We're spending the holidays on the Outer Banks in North Carolina, which is on the outskirts of the "Blizzard of 2010", so any training will have to consist of going up and down two flights of stairs. We did manage to get outside and walk a few hundred feet up the beach before we couldn't feel our extremities.
So, I've been reading Bette's book about the trail to get more familiar. She mentioned a method of estimating effort that I hadn't heard before. The hiking center at Longmire suggests that you add a mile for every 1,000 foot elevation gain and add half a mile for every 1000 foot elevation loss. Thus, the typical Longmire to Devil's Dream is 5.9 miles and 2,500 foot elevation gain, basically equivalent to a 8.4 mile hike. Although it doesn't begin to estimate the amount of effort required, it is a good start to give me an idea how much stamina I'll need to have from a training standpoint.
As part of the planning, I have to plan a route to take. Given that it'll change over time and depending on capacity of the campsites, I'll be updating my Itinerary frequently.
Showing posts with label Wonderland Trail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wonderland Trail. Show all posts
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Wonderland Trail
I've been talking about this journey for awhile before I decided to do it, and my in-laws bought me the bible about the Wonderland Trail: Discovering the Wonders of the Wonderland Trail encircling Mount Rainier by Bette Filley. First written in 1969, the most recent edition was published in 2006. For anyone contemplating this journey, this is the book to get.
The Wonderland Trail is a 92.2 mile trail that encircles Mount Rainier. Given that this is mountain country, the other key item to note is the elevation gain. Since it's circle, there really isn't any elevation gain, but looking at the Elevation profile, this is no stroll in the park. Beginning at 2780 feet (824m), a hiker goes over 5000 feet (1525m) seven times and over 6000 feet (1830m) twice. According to Bette, hiking all the way around is the equivalent of climbing a 22,786 foot (7000m) mountain.
Being a circle, there really isn't a beginning or an end, Longmire being the start of the trail. Going counter clockwise, the trail parallels the park road along the southern part of the park along the Paradise river and through Steven's Canyon. Turning north at Box Canyon, it follows the ridge of the Cowlitz divide and reaches its highest elevation of 6800 feet (2087m) at Panhandle Gap. If follows Fryingpan Creek down to the White River, where you begin to turn westward again towards Sunrise.
Heading westward, the trail goes through the least visited areas of the park, those parts that are not accessible via road. Past Mystic Lake, down the Carbon River valley leads you to Ipsut Creek. The final push takes the trail past Mowich Lake and southward across many ridges back to Longmire.
Looking at the elevation map and the park map, you may begin to think that I'm crazy. I share that opinion sometimes as well, however, there's only one way to do this, and that's on foot.
Mount Rainier National Park Map
The Wonderland Trail is a 92.2 mile trail that encircles Mount Rainier. Given that this is mountain country, the other key item to note is the elevation gain. Since it's circle, there really isn't any elevation gain, but looking at the Elevation profile, this is no stroll in the park. Beginning at 2780 feet (824m), a hiker goes over 5000 feet (1525m) seven times and over 6000 feet (1830m) twice. According to Bette, hiking all the way around is the equivalent of climbing a 22,786 foot (7000m) mountain.
Being a circle, there really isn't a beginning or an end, Longmire being the start of the trail. Going counter clockwise, the trail parallels the park road along the southern part of the park along the Paradise river and through Steven's Canyon. Turning north at Box Canyon, it follows the ridge of the Cowlitz divide and reaches its highest elevation of 6800 feet (2087m) at Panhandle Gap. If follows Fryingpan Creek down to the White River, where you begin to turn westward again towards Sunrise.
Heading westward, the trail goes through the least visited areas of the park, those parts that are not accessible via road. Past Mystic Lake, down the Carbon River valley leads you to Ipsut Creek. The final push takes the trail past Mowich Lake and southward across many ridges back to Longmire.
Looking at the elevation map and the park map, you may begin to think that I'm crazy. I share that opinion sometimes as well, however, there's only one way to do this, and that's on foot.
Mount Rainier National Park Map
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Welcome
Tomorrow's my Birthday. I'll be 51 years old and some may say that I'm going through the whole "mid-life crisis" phase. I say that with my children in college, I think it's time that I set some goals for myself.
For quite some time, I've been intrigued with backpacking. I went to school in the hills of Virginia and found a love for hiking and the outdoors. Ever since I first hiked on the Appalachian Trail, I've always wondered what it would be like to spend a long period of time wandering through the woods, carrying what I needed.
After many years in the Midwest, I found myself in the Pacific Northwest a few years ago, where the love of the outdoors was rekindled. A couple of years ago, I started thinking about hiking the Wonderland Trail. After a couple of years of procrastination, I decided it's time to hold myself accountable to someone or I'll never discover if this is something I like or not.
That's where this blog comes in. As a birthday present to myself, I'm going to make the commitment to hike the Wonderland Trail. If nothing else, this will give my family insight into my particularly interesting way of rationalizing things, and give them an opportunity to inspire (bug) me when I need a push.
I entitled this "Working toward Wonderland" for the largest part of this journey will not be inside the boundaries of Mt. Rainier National Park, but preparing for the trip.
For quite some time, I've been intrigued with backpacking. I went to school in the hills of Virginia and found a love for hiking and the outdoors. Ever since I first hiked on the Appalachian Trail, I've always wondered what it would be like to spend a long period of time wandering through the woods, carrying what I needed.
After many years in the Midwest, I found myself in the Pacific Northwest a few years ago, where the love of the outdoors was rekindled. A couple of years ago, I started thinking about hiking the Wonderland Trail. After a couple of years of procrastination, I decided it's time to hold myself accountable to someone or I'll never discover if this is something I like or not.
That's where this blog comes in. As a birthday present to myself, I'm going to make the commitment to hike the Wonderland Trail. If nothing else, this will give my family insight into my particularly interesting way of rationalizing things, and give them an opportunity to inspire (bug) me when I need a push.
I entitled this "Working toward Wonderland" for the largest part of this journey will not be inside the boundaries of Mt. Rainier National Park, but preparing for the trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)