Sunday, August 9, 2026
10.06 miles, 2051′ gain/2871′ loss
It was 53 degrees overnight. We were up around 6am and headed out around 7:15-7:30am, with only 10 miles left to the trailhead and our car.
Early on, we took a short side trail to see Narada Falls, which was very pretty. A mile or two later, we passed by Reflection Lakes, which was very busy and even had people about to take wedding photos. And soon after, we passed by Louise Lake, taking a short detour to check on the lake to see if it was a good swim spot for a post-hike dip.
We crossed the road a few times, and then headed down Stevens Canyon with a trail detour down to Stevens Creek due to a rockslide that wiped out a section of trail. The climb back up was very steep and had a lot of loose dirt.
We passed by Martha Falls, Sylvia Falls, and Middle Steven’s Creek Falls. The trail was mostly in the trees, aside from our jaunt off-trail, and the shade was appreciated as we were all pretty tired. Emily’s rash had spread and was bothering her a lot.
We climbed the last hill, which brought us up amd over the rock tunnel that the road runs through. We got a cool view of the box/slot canyon from an overarching bridge, seeing a branch of the Cowlitz River 115′ down below. We had one final view of Mt Rainier, where we took a group photo to commemorate our thruhike of the Wonderland Trail!
Then it was back to the car to put our backpacks in the back, and drive 10 minutes back up the road to Louise Lake for a swim. We found a parking spot, walked down to the lake, and all enjoyed swimming in the remarkably warm water. There were beautiful views of surrounding mountains and we shared it with only 10 other people. Back at the car, we put on clean(er) clothes and then headed out of the park.
We stopped in Packwood to charge the electric car. While it charged, we got milkshakes at the gas station and then had Mexican for lunch. We stopped again on the drive home for burgers and fries. We were all so hungry, we needed multiple meals to settle down.
We drove back to Portland, talking about our low moments and high points on trail, already reminiscing about our epic journey together!
