The Wonderland Trail
150 BREATHTAKING KILOMETERS & 22,000 FT OF ELEVATION, CIRCUMNAVIGATING MOUNT RAINIER IN WASHINGTON. TEN DAYS + FIVE BEST AMIGOS.
The following photographs were all taken on a single roll of Fuji Film 400H, on a Nikon 35mm with a vintage manual focus 50mm lens. The camera & film got soaked, frozen, exposed to light and hot sun; all around the film roll was left to fend for itself. I love the nostalgic feel that the effects from shooting on wrecked film brings!
During those days on the trail we were completely connected to nature; raw, vulnerable, and exposed to the elements at all times. This brought a refreshing surge of creativity to all of us. We were slowly becoming in tune to the truest and most pure forms of ourselves. We reflected on this state of mind daily by taking time to journal.
When I look back at these pictures I am reminded of feeling grounded, wild, and free.
Mason Strehl was on a mission last summer to jump into a freezing cold body of water every single day. For him, it was a testament to discipline. He said that if one could bring themselves to jump into frozen water everyday, it could make diving into big decisions in life more second-nature. Of course the whole group joined in on the venture!
Neat to note: we noticed that the cold water refreshed our systems and took all of the soreness from hiking away!
This was my personal favorite cold water dip: a little stream of glacial run off in the middle of a field of wildflowers!
P.S. Kearns or me? Who’s to say.
Whitney and I share a pretty darn special friendship. On the trail we found ourselves overtaken by gratitude for each other. She is such a confident, strong-willed, encouraging human. The inspiration from all of that strong-woman-energy had us tearing up almost daily.
These two film snaps were taken on “tree tripods” at super-duper low shutter speeds. I am constantly blown away at the diverse dynamic range of film!
When I think back to those days on the Wonderland Trail, the moment that stands out to me the most is the evening we spent at the Glacier.
We sprinted there from camp, hopping for a kilometre or so across a rock field. We ran, climbed, and leaped from boulder to boulder, full-tilt and near falling as we went. I glanced over at M. Strehl for a moment just as he said “this is the closest I ever feel to flying!”
We reached the base of the glacier and stood mutually breathless from the sprint, ice-cold air, and grandness. We were overcome simultaneously by the beauty and tragedy of it all. It was melting so, so fast. We took a moment there, knowing that the scene in front of us would soon be gone, sobered by the weight of climate change right before our eyes. The coming days were filled with bouncing around ideas on how to take action.
The Wonderland Trail itself is absolutely stunning. We went in late June, the perfect time to catch the wildflowers - yet still be able to traverse icefields and snow capped ridges safely. Though I could have given a billion little tips on how to be more comfortable on the trail, camps to stop at, routes to take, or gear to bring; all that really matters is who you go with. It would be a great space to go solo and soak in some solitude. But I wouldn’t trade those days bonding with such wonderful humans for anything.
MY ONLY ADVICE: GO ON A HIKE! YOU DON’T NEED MUCH. MAYBE JUST A JOURNAL, FILM CAMERA, AND PEOPLE YOU LOVE.
