Mount Rainier National Park

A walk around Rainier: The Wonderland Trail is a 93-mile challenge

By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard


MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. - The 93-mile Wonderland Trail that encircles Mount Rainier is like one of those M.C. Escher prints of monks walking around a parapet.

It seems uphill every step of the way, as my wife and son and I discovered when we hiked this challenging trail in early September, even though by the end of the hike we had arrived right back at the same elevation from which we started.

Actually, the trail goes downhill, too, and on some days the steep downhill walking is as bad as the steep uphill walking, pounding knees and quadriceps into aching jelly as your legs try to restrain you and your pack from complete free-fall.

The Wonderland has been called the best long hiking trail in the nation by Backpacker magazine, which cited its scenery and wildlife. >> Full Story >>


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