Summerland Camp & Panhandle Gap via Wonderland Trail

This was my favorite hiking trail in all of Mt. Rainier. It was 11 1/2 miles with 3,000 ft of elevation gain. The various microclimes we passed through were fascinating. We started in deep forest with tumbling streams…

… passing these interesting “closed up” flowers…

… that opened up after they were hit by sunlight (after we progressed along the trail) -

We saw many different types of conifers -

… often side by side. My eye was always caught by the drooping Alaskan Cedar (the tree on the left in the next picture) -

We crossed a river…

… and passed through meadows of wildflowers…

… giving us a peek at one of Rainier’s several glaciers -

That day Rainier remained hidden, but everything else on the hike more than made up for it. The huge variety of wildflowers was captivating…

My favorite part of this favorite hike was in the subalpine area where a number of streams were running through…

… and then just a little further on, the landscape turned to rocks -

It was in this alpine region…

… where the flowers got really interesting -

Elephant’s Head Lousewort (definitely enlarge this one!)

At this point, we were 5 miles into the hike, and I was considering turning around…

… but with every little climb further, we’d find gorgeous pockets of life…

… or fantastic geologic formations -

So, we just kept climbing…passing a turquoise lake…

… and brilliantly colored rocks and plants -

We met a squeaking Pika…

… on our way to the ridge -

Yes, that’s the trail just in front of the snow banks.

At the Panhandle Gap (6,755 ft), we peered down over ranks of hills where the Wonderland Trail continued deeper into the park…

… and then back over our successful climb -

The colors in the rocks were almost as striking as the alpine lake -

We took our time as we descended, pausing at my “favorite spot” -

As usual, to see the video, click the link at the end of this email to open it in your browser.

I never got tired of the Mountain Bog Gentian…

… or wandering through wildflower meadows -

As we finished our hike, Mt. Rainier graced us with one final appearance.