Are you a person who loves sightseeing mountain climbing? Are you looking for information about Clearwater Wilderness? Please continue to follow this article to learn more about this ideal area if that is the case.
Clearwater Wilderness is the northwestern outpost of a wild complex. The centerpiece of this area is Mt. Rainier National Park. This wilderness is covered with a rich scent of ferns, mosses, huckleberry, salmon, and countless other rare plants. The vegetation here is quite thick, so it gathers many wild animals such as deer velvet, deer, or bears. Wild music is composed of great bangs, grouse, and other birds adding to the place’s vitality.
Just by hearing it, you can also feel how lively and primitive the beauty of Clearwater Wilderness is, right? Let’s explore the majestic scenery of this place together!
When Should I Go to Clearwater Wilderness?
Weather is an essential factor for any camping or hiking trip. If you are wondering when to go to this outstanding tourist destination, you should pay attention to Clearwater Wilderness weather.
Summit Lake is one of the ideal places to watch the sunset
In Clearwater Wilderness, there are only five mountain peaks with its name. However, you can still easily spot the other peaks in the surrounding wilderness complex or famous wildlife areas such as Norse Peak, Tatoosh, Willia O. Douglas, or Glacier View Wilderness.
The abundant rainfall and snow the area receives is the primary source of nourishment for Clearwater’s incredible rivers and lakes. If you go from October to May, you will admire this extraordinary beauty. Each year, this area receives 25 feet of snow. They will not dissolve until July or August.
The highest point in Clearwater Wilderness and also the tall tower on the Clearwater River is Bearhead Mountain. It has a height of 6,079 feet. Pitcher Mountain stands at No. 2 with just under 6000 feet. Located in the northwest corner of Mount Rainier, this mountain is a unique challenge for those who enjoy hiking and local climbing. In particular, Mount Pitcher is also well-suited for medium-altitude trail competitions.
For outdoor and hiking enthusiasts, Mount Rainer’s location is a popular destination, even though it is significantly smaller than other wilderness areas. In July and August, when wildflowers covering the landscape form a stunning picture, the meadows around Bearhead Mountain, Summit Lake, and Celery Meadows will be welcomed by many visitors. Cross-country travel will be a bit tricky and effort as many people have difficulty accessing remote lakes and peaks. The thick vegetation and lack of trails are also easy to discourage hikers. But if you do complete this trip, you will find it extremely deserving because the view is so touching.
How to Go to Clearwater Wilderness?
Before you start your trip to Clearwater Wilderness, you must make a clear and careful plan. In particular, how to go to this beautiful tourist spot is essential.
Step 1: Determine what you want to do on your camping trip and choose a campsite with your set criteria.
Activities: What activities would you like to do while camping? Do you want to climb the mountain? Do you want to paddle, row SUP, or do you want to cycle? Or you want to organize team-building games, casual games for kids.
Do you use a camping car or set up a camping tent? It is to identify sites with suitable paths. If you choose to build a tent, choose a flat enough place and make sure the tent is allowed.
Who do you go camping with? More people will have many different preferences, and the area of the campsite is also a factor to be noted when choosing a crowded area.
Step 2: Find a suitable camping site and contact in advance if necessary.
From the above conditions, look for and choose a location that meets most of your needs.
You can find the right camping spot in the following ways:
Ask friends or Ask on groups, forums: these two easy ways. Please describe your requirements. Experienced people will not hesitate to share.
Ask Google: You have to be selective in this way. Ideally, you should find a list of suitable campsites, ask more about the group, or consult your friends. If it is a charging paddle, you can contact directly to inquire.
Step 3: Plan your menu.
Setting up the camping trip menu was not easy.
Set up the menu: Preparing for a picnic will be difficult since you cannot bring the whole kitchen to a camping trip, but just some. So outdoor cooking is not as comfortable as your kitchen, even more difficult. Therefore, the priority should be to choose simple, easy-to-cook items such as instant noodles, fried eggs, sausages, bacon, and roast meat such as pork, chicken, and beef is indispensable. Going camping, you should limit water dishes such as cooking porridge, cooking hot pot!
Step 4: Prepare necessary things – Make sure nothing is forgotten.
You should have a list of things to prepare for camping.
You can write it down in the phone’s notes, or better yet, print it out and do each item preparation.
What Needs to be Prepared before Going to Clearwater Wilderness?
After you have outlined a clear plan for your trip, you should consider what to be prepared before going. Preparation in advance of mountain climbing is remarkable and careful, and it is also one of the essential factors determining the success or failure of the trip. The things to use for climbing are a lot. However, depending on each trip’s characteristics, such as location, terrain, weather, and the purpose and needs of each person, choose to suit the trip. Here are the Camping & Hiking Equipments that you should consider for your trip:
Essential Picnic Equipment For The Whole Group
Picnic tent
First of all, choose your campsite. It would be best if you considered bringing a tent to make the most of its convenience.
