White River Campground - Finding the Trail

Ranger Patrol Cabin

The first challenge was finding the trail from White River Canyon.  This was not obvious since the day-use parking area is near the trail head toward Fryingpan Creek.  In order to get to the trail to Sunrise, you had to find your way through the campground and out the other side.  As you can see from the second picture, it's not very well marked. 

The easiest way, we discovered, was to find the Historic Ranger Patrol cabin.  The trail to Sunrise originates along the right side of the cabin and quickly goes up a hill. 

Wonderland Trailhead behind Cabin

"In the park's early years, rangers used patrol cabins as a base to attach wildfires, track poachers, and provide aid to travelers.  The cabins were living quarters in the summer and emergency sheltsers in the winter.  By the 1930's, a network of patrol cabins encircles the mountain along the path of the Wonderland Trail."  (from the sign placard by the cabin.) 

For those of you who have read Floyd Schmoe's A year in Paradise, this is the type of cabin that he and his family stayed in during their trip around the mountain in October.  I did question his sanity when he said he was going to take his 3-year old and his wife that late in the season.