The westside of Mt Rainier’s Wonderland Trail is one of the most remote stretches of the National Park. The relative isolation combined with the vistas at Klapatche Park, Saint Andrews Lake and Emerald Ridge providing up close views of Mt Rainier and the various glaciers make for a very rewarding experience (when the weather cooperates)!
The Westside Road was originally planned to be a “round the mountain” scenic route connecting the Nisqually Road (by the south entrance en route to Longmire) with the Carbon River Entrance in the northwest corner of the park, but it was never completed. With no roadside trailheads between Mowich Lake and road crossing just west of Longmire – a span of over 30 miles – this is section of the park sees very few day hikers.
We’ve hiked this section of trail twice – first in Sept 2021 and most recently in August 2024 as part of our Wonderland Trail thru-hike. This is the trip report from our most recent backpacking trip.
Read our trip reports about Thru Hiking the Wonderland Trail from the beginning!
Table of Contents
Our resupply would last us four nights, so our packs were heavy as we hoisted them up at Mowich Lake. If I hadn’t been exclusively focused on ensuring all our pre-planned backpacker meals, snacks, and toiletries made it into the bucket, I’d have packed some fun beverages or bonus treats to eat at the picnic tables.
Camping at South Mowich River in Mt Rainier National Park
We left Mowich Lake around 3pm and began the forested downhill to the Mowich River floodplain. This section passes through some beautiful old growth forest, with trailside waterfalls, towering Douglas firs and little footbridges. The trail was wide and gentle with soft needles underfoot, making for a very pleasant warmup after our extended break.
Click on any photo within the galleries to view full screen and read the captions
I love the way the sun would peek through the canopy, illuminating the forest floor with dappled light, moving between the trees as our footsteps carried us down the trail. Like the temperate rainforest near the Carbon River, the forest here has its own sound. A type of wild silence, filled only with the flittering of wings, the brush of leaves, and the occasional bird call, with the white noise of rushing water in the distance.
After the first 1.5 miles of scenic downhill, we hit the switchbacks. These next two miles were relatively monotonous for the rest of the way down. Beyond the intersection with the Paul Peak trail, the Wonderland Trail leveled out for the last mile into camp.
The route across the Mowich River basin was marked with orange ribbons tied to the tree boughs as the course of river is ever changing. Years worth of old log bridges lie scattered across the rocks. We picked our way along the floodplain, following one clear cut sandy path through the rocks only to realize it was an older path leading nowhere, before spotting the flapping orange tie directing us upstream. This wouldn’t be the first time I’d notice that route would be much clearer to follow in the clockwise direction than counterclockwise, but apart from that the river was low and the crossing was a cinch.
South Mowich Camp is located in a mossy island with glacial river waters running along both sides. Only one other person was in camp when we arrived, and she had taken the site overlooking the river. The other campsites were small and sloped so we took the shelter. There are only three remaining CCC shelters in the park, and this is the only one not associated with a group site.
Setting up camp for the evening, I took a look around for the water source. The silt of the glacial rivers that lend them their distinctive blue hues will completely destroy a water filter, so those waters were out. The other camper was hiking CW and mentioned the water source was half a mile further up trail on the south side of the river bank. I’d already changed into my camp shoes, and had no desire to put my boots back on, but I grabbed my Nalgene and two 2L Platypus – enough to not have to ration for dinner and breakfast, with the plan to filter more in the morning.
It was a completely different experience walking alone and having time to myself in the forest. Quiet and peaceful. Becoming the self-appointed water filterer for the group had afforded me opportunities for solitude. I caught the late afternoon sun on the river and hills on the way back, through the trees.
Upon my return, we made forest tea and I tested out the first iteration of a lemon chicken couscous backpacking recipe. It was pretty good, especially with the bag of fresh olives I’d packed in from Mowich, but the verdict was that it still requires some tweaking before being website ready.
A little mouse had already come out to see who’d be sharing the shelter with it tonight – so we made sure to thoroughly empty our packs before hanging them on the nails affixed to the cabin walls, hoping to deter any rodent damage. Because the shelter is private, we didn’t have to worry about sharing the space with other hikers so we pitched our tents inside, leaving off the rain fly so that we could see the moonlight through the trees without having to worry about any unforeseen weather overnight.
