An ”Easy Day” (or is it?) – MRNP Northern Loop Day 2
Saturday, September 7 – Day 2
I wake slowly to the sounds of quiet voices in the campsite. It’s a little before 7.
I slept wonderfully, thanks to the babbling brook in the back of the Mystic Camp group site. Leisurely, I sit up and stretch, peeking through my open rain fly as I do to see Willi and Julia as the source of the quiet conversation. I rouse myself and join them as they finish their coffee.
Sadly, both of them could only join our group for this one night, so they are up early to begin their hike back to the Sunrise trailhead. I am sad they can’t stay, but glad they were able to join.
As they begin to pack up, I head to the bear pole to retrieve my food bag. As a 5’0” hiker, this isn’t the easiest task. I carefully balance the retrieval pole and reach nearly as high as my arms can reach, giving me next to no leverage. Thankfully, the pole slowly wobbles itself under the loop of my food bag and I gradually maneuver it down. I suspect a taller pole would make this a much greater struggle. I am just barely tall enough to comfortably pull it off. Food acquired!
A Rare Slow Morning
Shortly, Willi and Julia say their goodbyes, and I am briefly alone in my chair (yes; I brought a chair for this trip and it was absolutely the right call). The only place I have figured out how to be a morning person is the trail, and it’s lovely at the moment. Soon enough, Ame and Lauren join for breakfast and, later, Mark and Margaret. We have a leisurely morning, enjoying our breakfasts and the slow start.
This is purposeful, as we only have about 5 miles to go today, nearly all downhill. We don’t even start hiking until a little after 11 am.
The climb to Mystic Lake, which we visited last night, is a steep climb up, but then it mellows out around the lake before a final climb and view of Tahoma.
Grateful Not to be Climbing This
Within a mile, we start our descent. The trail is immediately steep, rocky, and full of switchbacks. I am quite fast downhill these days, but loose rock is my nemesis. It immediately slows me down. Even with my trekking poles, I slip more than once. It’s treacherous and nerve-wracking. I am pleased when it levels out into a meadow filled with marmots and a view of the mountain behind us.
Although I’m grateful not to be ascending this incredibly steep section, the stunning view is to our back. I think that even though it would be a tough and exhausting trek, this vista would make up for the climb from the Carbon Glacier. Take heart, clockwise Wonderland hikers, the climb is terrible but the view is lovely.
After an enjoyable break by a cascading creek, and a continued steep descent full of switchbacks, we find ourselves at the Dick Creek camp. This is not our final destination—Dick Creek does not have a group site—but it is the site of the privy with the greatest view on the Northern Loop, supposedly. Nature calls, so I make my way back to the privy. And indeed, the view does not disappoint. However, there is also a view of the switchbacks I just hiked, so it’s not quite as private as I’d hope. (Unfortunately, I appear not to have snapped a photo, but I can assure you, it was lovely.)
The Lowest Glacier
As the trail continues dropping from Dick Creek camp, we encounter the first washout of the day. The trail here skirts alongside Carbon Glacier, the lowest altitude glacier in the contiguous United States. Just like Winthrop Glacier yesterday, this glacial landscape is wild and seems to be doing everything in its power to take back the trail. There is a washout right here at Dick Creek camp that has rerouted the trail, but we face two more washouts, both large and small, as we continue our descent.
The result is a trail full of loose silt and rock, part of an ever-changing landscape. At times we clamber over boulders and through loose gravel, our eyes carefully watching above us lest any rock tumble our way. And just like yesterday, the view of the glacier is unlike anything I expected. It appears as another alien landscape in the middle of the riverbed ahead.
We continue the precarious descent past old wash-outs and over fresh landslides. Even though we’ve only gone a little over four miles, a very short hiking day, my feet already ache from the rocky tread and my knees are clicking from the steep grade. I am ready for the trail to level out.
As we get closer to our turn-off for camp, I start to notice a new issue: chafing. My favorite hiking leggings are nearing the end of the their lifespan, and I was planning to retire them after this trip. They have lasted hundreds upon hundreds of hiking miles, but the reinforced rear is starting to sag, and in doing so it is starting to chafe the back of my legs. I just begin to worry about that when we encounter the Carbon River suspension bridge, distracting me from my woes.
A Marvel of Engineering
Here, giant cables are hewn into rocks, supporting a suspension bridge high above the silty Carbon River. I’m not typically afraid of heights, so I’m excited to cross it. There is no sign on this side, but the other side indicates that the bridge is to be crossed one at a time only. Once I start across, I immediately see why. It swings and wobbles with every step. The footboards are almost wide enough for a foot to slip through. I definitely cannot look anywhere but ahead, clutching my trekking poles to my chest. It is a surprising relief to make it to the other side.
Wonderland and Northern Loop Trail hikers taking a traditional route don’t typically cross here. We cross it today because our campsite is just .5 miles past, at the Carbon River Camp. (Wonderland Trail hikers taking the Spray Park alternate also will take it.)
Once across, it is a short pleasant trek to our camp. We cross another much smaller log bridge to reach the camp, which is farther uphill from the creek than expected. The group camp is a nice size, complete with a sitting log. Just like last night, there are no views from the campsite. It becomes clear this is the standard for the camps on the Loop. Dick Creek seems to be the only exception.

Markdavin, myself, and Margaret rinsing in the creek near our Carbon River campsite. It was absolutely freezing. (Photo credit: Markdavin Obenza)
We busy ourselves rinsing in the frigid creek. I can barely hold my feet in the water, but Margaret and Markdavin are able to nearly fully submerge. I am unable to rinse off as a result, something I will come to regret tomorrow. But, that’s tomorrow’s problem. Tonight is a lovely night of laughter, camaraderie, and enjoyment on this short hiking day. Other that a brief emergency repair session when Mark’s backpacking chair tears clear through, it’s a truly wonderful evening. (Alas, no amount of tenacious tape could fix the tear. Let’s keep a moment of silence for Mark’s REI Flexlite Air Chair.)
Tomorrow, we face what the ranger claims to be “the hardest climb in the park.” We head to bed early in anticipation. One or two of the group voice tepid opposition to the early bedtime, but within 10 minutes I hear their snoring. Even though it was an “easy day” today, we are clearly ready for rest.
Day 2 Mileage: 5.1 miles
Elevation gain/loss: 731 gain/ 2970 loss
Highlight: Carbon River suspension bridge
Lowlight: Rodents in our campsite all night
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