FYI: Mowich Lake Rd. will be closing today at 5pm, October 16th..

Thought I would run up and catch one more easy sunrise off of Mt Pleasant before extra mileage is required.

I started on the Spray Park trail to the spur trail up to Mt. Pleasant.  Watched the sunrise on Mt Pleasant and headed down/east to the connector trail between Spray Park and Knapsack Pass trail.

I much prefer this hike in the early season and clockwise.  Traversing snowfields down from Knapsack Pass is much easier than navigating the boulder fields UP to Knapsack Pass.   I have done this trail enough, I knew the line I needed to take to get to the Pass.  It was just a lot of work climbing up the boulder field vs coming down a snowfield in the early season.

Once at the pass, I made a quick trip up to First Mother Mountain. Smoke was starting to obscure Mt Rainier enough it was hard to capture any decent pictures.

I then headed down to Mowich Lake.  All I can say is WOW!  Fall colors in this area were the best I have seen in the park this year.  Not sure if this area hangs on to a little more moisture than other areas making the colors pop and be more vibrant. The upper basin just west of Knapsack Pass stole the show today.

Mowich Lake Rd is in the best late season shape I have ever experienced.

This means that much more traffic, almost all are visiting Tolmie Peak Lookout, than typical during the late season.  I measured two miles of cars parked along the road for Tolmie Peak with more cars coming up the road.  Meanwhile the parking area around the lake was 75% full when I left. I am not even sure how that trail can take that much traffic safely.

Wow, what a spectacular day up in Spray Park and beyond with Glen99!! First time for me in this part of Mount Rainier NP, and all I can say, is what took me so long. Use any adjective to describe the amazing scenery, and you would not be wrong. Once we left the forest and got into the meadows of Spray Park, it was non stop views for 9 hours. We also saw a momma bear with her two cubs twice, once on the way up, and again as we were descending. There was also another solo bear, near the momma bear and the cubs. It looked like they were keenly aware of the other bear. We also saw just at the base of the Flett Glacier, what appeared to be a Wolverine. (pic 4). It could of been a Fisher, but it was quite large. We also saw 4 white Ptarmigans. To top things off, we got an amazing sunset coming down Knapsack Pass.

Glen 99 and I got started at 9 am, took the forested trail(Eagle's Roost) up to Spray Park, and then on up to the Fett Glacier to get up to Observation and Echo Rocks. We first encountered the bears up on a hill at around 6600ft. The trail was heading right at them, so we veered to the right, staying on rocks to avoid a direct confrontation with them. They were busy feasting, and the momma bear was huge. 

Once at the Flett Glacier, we put on microspikes and headed up to Observation Rock. Some minor scrambling to get up here. On the summit, Glen99 pointed out a trail that went up to a higher peak up on Ptarmigan Ridge, so we took that up to Point 8700ft. Views up here were incredible. Such a nice day with limited smoke. We could see St Helens, Puget Sound, Olympics, Baker, Shuksan, Glacier Peak, Sloan, Alpine Lakes Wilderness Peaks, Stuart Range, and many others.

After this amazing high point on the ridge, we dropped down to the top of the Flett Glacier and went over to the base of Echo Rock. We dropped our packs at the base of the boulder field, and headed up. There is some nice class 3 scrambling with some minor exposure, so I was able to make it up.

After a short break on Echo Rock summit, we headed down to our packs, and on to the Flett Glacier for the descent. Microspikes worked well coming down and it really was not that steep, so we didn't use our ice axes. There were a few small crevasses, but were easily avoided. There is a running stream that you can hear underneath, so please avoid this section. There were also some holes that need to be avoided also. At the base of the Flett Glacier is where we saw the wolverine / fisher. It was quite large, maybe 40lbs?

Once down to around 6800ft we ran into a couple of hikers who had spotted the bears. We joined them and watched the momma and her two cubs forage down below. There was a fourth bear fairly close, but they kept there distance.

On the way back we decided to go a different route back to Mowich Lake by taking Knapsack Pass. On the way over there we dropped our packs, and scampered up to Mount Pleasant. Once back down to our packs we made the traverse over to Knapsack Pass. This part was tricky, and maybe the hardest part of the whole trip negotiating the boulder field. It also could of been because we were tired.

Once on top of Knapsack Pass, we had a treat in store for us with the beautiful sunset. Just amazing colors coming down!!!! Once down into the forest near Mowich Lake it got dark, so we donned headlamps for the last part out.

We finished at 7:10pm  14.1 miles with 5844 ft elevation gain

A great day peak bagging, fall foliage gawking, and wildlife spotting with Kidz Wont Hike at Mowich Lake side of Rainier. What a beautiful spot with fall colors on fire in the expansive meadows. We caught sunset on the way out, as an unplanned event. And of course Rainier in all her glory. Summer in October is amazing! We tagged Observation Rock, Echo Rock, Ptarmigan Ridge, and Mount Pleasant in a 10 hour day. No other hikers on those peaks all day, though we did run into a few people on the trails in the meadows. 

We had the fortune of spotting some elusive creatures. A momma bear and 2 cubs foraging on the way in and the same 3 plus another bear on the way out. In the morning, we had to divert off trail to keep our distance. Just after exiting the snow on the Flett Glacier, Kidz spotted a wolverine watching us from above. It continued to stay at a distance but watched us as we hiked for about 5 mins. We also saw what looked like 4 white-tailed ptarmigans on the rocks. 

