Appalachian White Mountains compared to the Wonderland Trail in Washington state

[dad love mom]

Has anyone traversed both? I'm organizing a trip to do the Wonderland Trail (93 miles) next summer; are the paths at Wonderland as rocky as the ascents and descents of the White Mountains of New Hampshire?

Just trying to get my footwear, splits, and the like (wraps, some minor first aid, et cetera) in order before committing.

Thanks!

[Feral Bill]

Some parts are quite similar. Picking your way among rocks forever, endless ups and downs, and iffy weather come to mind. There is one extended section of flat on the WT, it lasts for a couple of miles. Last month I used light trail runners and liked them. My son used lightish boots and liked them. The Wonderland trail also has a tightly regulated permit system, which can be irksome. Getting in shape will pay big dividends, too. PM me for more, or look for posts by Shutterbug.

[Dogwood]

Both are rocky. But the AT through the Whites, when I've been there in summer and fall, can require traversing short height steep slabs possibly in a few places needing 3 pts of contact. WT, when it is in great shape, meaning that yrs avalanche/washout/blow down, etc destruction is cleared, bridges are restored, etc is more on nicely maintained NP standard single track. Some of the stream crossings are extremely rocky almost like small boulder hopping though when bridges are out. I feel the WT is more a trail that succumbs to yearly weather so... Lots of elev change for the linear on the ground distance on the WT too.

[dad love mom]

Some parts are quite similar. Picking your way among rocks forever, endless ups and downs, and iffy weather come to mind. There is one extended section of flat on the WT, it lasts for a couple of miles. Last month I used light trail runners and liked them. My son used lightish boots and liked them. The Wonderland trail also has a tightly regulated permit system, which can be irksome. Getting in shape will pay big dividends, too. PM me for more, or look for posts by Shutterbug.

Thanks a lot for the response, advice, and feedback! I appreciate it!

[dad love mom]

Both are rocky. But the AT through the Whites, when I've been there in summer and fall, can require traversing short height steep slabs possibly in a few places needing 3 pts of contact. WT, when it is in great shape, meaning that yrs avalanche/washout/blow down, etc destruction is cleared, bridges are restored, etc is more on nicely maintained NP standard single track. Some of the stream crossings are extremely rocky almost like small boulder hopping though when bridges are out. I feel the WT is more a trail that succumbs to yearly weather so... Lots of elev change for the linear on the ground distance on the WT too.

Thanks for taking the time! I appreciate your insights!

My wife and I have begun training in the White's for our upcoming trip to Wonderland. So far we did a half Pemi Loop in a day (about 26 miles); we plan on doing more in the coming weeks as well.

[chiefiepoo]

Have some good land navigation skills or be GPS competent in case you run into snow at higher elevations. I was there in July many years ago and snow cover at higher elevations obscured the trail tread. There are some big meadows at higher elevations that can be challenging to work through. A ranger I ran into had skis strapped to her back while on patrol.

[garlic08]

I did not find the WT to be very rocky at all, except in one area under repair from a flood. I thought it was the best maintained trail I've ever hiked. I rarely had to step on or over an obstacle.

The amount of climbing is probably similar. If you can climb 3000' every day, day after day, you'll have no problem. If you can keep your 26 mile/day pace and can climb 6-7000' doing it, you can hike the WT in a long weekend. (Take a look at my four-day hike, if you want.)

Resupply is harder on the WT, but logistics are easy on the loop, as long as you have a car there. Getting a permit and keeping to the schedule is more of a pain.

[dad love mom]

Have some good land navigation skills or be GPS competent in case you run into snow at higher elevations. I was there in July many years ago and snow cover at higher elevations obscured the trail tread. There are some big meadows at higher elevations that can be challenging to work through. A ranger I ran into had skis strapped to her back while on patrol.

Wow, thanks for that. I've been doing a lot of research and have a pretty resourceful book on the trail. I haven't come across such sentiments yet; again, thanks!

