Getting There
Originally, the plan was to fly into Portland. It's much cheaper than flying into Seattle for some unearthly reason but Alaska Airlines made major schedule changes so we had no choice. You're definitely going to have to rent a car unless you're a lunatic and road trip up there. Either way, it's worth it. The park ( Longmire entrance) is about 2 hours from Seattle airport and 2 1/2 from Portland.
Getting on the Trail
Okay, this one is the most nerve-racking. The NPS gives out a limited number of permits each year to protect the park and wildlife. Starting March 15th, you will be able to submit a permit request. Visit nps.gov, select Washington, then Mount Rainier. There is a tab on the left labeled "Plan your visit", scroll down to "Things to do", select hiking, then wilderness permits. It will cost you $20. You will get an email within a few weeks saying you were either selected or denied.
If you are Denied
IF you are denied, don't panic. We were also denied but had it set in our hearts to do this. We had already booked our flight, car, and made backup plans! We reserved a camp spot for 4 nights at Cougar Rock Campground near the Longmire Wilderness Information Center in hopes of getting a walk up permit. The WIC opens at 7:30am. I suggest getting there as early as possible because people were filing in after us! BE FLEXIBLE. We wanted to do around 10 days on the trail so we booked our trip for 14 days to give ourselves some room. Research and have an idea about the trail. Check trail conditions, closed campsites, and weather. The Rangers will work with you but it's also great to know what you're talking about.
Caching your Food
This is a great way to not carry 10 days worth of food! The most we carried was 4 days and trust me, that's enough. We bought 5 gallon buckets at a farm and ranch store on the way to the park. After we figured out our drop off locations, we wrote our last name, date of pick up, and permit number on the lid. Depending on your trail itinerary, you could have either 2 or 3 pick up locations. Mowich Lake, Longmire, and White River were our choices but since we started at Mowich, we only have 2 pick ups. You will also need to cache your fuel and since it can't fly, we had to stop at REI on the way as well.
Longmire WIC
Clockwise vs Counterclockwise
We started at Mowich Lake and went counterclockwise. I had read before the trip that clockwise is harder on your knees due to the steep downhills... Well, it's hard on them no matter what so prepare for that. BUT I do remember thinking "I am so glad we are going down this instead of climbing up" on many parts of the trail so I would suggest Counterclockwise.
Weather & Clothing
BE PREPARED for any and all types of weather. On the West side of the mountain, we froze and on the East, we got sunburned. We hiked through rain, snow, mud, sand, heat, basically everything you can imagine. I am not happy when I'm cold so I took 3 pairs of tights, 2 long sleeved shirts, 1 pair of rain pants, 1 pair of shorts, 3 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of toe socks (helps prevent blisters), 3 Nike dri-fit t-shirts, multiple headbands to cover my ears (also helped with the annoying bugs), a down jacket, a rain jacket and warm gloves. I took sunglasses but didn't mess with a hat. I learned on an earlier hike that my hat just blocked a ton of my vision and in places with large predators, you want to be very aware of your surroundings. I had to speak to a young girl leading her father and younger sibling before she knew I was standing in front of her because she had her head down hiking uphill with a hat on. That made me believe in my theory even more.
PS: Don't forget the bug spray.
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