Did the Wonderland Trail clockwise instead of counterclockwise and it nearly wrecked me
Two summers ago I hiked the Wonderland Trail around Rainier counterclockwise and it felt manageable, so I figured going clockwise this July would be about the same. It was not. Climbing Panhandle Gap from the east side after a 3,200 foot day out of Longmire wrecked my knees, and the campsite at Indian Bar filled up by 4pm, so I ended up pushing 4 extra miles to Nickel Creek in the dark. Counterclockwise lets you ease into the elevation near Sunrise before the big pushes, and the water sources line up better with where you actually want to stop. Anyone else notice the two directions play out way differently once you hit Summerland?