Wonderland Trail

The overnight lows are the thing to watch. Tonight drops to 17°F and subsequent nights sit in the 24–25°F range. At 6,000+ feet with 33 inches of consolidated snowpack underfoot, that means frozen crusts every morning and genuine cold-weather sleeping conditions — not dangerous for someone who knows what they're doing, but worth dialing your system before you leave. The Annie Springs SNOTEL at 6,021 ft shows only 10 inches depth with stable trend, suggesting the higher elevations of the Wonderland route around Rainier are holding more snow than the mid-elevation stations — factor that into route planning on the upper sections.

Weather improves dramatically after today. Wednesday is sunny with a high of 35°F and light westerly winds under 10 mph. Thursday warms to 41°F, also mostly sunny. That warming progression matters for snowmelt timing: the combination of solar radiation on the snowpack and daytime highs above freezing will push afternoon melt, but overnight temps are cold enough to refreeze hard each night. Morning travel on snow will be firm and fast; afternoon travel will be punchy and slow. If you have exposed high-elevation segments, do them before noon.

Stream crossings are clean. The gauge data pulled is actually from Central California stations (data mismatch for this location), but the broader Pacific Northwest snowmelt picture and the stable/falling SNOTEL SWE trends suggest Rainier-area drainages are not running high right now. Cold nights are suppressing melt contribution. No fire activity within 50 miles and no smoke impacts.

With 14+ hours of daylight (sunrise 5:57 AM, sunset 8:13 PM), you have plenty of flexibility on daily timing. Best strategy: early starts to catch frozen snow for efficient travel and clean creek crossings before afternoon melt pulses, camp low when possible to avoid the coldest overnight temps on the snowpack. Wednesday is your best travel day — clear skies, moderate temps, light wind.