Candice Burt here. Alright, I'm back and I survived! Brief info: I finished the complete Wonderland trail beginning/finishing at Longmire and running clockwise. Began 9/19/12 and finished 9/20/12. I ran unsupported and solo, carrying all my own food and gear. Total time was 31 hr 11min and 57sec despite losing the trail on the Glacier section (found it) and running into 2 bears, 2 mountain lions, and 3 porcupines! As well as struggling in the last 6 hours to stay awake. I recorded the entire run on 2 Garmin 910xt GPS watches and a SPOT device. I am working on a blog entry that will include links to all the data collected. You'll be able to find it at www.wilddefined.com Whew, that was a lot tougher than expected! I logged over 25,000 feet of climbing despite my Garmin watches losing reception for 3-5 miles (over the course of the whole run). So I'm guessing the elevation gain was closer to 26,000-27,000 feet. Sort of crazy that two women thought of running the course in the same week!? I had no idea that Darla had run the course the weekend before and was not aware of her finishing time either. Pretty crazy!
I jogged to the Wonderland Trail sign, and kissed the ground like a pilot out of a storm and cried for the joy of it all. Some hikers paused and looked away quickly. --Part II www.wilddefined.com/2012/09/mt-rainiers-wonderland-trail-part-ii.html Also, Part I www.wilddefined.com/2012/09/running-mt-rainiers-wonderland-trail.html
---Candice Burt