We did a full loop hike, entering via the Eagle Roost Camp side and returning through Knapsack pass side. The Eagle Roost side is a gentle and smooth trail for the most part, though longer probably by a mile. The Knapsack Pass side is rugged and steep and not something that you want to do in the dark. We donned headlamps for the last 30 mins and had to be careful on the root laden trail. The other challenge was the Flett Glacier as it's pretty icy with some small crevasses and lots of running water this late in the year. It's steep in sections. Microspikes worked nicely, but coming down in a shaded steep section gave me some concern on traction as it was hard ice and we quickly moved over to rocks to bypass. All the peaks are class 2 walk ups other than Echo Rock which has some class 3 scrambling. 

Stats: 14.3 miles, 5414' gain, 10:00 total time, 2:00 stopped time. 

Water sources all the way up to and including the glacier. 

Gear used: Hiking shoes and trail gaiters, poles, helmet for scrambles, microspikes for glacier. Brought ice axes but didn't use. 

Road and TH conditions: Long gravel road to get to TH with some small potholes and washboard, but any car could make it. Campground at TH with fully stocked and clean restrooms. Plenty of parking. Was surprisingly busy at 9am. 

Escaping the crowds of the eastern side, the Spray Park loop is always a great option for the quieter northwest corner.

We started on Saturday, and parked up the road past the Tolmie trailhead, joining the long line of cars parked on the shoulder. Mowich Camp was busy with both frontcountry and backcountry campers, and we joined the dayhikers up the Spray Park trail.

Spray Park

Spray Falls was as splashy as I remember, and we booked it up the steps to the Spray Park plateau. Flowers were largely gone, but some paintbrush, a handful of glacier lily, and emerging bog gentian lined the trail. Pasqueflower brushes haven't fully erupted yet, but the first opening into the Spray Park meadows usually features a field of them in September.

From the top of Spray Park, we continued up to Flett Glacier, where a group of eight folks were camped on a cross-country, practicing glacial rescue techniques. A couple ptarmigan made their soft cooing sounds on the aptly named Ptarmigan Ridge. 

Saturday was overcast in a blanket gray, and you could only occasionally make out Rainier amidst the loud wind gusts. Sunday morning cleared into an incredible bluebird day, with distant visibility. We continued up Flett, zigzagging past the icy patches on the glacier. There are some bootpath options (which help if you have a gps track to follow), but we curved along the ridge and up the snow to the scree between Echo and Observation Rock. Make sure you have sunglasses and chapstick!

We opted for a boulder climb going up, and snow coming down, but aside from occasional sliding gravel, the approach isn't bad. We were joined by two groups going up to Observation, and everyone had helmets, but we experienced no rockfall. The climb up Observation is just light scrambling. 

Coming back down, we briefly hopped back onto the Spray Park trail before turning towards Mt Pleasant. The westside sunsets are epic, with their gradient from orange, to crimson, to purple, and we shared the view with 14 (!!) mountain goat on an adjacent ridge, hidden from view by those on the trail below.

Knapsack Pass / First Mother Mtn

Climbing over the ridge towards Knapsack, the trail loses itself over the large boulder fields. There are a couple ponds here, and we filtered some water while briefly laying on a snow patch for some cooling respite.

There are some well-intentioned but misleading cairns left by multiple parties, directing you nowhere in particular. As long as you can make out the trail going up each ridge, you can generally find your way across the boulder scrambles as you wish.

We were passed by five women coming up who scrambled over the field, and without them pointing out the trail to Knapsack, we probably would've taken a while to identify where to go. The slope up was slippery, with sand and gravel challenging our traction given our overnight packs. Use your poles and go slow! We later saw a trail runner who tried to make it to Spray Park, that later turned around after losing the trail. 

At the top, a junction leads to the top of First Mother Mountain to the right, with Mowich Lake appearing below. Loose switchbacks make your way down, and we paused for a family of marmots that occupied the trail. You eventually reach a small creek, beautifully lined with arnica, daisy, and penstemon. There is a small shaded waterfall ringed by wildflowers that provides a restful break further down.

We blew past the spur towards Fay Peak, as the trail starts to widen and become recognizable with drainages and switchbacks. This was a maintained trail back in the day, but is now typically used by folks at Mowich wandering along the shore further than realized. If you can't make the whole Spray Park / Mother Mountain loop via Carbon River (and can do basic wayfinding), this loop via Knapsack can be a packed dayhike or overnighter. 

We intended to add Tolmie to cap the hike, but scorched from the strong UV rays (even with hats/sleeves/bandanas!), we opted for an early return home. 

Got to Mowich Lake before 8 am and parked by the road about 0.2 mile from the trailhead. Not many folks on the trail. Met a group of 6 runners doing the 18 miles loop! Went to Spray Fall. The waterfall view (first picture) was great on the other side after I crossed the creek. – had to either step over couple wet boulders or walked on couple narrow logs. Many wildflowers by Spray Park. Headed up to the saddle. I went up Mount Pleasant first. Some narrow trail with overgrow but not hard to navigate. Many bugs at the summit. Saw couple tents close to the summit. Went back to the saddle. Crossed a snow field, no spikes needed though. The trail to Hessong Rock was steep and sometimes hard to find. Once on top, it was fun to walk around the summit. Some breeze and less bugs here. Coming down was a bit steep and slippery on the loose dirt trail. My trekking posts helped a lot. Met more tourists on the way out. It was a great hike on a sunny day. Cars parked over a mile away when I left.

AllTrails: 9.46 miles 2644 fett elevation gain.

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/afternoon-scenic-drive-at-spray-park-trail-to-mount-pleasant-13111c2?u=i