Magnificent. This may be my favorite view of the mountain. A mid afternoon Sunday start meant I had the trail going up to myself, and grand views at the top in solitude.

See DK1998's trip report on 9/21/2024 for details on navigating from Spray Park up to Mount Pleasant. Today I hiked up to the saddle between Hessong and Mt Pleasant, walked a little further east toward Mt Pleasant, but stopped short at a perfect rocky perch overlooking Spray and Tahoma in 3D. Highly recommended.

Trail: Good shape. No snow as of October 6. A little muddy in places. The trail up Mt Pleasant was dry. I found it to be steep, but with good footholds and step ups. Poles were essential for me. Think the final push up Goat Mountain or Hannegan Peak in the North Cascades but with better footholds.

Road: Mowich Rd is long, no fun, and downright abysmal in sections. This is the price of admission for the splendor. I wouldn't bring a low clearance vehicle up that road.

Wildlife: Gray Jays and Pika meeps at the saddle. No bear sightings.

Stats: approx 7.5 miles round-trip and 2000 feet of gain. Quite reasonable for uncrowded views like this. 

Great fall hike on a clear day. I had previously hiked Spray Park on a thick foggy summer day with ghostly beargrass blooming all around. I now see what I was missing with the views!

My 2 of 3 Trip Report for "Hessong Rock and Mount Pleasant" .. this for Mount Pleasant ..

TUE 02-Oct-2024, ~11:20 after arriving on The Saddle (Hessong Rock - Mount Pleasant), i had a fun ~30 minutes break, enjoying the views, shot some videos, shot some photos, had my hot cup of coffee, and some snacks .. Also, i walked around and "found" the boot-path to Mount Pleasant (mentioned in DRDana's 24Sep2024 TR - thank you again DRDana).

It was (a happy) uneventful (for me: a "Class 2 Scramble") between The Saddle and Mount Pleasant summit.

Amazing ~360 degrees views on/from Mount Pleasant summit; almost similar views on/from The Saddle, and Hessong Rock summit 😊 For me, one minor difference was the exhiliration of being on Mount Pleasant summit .. and alone 😅

Happy Trails Everyone 😀

Below is the LINK to my ALBUM of "Mount Pleasant" - enjoy 😊

My 3 of 3 Trip Report for "Hessong Rock and Mount Pleasant" .. this for "Hessong Rock" ..

~12:30 TUE 02-Oct-2024, after getting back to The Saddle from Mount Pleasant summit, i continued towards Hessong Rock summit. It was a "miss and hit" finding the "trail" (if any), especially at Start going through the talus, rocks section.

It was (a happy) uneventful (for me: a "Class 2 Scramble") until the turn around the back of Hessong Rock; on the slope ~100 ft approaching Hessong Rock summit; where on ~10+ ft of the slope, i would step on patches of "Needle Ice" concealed/hidden under the dirt (of the boot-path) .. making the traverse "extra" slippery. i had to get on all-fours to very slowly Up-climb (or later, Down-climb) .. (And that's when it became to a "Class 3 Scramble" for me 😅 )

Again, amazing ~360 degrees views on/from Hessong Rock summit. However, i didn't stay around long cos some greyish clouds was moving in .. and i don't want to risk getting caught in the rain (if any), especially, when Down-climbing Hessong Rock. Anyway, it didn't rain .. and the sun came out again ..

Happy Trails Everyone & Be Safe 😀

Below is the LINK to my ALBUM of "Hessong Rock" - enjoy 😊

Thanks to DRDana's and a few other recent Trip Reports of "Hesson Rock and Mount Pleasant", WED 02-Oct-2024 morning, i went for an O&B; Mowich Lake Spray Park Trail TH > The Saddle > Mount Pleasant > Hessong Rock > The Saddle > TH.

Cos i feel that "The Saddle", Mount Pleasant, and Hessong Rock - each having its own charm .. and therefore, each can be a "destination hike", i am posting 3x (separate) Trip-Report for each 😊

Below is my Trip Report for "The Saddle (Hessong Rock - Mount Pleasant)"

WED 2024-10-02 ~07:45 i was the 10th to arrive at the Mowich Lake Trailhead parking. Cos it was chilly high_30s_F, i layered-up. ~08:05 i headed Out. i noticed a few people at the campground. And just when i was about to get on the Boot-path to go to The Saddle, a pair of Day-hikers came from from behind me. We greeted each other, then they continued their way towards Spray Park.

