Rant: Hiking the Wonderland Trail before all the social media hype

I dug out my journal from my first loop around Mount Rainier back in 2005. We just showed up at the ranger station for a walk-up permit, no big deal! My favorite camp was at Summerland, and you'd maybe see one other group all evening. These days, I hear the permits sell out online in minutes, and the meadows can feel like a parade. It's awesome that more people are getting out there, but the quiet magic feels harder to find. I wonder if any of you have old routes that feel totally different now.

4 comments

4 Comments

haydenmurray3mo ago

Man, trying to get a permit now feels like trying to get concert tickets for a nature show, lol. Remember when the biggest line you'd see was behind a slow goat on the trail? Now you're basically queueing for the photo op at every scenic overlook. Still a beautiful place, but you might need to hike off-season to find that quiet magic, or maybe just get really lost on purpose.

andrewwebb3mo ago

Saw that Glacier National Park had over 3 million visitors last year. They started that ticketed entry thing just to handle the traffic jams going up to Logan Pass. Felt like waiting for a ride at Disney, not heading into the backcountry. All these systems help, I guess, but they sure change how it feels to just go for a drive in the mountains. Makes you work for that quiet spot way more than you used to.

ninar122mo ago

I read an article that said Glacier's ticketed entry cut traffic by 30% on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. That's a big help for the park itself, but it totally changes the trip for regular people. You can't just wake up and decide to go anymore. Now you have to plan months ahead and hope you get a slot online. It feels less like an adventure and more like booking a flight. The quiet spots are still there, but you have to jump through so many hoops to earn them now.

the_pat3mo ago

Seriously though, was it ever that empty? Even back then, the good spots like Paradise were packed. @haydenmurray has a point about off-season, but that's just trading snow for quiet, which people have always done. Isn't the hype just moving the crowds from one trail to the next?