{"id":183596,"date":"2023-01-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=183596"},"modified":"2025-11-20T23:49:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T07:49:40","slug":"gear-check-running-the-wonderland-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/gear-check-running-the-wonderland-trail","title":{"rendered":"Gear Check: Running the Wonderland Trail at Mount Rainier"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To hear Alan Ortega and Devin Arnold describe the 93 miles of trail that circumnavigate Mount Rainier is like listening to a best-of list for outdoor clich\u00e9s: \u201cpristine,\u201d \u201cgorgeous\u201d and \u201cmagical\u201d come up. So too do more vivid descriptions of alpine meadows, turquoise lakes and patches of wild blueberries. Clearly, the Wonderland Trail<\/a>, as this loop is known, comes by its name honestly. \u201cYou\u2019re looking at the same mountain, but every time you get to a high point or you come alongside a ridge, it\u2019s just breathtaking,\u201d Ortega says. \u201cYou\u2019re seeing the mountain in such a different light every time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ortega and Arnold, who met while working together at the REI in Huntington Beach, California, in 2014 and bonded over a shared passion for trail running, took on the Wonderland Trail this past September. Though people often take 10-14 days to backpack the strenuous route, they decided to lace up their Brooks Caldera 6s<\/a> and La Sportiva Wildcats<\/a>, respectively, and finish the trail in just three days. Braden Van Dragt, an in-house video producer for REI, rounded out the trio, acting as the videographer and documentarian. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Watch the video<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The trail\u2019s beauty, as well as the runners\u2019 personal triumphs and trials (and to a lesser extent, their gear choices), are highlighted in the short film, My 3 Days on the Wonderland Trail<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n