Any attempt to walk all the way around a pagan god of rock, ice, and fire was bound to have some aspect of a pilgrimage to it, even if this one didn't also happen to be my personal spirit mountain.

My first Wonderland trip felt big and important. A pushing of limits and a step into the unknown. It mattered to me that I become not just a regular Shawn, but a ShawnWhoHasCompletedTheWonderlandTrail, and more broadly a ShawnWhoIsCapableOfBigTripsLikeThisOne. This second time around, there was no such identity importance attached to the hike. I'm at a stage of my life where my growth and excitement are focused in other directions. Instead, the trail felt warm, rich, and familiar. It was quality time spent with an old friend. Even when the mountain threw bad weather at us, that never felt hostile, just that she was in a cranky mood that day and we hoped she'd cheer up soon.

It was lovely hearing how many of the other Wonderlanders we passed knew about and appreciated this website. I didn't create it in search of external validation, but I like the feeling of being somehow in dialog with the trail, offering this small thing back to the mountain that has given me so much.

Problems that weren't: bugs, smoke, blisters, boredom.

Frank was great company. A strong hiker with a deep knowledge of the trail. This was his eighth completed Wonderland circuit! Things I learned from Frank:

• If leaving shoes outside your tent, put water bottles in them to keep mice out of the shoe.
• Instead of hanging the permit on your tent, attach it to a hiking pole stuck in the ground at the campsite entrance. This way if rangers come to check the permit while you're asleep, they won't have to wake you by coming right up to the tent.
• If, like me, you follow a no-washing-up approach to dehydrated meals, pouring boiling water into ziplock bags rather than cooking them directly inside your stove, you'll probably find that eating from a ziplock is messy and unsatisfying. Ergonomics can be improved by placing the ziplock of rehydrated food inside your now empty stove pot, folding the top of the bag out over the rim of the pot. Now you're eating from a well-shaped and rigid pot, but can still just remove and roll up the bag when done, with nothing needing cleaning. It's like a condom for wilderness cuisine.

Photo montage of this trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU2O3n_9iFk