Wonderland Trail Day 5: South Mowich River to Golden Lakes
I was surprised to find I didn’t sleep as well in the shelter. A few of the boards were loose so if someone shifted just right in the night, it would jostle everyone within! One nice benefit of the shelter though was a very clean, dry surface for re-rolling the tent.
Today’s hike would be very short, which was good because we got a very lazy start to the day. We prepared our oatmeal, grits, coffee and tea and it was close to 10am before we got back on the trail.
We had crossed to the far side of the river on route to the creek when my dad realized that he had forgotten his glasses back at camp. There couldn’t have been a more peaceful spot to wait than the quiet glen, so he was able to go back to retrieve them while I filtered water for the day’s hike. Crisis narrowly averted!
The hike up to the ridge would be nothing but continuously moderate switchbacks. Nothing hard, nothing easy, nothing exciting and nothing unpleasant – probably some of the most nondescript hiking in the entire park, apart from the preponderance of cones from hemlock and fir.
The ridge line arrives abruptly – after miles of monotonous forest hiking you suddenly emerge from the trees into a small clearing full of grasses and huckleberries. After being in the forest all day it felt good to step into the sun and feel the breeze cooling off the sweat. We stopped here for a short lunch of reconstituted peanut butter and crackers, with handfuls of berries for dessert! First huckleberries of the hike (and a few blueberries too)!
From there it was a level hike around the backside of the ridge line into camp, passing several of the small tarns and lakes that make up the Golden Lakes plurality and lend the name to the Golden Lakes Campground.
We watched another couple walk into camp mere moments in front of us, and I was hoping they didn’t make a beeline for the same campsite (#5) but we missed it by just a few seconds. We still got to pick from a selection of other good sites and chose one (#2) that didn’t require a hike to the outhouse or bear pole.
There were hours of daylight remaining so we first did some camp laundry so that they could air out in the sun and dry completely overnight. Then it was time for a dip in the lake! There was a deep, secluded swimming hole behind the ranger patrol station perfect for an invigorating plunge.
We’d been worried about mosquitoes, especially after getting swarmed at Spray Park, but were pleasantly surprised not to encounter a single one. Whatever insects there may have been had to worry more about escaping the clutches of hungry dragonflies. There were several actively patrolling their hunting grounds and chasing away the competition. They were a joy to watch, whizzing up and down the shoreline and periodically stopping to take in our presence before darting away again.
The Golden Lakes are located within Sunset Park, and on older park maps the area is simply called ‘Sunset’ analogous to ‘Sunrise.’ We headed up to the viewpoint to eat dinner of our Thai inspired chicken & coconut rice and watch the sun disappear behind the Olympic Mountains. There we met the couple in Site 5. They were from Michigan doing the Wonderland Trail in 7 days. We were shocked to find that they didn’t have trekking poles on account of not wanting to check them on the airplane. I couldn’t imagine doing this trail without them, honestly.
You could see all the way down to Puget Sound, seeing the city lights of what I’m guessing was the outskirts of Puyallup. There was so much else to see and do today that it I almost didn’t notice we’d gone practically an entire day without seeing any wildflowers.
Wonderland Trail Day 6: Klapatche Park and St Andrews Park
We woke up to clear skies which immediately put us in good spirits. Today was one of the bucket-list days we’d been holding our breath for – seeing the alpenglow from Klapatche Park. Three years ago on our first Wonderland Trail hike, we had gotten caught in a storm halfway down the westside – by the time we reached Klapatche Park it was snowing and sleeting sideways. Today was redemption day!
The volunteer rangers were up and we had a pleasant chat with them outside the patrol cabin. They had been longtime volunteers in the park and after donating a certain amount of hours had earned the privilege to stay in the patrol cabins on assignment. They’d been the ones who checked our permits at the campground the night prior and were doing some maintenance on the solar panels in the cabin.