I did read that the Spray Park alternate route can at times present problematic weather conditions (residual snow, thick cloud cover, high winds, et cetera).

[dad love mom]

I did not find the WT to be very rocky at all, except in one area under repair from a flood. I thought it was the best maintained trail I've ever hiked. I rarely had to step on or over an obstacle.

The amount of climbing is probably similar. If you can climb 3000' every day, day after day, you'll have no problem. If you can keep your 26 mile/day pace and can climb 6-7000' doing it, you can hike the WT in a long weekend. (Take a look at my four-day hike, if you want.)

Resupply is harder on the WT, but logistics are easy on the loop, as long as you have a car there. Getting a permit and keeping to the schedule is more of a pain.

My wife and I have done some good backpacking trips, with our hardest to date being a rim-to-rim-to-rim trip of the Grand Canyon. We also successfully traversed 25-miles (in a day) of the Whites (and bagged Mt. Bondcliff, Mt. Bond, Mt. Guyot, and Mt. South Twin on the way). Anyways, my wife is leaning towards a 7 or 8 day trek of the WT. If I could swing her to, I'd love to try and complete the WT in 4 or 5 days.


Thanks for the info and the link. I'm definitely going to read about your experience on the WT.

[dad love mom]

I did not find the WT to be very rocky at all, except in one area under repair from a flood. I thought it was the best maintained trail I've ever hiked. I rarely had to step on or over an obstacle.

The amount of climbing is probably similar. If you can climb 3000' every day, day after day, you'll have no problem. If you can keep your 26 mile/day pace and can climb 6-7000' doing it, you can hike the WT in a long weekend. (Take a look at my four-day hike, if you want.)

Resupply is harder on the WT, but logistics are easy on the loop, as long as you have a car there. Getting a permit and keeping to the schedule is more of a pain.

Excellent notes, Garlic! Thanks again for sharing the link; your trail notes are extremely beneficial to my research. Sounds like you had an amazing trip; also, you did the Spray Park alternate route as well!

[Feral Bill]

Here are some WT pictures from this year and previous.

[Feral Bill]

Wow, thanks for that. I've been doing a lot of research and have a pretty resourceful book on the trail. I haven't come across such sentiments yet; again, thanks!

I did read that the Spray Park alternate route can at times present problematic weather conditions (residual snow, thick cloud cover, high winds, et cetera).

Spray Park is also quite rocky. It is wonderful on a clear day, eerily interesting in the fog.

[Feral Bill]

My wife and I have done some good backpacking trips, with our hardest to date being a rim-to-rim-to-rim trip of the Grand Canyon. We also successfully traversed 25-miles (in a day) of the Whites (and bagged Mt. Bondcliff, Mt. Bond, Mt. Guyot, and Mt. South Twin on the way). Anyways, my wife is leaning towards a 7 or 8 day trek of the WT. If I could swing her to, I'd love to try and complete the WT in 4 or 5 days.


Thanks for the info and the link. I'm definitely going to read about your experience on the WT.

I've met people on 5 day itineraries who were having fun. I'd urge more time to enjoy the beauty of it all. Of course I am old and lazy.

[dad love mom]

I've met people on 5 day itineraries who were having fun. I'd urge more time to enjoy the beauty of it all. Of course I am old and lazy.

My wife will be glad to read your comment about "more time" to enjoy the beauty of the park. She is much more interested in the sightseeing; I love the sights, but also love the hiking and exercise aspect of backpacking. Hence, the reason I hike trips more than once when possible.

Great pics! Thanks for the share and tips!

[garlic08]

Yeah, the Spray Park alternate (in good weather) was hardly an option! I went back a few years later to hike the North Loop and saw Spray Park again. Try not to miss it.

An advantage of being able to hike long days and enjoy them is the ability to be flexible when it comes to weather and getting permits. The walk-in system has worked very well for me. I typically spend many weeks in that area, and wait for a good five-day "weather window" to go hike Rainier.