The Wonderland Trail with Sassafras: Permits, Campsites, and Gear (BPR #320)
Backpacker Radio
Zach Davis
4.7 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 25 August 2025
⏱️ 142 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are chatting all things Wonderland Trail. The Trek’s very own Jess Stone is fresh off her thru-hike of this near-100 mile lap around Mt. Rainier in Washington, and gives us a detailed breakdown of her journey and the trail at large. We cover the ideal number of days to do this hike, the standout campsites, wildlife, the permitting process, and the best games to play on trail with your hiking buddies to pass the time such as eating rocks.
We wrap the show with a couple of new opportunities to get involved with The Trek, why Nova Scotia has banned all hiking for the foreseeable future, ranking a series of different hiking conditions (or- why postholing is the worst), the triple crown of gear deal breakers, we get even more input on the very controversial decision to use dry ice for resupplies, and a listener reminds us that not all owl encounters are all that interesting.
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Shady Rays: Use code “TREK” for 35% off sunglasses at shadyrays.com.
Betterment: Learn more at betterment.com/trek.
[divider]
Panel with Jess Stone
Time stamps & Questions
00:04:50 - Reminders: Sign up for the Trek’s newsletter, apply to blog for the Trek or be a social media intern, and listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon!
00:11:23 - Introducing Jess
00:13:45 - Where is the Wonderland Trail?
00:14:15 - What is the permit system like?
00:18:10 - What is the distance and are there alternates?
00:22:20 - Did you bring a bear canister?
00:23:20 - Where did you start and what direction did you go?
00:25:35 - How did this trail compare to some of your past thru-hikes?
00:29:10 - Tell us about the wildlife
00:34:45 - How do the resupplies work?
00:36:45 - Tell us about making your own food
00:40:04 - What were the best campsites?
00:43:00 - Tell us about your hike chronologically
00:47:27 - What was your hiking group?
00:51:50 - Day 3 of the hike
00:59:00 - Did you encounter rangers?
01:02:30 - Eagles Roost to Golden Lakes
01:05:50 - Golden Lakes and afterward
01:09:50 - High Low Buffalo
01:12:15 - What gear stood out to you?
01:17:50 - What footwear did you use?
01:20:40 - How was the weather and water situation?
01:23:22 - How did you get to the trail?
01:26:10 - How was the experience overall?
01:27:12 - Wonderland Trail or the best 93 miles of the Long Trail?
01:29:00 - Peak Performance Question: What’s your top performance-enhancing or backpacking hack?
Segments
Trek Propaganda: Nova Scotia Bans All Hiking Due to Wildfire Risk by Chickpea
QOTD: How many miles would each of the following have to be for them all to feel equal?
Thing of the Week
Triple Crown of gear deal breakers
Mail Bag
5 Star Review
[divider]
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, |
| 0:02.2 | the track brought to you by Topo Athletic. |
| 0:04.2 | We are chatting all things Wonderland Trail. |
| 0:07.4 | The trek's very own, Jess Stone, is fresh off her through hike of this near 100-mile |
| 0:12.7 | lap around Mount Rainier in Washington and gives us a detailed breakdown of her journey |
| 0:17.5 | and the trail at large. |
| 0:19.3 | We cover the ideal number of days to do this hike, |
| 0:22.4 | the stand-no campsites, wildlife, the permitting process, and the best games to play on trail |
| 0:28.0 | with your hiking buddies to pass the time such as eating rocks. We wrap the show with a couple |
| 0:33.1 | of new opportunities to get involved with the trek, why Nova Scotia has banned all hiking for the |
| 0:38.5 | foreseeable future, ranking a series of different hiking conditions, or why post-holing is the |
| 0:44.0 | worst, the triple crown of gear deal breakers. We get even more input on the very controversial |
| 0:49.4 | decision to use dry eyes for resupplies. Don't do it. And a listener reminds us that not all |
| 0:54.6 | owl encounters are all that interesting. But first, a backpacker's most important piece of gear |
| 1:01.2 | is their footwear. You can have the rest of your pack absolutely dialed in, but if your feet |
| 1:05.6 | aren't happy, you aren't happy. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce today's sponsor, |
| 1:10.8 | Topo Athletic. |
| 1:12.1 | If you've tuned into our footwear episode with Dr. Courtney Conley, you already know that |
| 1:16.0 | Topo Athletic was on her short list of brands she recommends for hikers. That's because |
| 1:20.5 | Topo Athletic makes trail runners with a zero or minimal drop and a roomy toebox. The minimal drop |
| 1:26.4 | promotes a more natural g gate, while the wide |
| 1:28.3 | toebox allows your toes to fully splay. Thruhikers are catching on the topos as well. According to the |
... |
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