Setting aside my desire for the parks to be properly funded, it’s been really eye-opening seeing how much of the park is serviced on volunteer labor and also gives us ideas on how to give back to the parks in more sustained ways; sometimes we both regret not pursuing the career opportunities we had with the park service, but knowing we could do something like this in the early years of retirement felt promising.
Just after leaving camp, I realized we’d accidentally packed up the tent fly with the backcountry permit still attached to it, so we had to unpack everything on the trail to get it out. Rangers continuously patrol the Wonderland Trail and you have to produce your permit even outside of the campground if you are hiking with a pack. Once we located the permit, we headed out for real!
The day started with a hike around Colonnade Ridge, with views of a hazy Tahoma before the long downhill to North Puyallup river. This section has an easy grade and a wide, soft forested trail – we were trucking right along all morning and made great time. On the way down we ran into another solo Wonderlander from Connecticut who obtained a walk-up permit for a 14 day clockwise trip with many of the premium campsites, so it can be done!
Our plan was to stop at North Puyallup campground for lunch. There was already a camper in the individual sites so we headed across the bridge to the group site to rest and eat our cold soaked chicken salad with crackers. North Puyallup was a drive in campground at the terminus of the short-lived West Side Road throughout the 60s, and even up until the 1989 you could drive most of the way up. All that history is evidenced in the large stone retaining walls and flat, gravely roadbeds very slowly being taken over by the vegetation. The rocks walls make excellent seats!
I headed down the North Puyallup Trail a short ways to filter water for the steep uphill climb we’d have to Klapatche Park and on the way back stumbled upon a veritable fairyland! Wild strawberries. Harebells. I imagined little forest creatures straight out of Beatrix Potter illustrations plucking the plump strawberries and drinking from the bluebells like a chalice. The strawberries were infused with such intense strawberry flavor it put all but the ripest garden grown berries to shame.
The climb up to Klapatche Park up from the river could not have been more different from the descent down to it. We entered a stretch of steep switchbacks and trail washouts. Uprooted trees interrupted the trail in several places and at one point had knocked out a footbridge over a small creek requiring a muddy, slippery reroute. It’s going to take a lot of convincing to get us to hike this section again.
The lone highlight was the view of the Puyallup Glacier and headwaters of the North Puyallup River.
Within the last half mile, the re-emergence of subalpine meadows hinted that it would all be worth it. First it was a hillside of lupines, then a meadow of American bistort and creamy coiled-beak lousewort (such a terrible name for such a gorgeous flower). Last time we hiked through here three years the weather was so terrible I didn’t even realize you could see the mountain from here – what a difference!
I’m so pleased with how the comparison shot I took turned out. I wish there was a way to lift the clouds that fast in real life, and look at the trees grow!
After setting up camp (we chose the flat and spacious Site 4) it was back to Aurora Lake to take dozens of photos of the mountain and meadows from every possible angle. In the muddy lakeshore you could see tracks of a young deer frolicking around its mother – it was a cute scene to imagine.
Aurora Lake wasn’t completely dry, but the water was shallow and stagnant. We had to make the additional 0.8 mile trek to Saint Andrew’s Lake to get water for camp anyway, but I’m glad we chose to see it in the afternoon light because the wildflowers were amazing. The trail was all uphill, but flowers galore. It was as if every wildflower in the park was in bloom all at once, all in one location.
The pollinators were loving it just as much as I was!
Saint Andrews Lake was so peaceful with perfect light. We relaxed at the lake for a bit, filtered water, and chatted with a few more Wonderland Trail hikers pulling off some serious mileage. I admire the strength and stamina it takes to do 20+ mile days on this trail, but one of my endless refrains is that this is not a trail you want to rush.
After an hour or so at St Andrews we headed back to prepare for sunset. We brought our camp chairs out to the shores of Aurora Lake along with the Jetboil to cook our teriyaki chicken & rice and numerous cups of forest tea while we waited for the western face of the mountain to glow as the sun dipped towards the horizon.
My dad has been trying for years to see the alpenglow from this location but every time he was able to get a reservation for Klapatche Park the rain clouds would roll in. Tonight we all sat enrapt watching the colors of Mt Rainier shift with the changing light. There was barely a breeze and not a single cloud around the summit. It was such a satisfying and memorable night.