- Case 1: You go camping overnight. Large tents will fit the whole group or just choose a simple two person tent. In particular, you should consider the thick material tents and eaves for the convenience of eating and playing.
- Case 2: Going camping during the day. It would help if you also opted for seasoned tents with a canopy. It can rain, and the roof will keep you dry.
Picnic carpet
A picnic carpet is an essential item when camping. Two carpets will be of great help on this trip. You can spread a carpet in front of the tent, and people can eat, drink and have fun there. Besides, you can place the other carpet in your tent. Because if you camp overnight, the ground is too hard, and you will lose sleep.
The essentials for your trip
Picnic sleeping bag
Do not bring thin blankets as they will not keep warm while the size is no less than a sleeping bag. It would be best if you chose a dedicated travel picnic sleeping bag to carry.
Picnic kitchen
There will be no one who goes camping but will miss the jubilant BBQ party, and of course, the picnic kitchen is indispensable for those parties. Depending on the number of people in the group, you can choose a large or small sized grill to suit every time you bring.
Charcoal and dry alcohol
Charcoal and dry alcohol are the two most commonly used burning ingredients in field trips today. You should prepare these ingredients at home in advance to always be ready if the campsite is not selling or some other reason. If you go camping in the forest, you can also pick up more dry firewood yourself to make a campfire in the evening.
Grill
You can not cook your food without the help of the grill. So make sure they are on your camping gear list!
Food baking foil
If you regularly go camping, “chicken on earth” is a dish you cannot ignore, and you also know that to make this dish, it is indispensable that they are the foil for you to wrap. Eat your food and put them on the grill.
Picnic Flashlight
Whether you go camping on your own or go to a camping site, the lighting in these places is often unsuitable. It would help if you had picnic flashlights ready for convenience and easy for group play activities. Priority is given to flashlights with wide beams and long hours of battery retention.
Picnic kitchen tools
You also need to bring other essential kitchen tools such as:
- Picnic pans (if you want to prepare other dishes other than baked goods)
- Skewer
- Bowls, chopsticks, spoons, forks
- Tissue
- Cutlery
- camping tea kettle
Water bags and thermos
If the camping site you choose is one with no people or no support service, water bags for a living are indispensable. For places near a lake or stream, it might be a little more helpful.
You will have to prepare some fresh foods for your trip in advance. A thermos will be a savior to your food, always fresh.
Personal Belongings Needed for The Picnic
To make a list of what to bring for the group trip, you also need to prepare your essentials. The personal items needed when going on a trip are:
Backpacks
For long-distance trips, the backpack is an essential item. During these trips, each person must carry their personal belongings and a shared tent, so the backpack’s weight can be up to 10kg or more. If you only use a regular backpack without power belts, carrying the luggage will be extremely hard, quickly exhausted. Most of the weight of the backpack will be on the shoulders, not evenly divided. Furniture in the backpack is skewed, chaotic in which causes an indirect impact to pull the wearer.
It is necessary to have a dedicated climbing backpack with support hips and other support belts to carry luggage less strenuous. A dedicated climbing backpack will have many adjustable compartments, easy to arrange furniture, and easy to find when needed.
Comes with the backpack, the water bag is a backpack accessory that should be prepared!
One option may not be that important to most people. The color of your backpack should be a color that stands out from your surroundings. For example, if you are in the jungle, you should not choose the moss color. So that the crew members can easily recognize each other when moving, or in a bad situation, having an accident, getting lost is easier to find.
Personal toiletries
Naturally, you can not forget personal items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, and towels. If your trip is longer than two days, you should prepare both shampoo and shower gel so that you can shower.
For girls, some basic cosmetics won’t bother you too much. But it would help if you cut down on some skincare steps on trips like these.
Backup charger
Make sure your phone is always in contactable mode to avoid the risk of getting lost. So the power bank is an item not to be missed.
Clothes
It would be best to choose comfortable clothes like lightweight hiking pants, jacket for hot or cold weather and choose clothes suitable for the climate and temperature at your campsite.
It is advisable to bring a waterproof windbreaker, some underwear, and a set of outerwear when going camping.
Shoes
If you are an amateur in this adventure travel, it is essential to have the right shoes. When walking a lot, the legs will expand, or the toes tend to bend down when going down the slope. So it would help if you chose shoes that are 0.5 to 1 size larger than usual, avoid too tight, causing friction, leading to blistering, lighter feet, uncomfortable when moving. Note this as we have encountered so many mourning cases about stomping when the journey is just beginning, and the next journey is like a torture. Well, don’t forget to have a few pairs of socks ready to change.
