Wonderland Trail part 3 – (Wednesday)

I was up at 5:30am after a fitful sleep.  I’m just not good at sleeping in a tent, I can’t get comfortable.  We had a quick breakfast and were on our way at 7am.  We took the Spray Park trail which is the original version of the Wonderland.  It was pretty nice and once again I ran the first couple of hours with the DeAngelis boys and Mel.  Once the descending started Doug fell back and Tyler shot off.  I ran with Luka until we reached the junction with the Wonderland trail where he decided to wait for Doug.  I had a good 5 minute break and headed off on the climb up along the Carbon Glacier.  Some of the group started out earlier and I started catching people on that section of trail.  I caught up to Tyler and our other guide (Shaun) as we passed the glacier.  I told them I’d see them at Mystic Lake where I hoped to take a 10 minute break for lunch (and water).  The climbing was great, nice and steady but not killer.  I was ready for a break at the lake but the bugs were just brutal once you stopped.  I did a quick refuel and sip from the lake (Lifestraw) and left just after Shaun and Tyler arrived.  The climb up to Berkley Park was another nice one although I was getting a bit tired.  The trail was either up or down there was very little flat running.  I briefly stopped at the top of Skyscrapper pass to chat with 3 rangers who were enjoying lunch in the very scenic location.  After that it was mostly downhill!  Ugh, I hate downhill.  It wasn’t too bad down to Frozen Lake but after that it was twisty and steep.  I had to be very careful at any trail intersection to ensure I was going the right way.  The trails were ONLY marked at intersections and the placement of markers made it a bit tricky.  With less than a mile to go on the downhill Tyler came flying by, he was loving the downhill.  I got into White River camp in a little over 7 hours for the 25 miles with 7,800’ of climb.  It was HOT in camp and I was a little sick and dizzy for a few hours.  A bunch of trips to the soak in the stream helped lower my core body temperature.  The big stir-fry for dinner was yummy!  I settled in after checking out the show about the alpine red fox and although I didn’t sleep very well I was able to relax in my tent in this quiet campground.