Wonderland Trail Day 7: South Puyallup and Emerald Ridge
We broke camp just as the sun peeked over the mountain, preparing for one of our longest mileage days. There were so many little birds singing and flittering about between the spruce trees welcoming us back on the trail.
There was more irresistible morning light on the flowers, and as I looked down to adjust the camera settings I saw something out the corner of eye – a black bear down in the valley below! I could see the moment it caught my scent, sniffed, looked up, looked at me, and then moved off. In all the visits to Mt Rainier National Park over the decades I’d never seen a bear before, and now two on this trip!
When it had come time to make breakfast, we realized we were running low on fuel – too many cups of herbal tea watching the sunset last night apparently! There was only one more day until resupply but we knew we’d want a hot dinner, so tried cold-soaking our breakfast this morning.
We planned to convene at Saint Andrew’s Lake to give our “cold soak” breakfast burritos time to rehydrate. I don’t lie when I say we field test all the recipes I put on Road Trip Addict, and we learned that this is one meal that is definitely better hot, although it worked in a pinch. It either needed less water or more time to rehydrate; it tasted okay, but was a bit drippy.
The next section of trail was more wildflower heaven. The entire hillside was covered with scarlet paintbrush.
Then on the ridge we hit the tastiest blueberries. Handfuls and handfuls between St Andrews and the descent into South Puyallup. Always good to get extra fiber when on the trail. Maybe we should have skipped the breakfast burrito and just eaten handfuls of berries! Further down towards the river there were also stands of salmonberry along with a few huckleberry bushes here and there.
We snacked all the way down to the Puyallup river then and turned into the South Puyallup Campground to use the facilities and look at the geology. The Devil’s Pipe Organ is a columnar andesite lava flow that chips away with such geometric precision that the base of the cliff is covered with perfect hexagonal prisms. It formed when a slow moving ancient lava flow encountered so much glacial ice that it cooled the lava in place.
There was good creek for water a short distance outside of camp before the long climb up to Emerald Ridge.
It’s a rough, rocky steep incline all along the old moraines of the Tahoma Glacier. It’s shocking to think that not even two hundred years ago the glacier once filled the entire valley below. The hike up is unrelenting on the feet, but about halfway up (in the CCW direction) the views pull you forward.
We ran into one of the backcountry rangers checking permits on the way up, and despite my efforts to keep the permit accessible I still had to take off my pack on a narrow section of trail to pull it out from behind my water bottle and trail shoes when it mattered! She was doing the Wonderland Trail for her seven day patrol.
There are no signs indicating that you’ve reached Emerald Ridge, but you know it when you see it! You crest a ridge and suddenly find yourself in a sprawling green meadow with views of Glacier Island and the Tahoma glacier.
We paused for lunch (we’d cold-soaked our coconut chicken and rice, still trying to reserve our fuel for this evening. This one worked much better as a cold soaked meal; apart from the temperature there was no difference) on the backside of the knob, joining a handful of other hikers and backpackers. It’s a popular spot, and for good reason.
And then it was time to go down again. The Wonderland Trail is a string of up and overs from river valley to ridge line and back, all the way around the mountain. The descent also follows a glacial moraine, but is less steep in this direction.
About halfway down my dad found a cell phone on the trail – I recognized it immediately as Andras’s. It had fallen out of his pocket without his noticing and miraculously landed in a visible spot on the trail, whereas inches to either side it would have fallen down the slope or into bushes never to be seen again. He’d hiked on ahead and we wondered if we’d find him at the suspension bridge none the wiser or if he’d be stressed out, and sure enough he’d realized it was missing a minute or two before we caught up to him and was backtracking up the trail. “I think we have something you’re going to want!” is all my dad had to say. Immediate relief. Another crisis averted!
Indian Henry’s and Devil’s Dream
We hiked onward to the Tahoma Creek Suspension Bridge together and waited for another group to cross before we tackled it one by one. This was the second of two suspension bridges on the Wonderland, the other being the Carbon River Suspension Bridge on the third day, and this one is slightly longer (206ft vs 203ft) and definitely higher (~175ft vs ~20ft). The only reason more people visit the Carbon River bridge is because it’s more accessible as a day hike, because the experience of this bridge is superior in almost every other way.