It would be best if you prepared shoes before going for a while (a week or more is reasonable) and practice to go ahead with new water shoes for the feeling. Avoid the case because the shoe’s sole and toe are stiff, leading to foot pain, unable to continue. Besides, during this time, if you find out the fault of the shoe or something is not suitable, you can also exchange it with the seller.
Insect repellent
In environments with high humidity, insects can attack you very quickly, so prepare yourself with insect repellent to ensure your health.
Bring personal medical equipment box
Some necessary medicines such as stomach pain medicine, headache medicine, antiseptic medicine, cotton, gauze will help you to handle unfortunate situations occurring during the trip.
Rain shoe cover
If you go camping in the mountains, you can also prepare yourself more rain boots with anti-slip soles to make it easier when you need to move.
Guideline Map of Clearwater Wilderness
It would be best to explore this famous mountain climbing area’s outstanding areas for a perfect and precious trip. Therefore, Clearwater Wilderness map and direction is the top factor you should pay attention to.
One of the gems located in the Clearwater Wilderness area is Summit Lake. This lake is like a flat mirror that can reflect Mount Rainer on its surface. Around Lake Summit are green meadows filled with berries that ripen in autumn and wildflowers in summer. Moreover, this is also a photographer’s paradise when there are so many birds and wildlife species to come. The scenery on the trail is also overwhelming, and you will not find yourself wasting your time. This steady climb will start from the parking lot and take about 6 miles round trip.
With a short climb, you will reach backward steps leading through the junction and the pine’s supports. Clearwater Wilderness will appear in front of your eyes. About a mile away is the junction of the Carbon River Trail. The main trail will lead to the old forest and the lake through a slope to the left. When you see a green meadow in front of your eyes, it means you are close to the lake. If you walk around the lake, you will easily find sunny rocks. It is the ideal choice for a delicious lunch and a swimming pool.
The sunset at Mount Rainier
A stunning 360-degree panorama is waiting for you to explore at the end of the trail. If you and your family want to stay on the weekends, some campsites around the lake are perfect places to relax. For those interested in hiking, head back to the trail junction. Then, follow trail 1177 to Bearhead Mountain. It not only helps you exercise but also allows you to see the beautiful landscape of this mountain.
The Clearwater Wilderness Trails that You Should Not Miss
It must be said that many trails are leading to this area. It has been reported that there are, in total, more than 80 Clearwater Wilderness trails. However, you should experience famous trails and easy access to make your trip more comfortable.
Bearhead Mountain Trail
The beauty of Bearhead Mountain Trail
The Bearhead mountain trail will lead you to a beautiful meadow and meander through lush jungle. On a clear day, you will have a chance to see the nearby Mount Rainier. The varieties of wildflowers in the summer season here are very diverse, such as bear grass or lupine flowers. When autumn comes, this path will be filled with poetic autumn foliage. You can combine Bearhead Mountain with a trek to Summit Lake.
Summit Lake Trail
Beautiful wildflowers by Summit Lake
This trail has links to the Bearhead Mountain Trail. You will be climbing through a forest of water before admiring the large fir trees and ligands. After that, this trail will take you to the secluded Twin Lake. Hikers will continue their trek to the top of Summit Lake. Although the trail is a bit steep and rugged, you get a great view of Mount Rainier and Summit Lake.
Clearwater Trail
Clearwater Trail stands out for its wild beauty
This strenuous trek will be 8.1 miles long from 4,200 feet at Martin Gap. The 7720 Forest Service Track at 4,320 is the end of this trail. If you love pristine and pristine beauty, then it will be an excellent choice for you. You will have to cross the Clearwater with three creeks. For those with hiking skills, the Clearwater trail is a great adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Hiking Help Me Lose Weight?
This sporty activity will increase your body’s ability to burn calories. While it’s not the most crucial factor when it comes to exercise, it also contributes to your weight loss. Besides, hiking is more effective than walking.
Is Hiking Better Than Running?
Both hiking and jogging help increase the heart rate, so they are heart-healthy exercises. Hiking is moderate. Meanwhile, jogging is a high-intensity exercise. Running fast will help you burn more calories. However, it also makes you more prone to getting tired. So, consider your health and choose the right exercise.
Which Trail Should I Choose for My Clearwater Wilderness Trip?
The three most popular trails in Clearwater Wilderness are the Bearhead Mountain Trail, the Summit Lake Trail, and the Clearwater Trail. Each of these trails has a romantic scene and will give you a different experience.
Conclusion
In short, Clearwater Wilderness is a perfect camping spot for those who are passionate about hiking. If you are looking for an incredibly relaxing family paradise on weekends, this romantic area will be the right choice. Hopefully, through this article, you will feel the wild beauty of Clearwater Wilderness and choose this place for your trip.