From then on, i didn't see any other person until after my Back from Mount Pleasant, and Hessong Rock; it was at ~1.5 mile from the TH, that i met 2x party of 3 Day-Hikers, and a pair of Back-Packers "streaming" Up. ~16:00, back at the TH parking, it was relatively quiet; ~3 people moving about; ~10 vehicles in the Parking area, and 8 vehicles parked along the road ~100+ ft outside the TH Parking area. And i went for a cool-down walk at Mowich Lake, and had a coffee-break.

The boot-path Up/Down The Saddle was partially "paved"/"lined" with crushed rocks and stones; which help provide good tread, but then it could be 'trip hazard" .. During my descend, i slipped twice.. fell and landed on my butt cos i had accidentally stepped on some loose stones .. 😅

imho, almost similar; very nice ~360 degrees views on/from The Saddle, Mount Pleasant summit, Hessong Rock summit. As such, any or these locations can be a good "turn-around" point.

Btw, indeed, the ~15+ miles of (165 & Mowich Lake Rd) of gravel road was rough (though passable). But then, the road was mostly, and generously - at mininum: "2x_vehicles-wide" - which makes for less stressful driving.

Happy Trails Everyone 😀

Below is the LINK to my ALBUM of "(Hessong Rock - Mount Pleasant) Saddle" - enjoy 😊

Mowich Lake Road: requires constant vigilance and care, but passable by any normal car. It took me exactly an hour to drive the 20 miles from Coronado to the trail head.

Parking: Before dawn the main lot was 80% full of overnighters. In the afternoon cars were parked 1/2 mile up the road, but some spots were opening too.

Flora: Lush carpets of green turning autumn red, lots of big mushrooms.

Fauna: a loud but unseen owl; a bear grazing near the trail up to Hessong/Pleasant; a herd of goats; many grey nutcrackers; about 25 humans; no marmots :-(

Route: Spray Park trail up to its max elevation of about 6400 ft, plus some spurs:

• Eagle's Roost (twice—outbound and inbound)
• Spray Falls (also twice)
• Mt. Pleasant
• boot path from 6400 ft toward Echo Rock

Details:
To be clear, I didn't go anywhere near Echo Rock, just took the path in that direction about 1/2 mile. Total for the day was a little over 10 miles and about 2900 feet of climb.

I started at 6 AM, hiking by headlamp. In the pre-dawn forest an owl hooted persistently, and remarkably loudly. It must have been quite near, though I couldn't see it. I wondered if it might be mad and considering sinking its talons into me.

As everyone says, Spray Falls is breathtaking and highly recommended. Just note that getting the best view involves crossing the creek below the falls, requiring good traction, balance, and preferably poles. Today I saw it both in early-morning shadow, and in full afternoon sun; sun is better.

I thank trip reporter DK1998 for the report of 9/21 that brought Hessong Rock/Mt. Pleasant to my attention. The trail, which may also be a seasonal stream bed, is quite rugged but navigable. It goes almost straight up to the saddle between the two peaks, about 400 feet above the flattest part of Spray Park. This is a great place for a snack and expansive views. I could see a herd of about a dozen goats foraging on the very steep rocky slope below East Fay Peak, though they were so small at that distance it took me a while to recognize them.

Gazing at the rocky peak of Mt. Pleasant while snacking, I thought it would be accessible only via some very nasty scrambling, but fortunately I was wrong. There is a reasonable, scramble-free trail that snakes around the other side up to the peak, about 250 feet higher than the saddle, opening the full panorama all the way to Mt. Baker.

Coming down from Pleasant/Hessong requires attention to every step (poles recommended), and I was surprised to glance up at one point and realize there was a bear, perhaps 50 yards off the trail, at exactly my elevation. Just far enough away that the bear, focused on its breakfast, might not have noticed me yet, but close enough to be concerning. My first question was whether this might be part of a family—I really don't want to get involved in bear family dynamics. I looked around and was relieved to see no others. I made some human noises to announce my presence, and it didn't seem either interested or concerned. It did finally look up, straight at me, then went back to its foraging. Because of the steepness and roughness of the trail, and our relative positions, there was no quick way for me to put much more distance between us, and especially to keep an eye on the bear while moving. At least that's my excuse...for taking the time to fumble with my pack, pull out and install my long lens, and shoot some pictures. The bruin continued munching, glancing at me a couple more times before I carefully moved along. By the time I reached the bottom about 15 minutes later, the bear had moved on to someplace I couldn't see.

The rest of the way up the Spray Park trail was uneventful, but beautiful as always. It's hard to beat the variety of interesting terrain it covers, not to mention the constant presence of Mt. Rainier.

Since I started so early, I didn't meet anybody except the bear until I was almost at the farthest point of my hike. But on the way back I passed various parties totaling roughly 25 people, all friendly and courteous. And I was pleased to not see a single bit of litter (I have sensitive litter radar). All in all, a truly outstanding day.