I absolutely love the suspension bridges but you really do need to heed the warnings about having only one person on at a time. I’ve been known to walk across with a camera device in one hand and poles in the other (as I was still using the broken poles from the last bridge crossing debacle, breaking them down to put away wasn’t even an option this time) but better to have at least one hand free to steady yourself for balance. I’ve learned how to walk across them without causing too much bounce or sway, but it’s easy to feel like you’re in Galloping Gertie situation.
Then only 1000 ft more elevation gain to go on the third, and final, up and over of the day. We’d heard from other Wonderlanders who’d camped at Devil’s Dream that the mosquitoes were bad, and on the way up we started to encounter the prelude of biting black flies. Just stopping to reapply DEET we had to swap away a half dozen. We eventually hiked out of their range, but it was really obnoxious for a while.
When we found the meadows around Indian Henry’s to be mosquito free, we decided to stop and have dinner, filter water and do all the typical evening socializing here so that we’d be able to head straight into the tents once we reached camp.
Indian Henry’s Parol Cabin was the first backcountry cabin in the park built in 1915, bearing the English name of a Klickitat, Cowlitz, or Nisqually (the records are unclear) man who guided the first explorers in this area. Satulick Mountain, viewable to the south, also bears a version of his actual name (also spelled Soo-too-lick, So-to-lick, Sotolick) according to an oral history published in 1933.
This area of the park in particular has a number of landmarks and locations that feature contested names considered derogatory. Indian Henry’s is one such example, and a nearby lake – apparently named to honor Satulick’s wives – bore an offensive term that referred to Indigenous women until just two years ago when it was renamed with input from the Puyallup Tribe to Kiya Lake. Mt Rainier itself is known by Tahoma (or Tacoma depending on which native language is used as the reference – there are many Tribes and dialects in the Pacific Northwest) and has been for generations, and there are campaigns underway to rename it as well, similar to the campaigns for Denali.
There was no one at the cabin when we arrived so we sat on the porch of the ranger’s patrol cabin and soaked in the remarkable views as we fired up the Jetboil and crossed our fingers we’d have enough fuel for dinner (backpacker penne lasagna!), hoping to keep enough in reserve for hot oatmeal in the morning. I startled a grouse on the way to the spring – it was another beautiful place to filter water, sitting on the wooden footbridge in the golden hour of sunlight, no other sounds apart from the song of the creek, the birds, and the breeze.
We eventually packed up but not before chatting with another hiker who had stopped to do the same as we had. If I’d have been smart, I’d have gotten my bug net out then and there before headed down the trail; the mosquitoes had left us alone in the meadow but as soon as we entered the wetter areas around the Devil’s Dream Creek they swarmed us en masse. There were so many that if I paused for any time at all, even a second to take a quick photo, they were on my hands, my shoulders, my face. Absolute nightmare.
We hurried into Devil’s Dream Campground, taking Site #6 close enough to the bear pole and outhouse but not immediately on the Wonderland Trail, and jumped immediately into our tents as planned. As the sun faded and temperatures cooled, the mosquitoes appeared to quiet down (but not to the point that we’d risk venturing out unless absolutely necessary) so we hoped that an early start would allow us to pack up before they came out again.
With only 5 miles to Longmire, we were headed out of the remote stretches of Rainier’s west side and heading back into quasi-civilization!
Read more backpacking trip reports from Mount Rainier’s Wonderland Trail!
- Days 1 – 3: The North Side: White River to Cataract Valley
- Day 4: Spray Park Alternative: Cataract Valley to Mowich Lake
- Days 5 – 7: The West Side: Mowich Lake to Devil’s Dream – that’s this trip report!
- Days 8 – 10: The South Side: Longmire to Box Canyon
- Days 10 – 12: The East Side: Summerland, Indian Bar and Completion – coming soon!
Planning your own trip along Mt Rainier’s Wonderland Trail? Check out our Guide to Backpacking the Wonderland Trail
Planning to backpack the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park? Let us know what questions you have in the comments!