Vent: I picked the longer route around Mount Rainier and missed the one view I came for
Last month I planned a 3 day loop out of Sunrise and had to choose between going clockwise on the Wonderland or taking the shorter Spray Park cutoff. I went with Spray Park because it saved me about 6 miles and my knees were already mad at me from the climb up. Big mistake. The cutoff was pretty but I never got the full look at the mountain from the north side, and two guys at camp showed me pics from the Wonderland stretch I skipped. Turns out those extra 6 miles were the whole point of the trip. I keep telling myself a shorter loop meant I got back to the car before dark, but it still stings. Has anyone done that Spray Park shortcut and felt like they picked right?