying an unnoticeable load and spending practically no time in “camp.” I take breaks in fantastic places or just sit in the woods listening to owls hoot. I give thanks that I am able to pull off these longish days as I approach 70. I also spend a lot of time in Mt. Rainier National Park during the year; skiing, biking, hiking and peak bagging, so I’m not limited to enjoying the park only on a Wonderland hike.

Disclaimer: I have no professional affiliations with any of the products listed above and receive no benefit if the reader clicks on the links, which are provided only as a courtesy.

Willis Wall Holiday Year in Review 2021

Been a busy year at Willis Wall. Relocating back to the Pacific Northwest, basing out of the van for 5 months logging hundreds of miles and thousands of feet on foot, bike and skis. Besides my usual stomping ground at Mt. Rainier National Park, I trained at the US Air Force Academy, did the High Sierra Trail with my daughter to Mt Whitney, managed a week of cycling in Italy, turned in one of my best Wonderland Trail hikes and hit some great places like Olympic National Park, Colorado National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, Craters of the Moon National Monument, White Sands National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and Saguaro National Park. Family matters precluded the time to write original music this year so I recycled some Christmas tunes from previous projects. I wish viewers good health and happiness for the coming year!