One Best Hike: Mount Rainier's Wonderland Trail. Doug Lorain

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      Lake James

      About 58% of the park is covered by forest. At the lowest elevations, generally below 2,700 feet, are the giant old specimens of western hemlocks, Douglas firs, and western red cedars. Understory trees in this environment must survive in a land of very little light because the canopy above blocks most of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor. Look in these shady areas for Pacific yews, grand firs, and vine maples. The most abundant ground cover species here include devil’s club, thimbleberry, sword and deer ferns, oxalis, and salal. On the few open slopes at these lower elevations, which are kept clear of large trees by frequent avalanches, are dense thickets of alders. Almost 100 species of moss and 200 types of fungi abound in the lush and damp low-elevation environment. Some of the oldest and largest of the trees in this zone are found along the lower reaches of Ipsut Creek and near the banks of the Carbon River, both in the park’s northwest corner and in the Grove of the Patriarchs, just a short side trip off the Eastside alternative to the Wonderland Trail.

      As you climb into the midelevation forest zone, which fills the area from 2,700 feet to 4,000–6,000 feet depending on local conditions, you encounter a different mix of conifers. The most notable species here are Pacific silver firs, Alaska yellow cedars, western white pines, and noble firs. The trees here are generally smaller than those at lower elevations, but the forests are usually more diverse in size and age. One of the most delightful understory species in this zone is the huckleberry, which provides a tasty feast in late summer.

      Above the forests are the subalpine parklands, which spectacularly host so much of the Wonderland Trail. These make up about 23% of the park’s area and include many of the park’s most popular road-accessible locations, such as Paradise and Sunrise. Here trees come only in scattered clumps, so you are no longer in forest. Instead the dominant vegetation is grasses, sedges, low-growing shrubs, and amazingly abundant wildflowers. What trees exist are often picturesquely contorted by wind and heavy snowfall and include whitebark pines, mountain hemlocks, subalpine firs, Alaska yellow cedars, and a few Engelmann spruces.

      One of the things for which Mount Rainier is justly famous is the abundance and beauty of its wildflowers. In mid- to late summer many visitors are more impressed with the blossoms found carpeting the subalpine parklands than they are with the mountain views. Peak blooming times vary with the elevation and the depth of the previous winter’s snowpack, but if seeing lots of wildflowers is part of your reason for hiking the Wonderland Trail, then it’s usually best to schedule your hike from very late July to mid-August.

      A complete list of the park’s wildflowers is beyond the scope of this book (not to mention the expertise of the author), so what follows is only a partial listing of the most abundant species you are likely to encounter. White flowers you should look for include twinflowers, bunchberries, mountain bistorts, Sitka valerians, avalanche lilies, bear grass, western pasqueflowers, pussytoes, yarrows, and, in very moist areas, marsh marigolds. Common yellow and orange wildflowers are glacier lilies, groundsels, fanleaf cinquefoils, buttercups, and orange agoseris (or orange mountain dandelions). Some of the most abundant blue wildflowers are subalpine lupines, larkspurs, bluebells, and, in late summer, gentians. Finally a few of the more abundant red and pink wildflowers are paintbrushes, shooting stars, mountain spireas, pink heather, fireweeds, cliff penstemons, and columbines. Anyone who is interested in wildflowers should carry an identification guide. With one of these in hand you could easily spend several happy hours in almost any meadow identifying, photographing, smelling, and generally enjoying the vast array of blossoms that carpet these bits of mountain paradise. Keep in mind, however, that these high meadows have very short growing seasons and are extremely fragile. Always remain on established trails to avoid trampling the delicate flowers.