Nice Day Hike down to Mowich River camp using the Paul’s Peak trail to the Wonderland. Drive was fine- the road is open all the way to the trail head.

Trail was in good shape- just a touch of snow at the start. Turned out to be a nice day, great views of the Mountain while working down to the river.

There was a big blow down on the Wonderland trail down to the camp, but I got over it fine. Only saw two other people. It is really a pleasant not to hard hike!

The gray, dreary, damp, and foggy drive to the trailhead had me questioning my plans for the day. Shortly after the pavement gave way to gravel, I escaped the low land clouds and fog and found blue skies and sunshine!

Road + Parking

The road to Mowich Lake Road is closed for the season; the gate is a scant way past the Paul Peak Trailhead. When I rolled into the parking lot around 10 AM, there were 2 other cars and room for a dozen more.

The road itself has sections of washboard and potholes. None of the potholes are particularly deep, so most cars will do fine with some care.

Trail

I did a 16-ish mile counter-clockwise loop starting on the Paul Peak Trail, which had a single blowdown. It was easy to step over and was the only trail hazard for the day.

When the Paul Peak Trail met the Wonderland Trail, I began my upward journey towards Mowich Lake, where I passed someone enjoying a rest at one of the campground picnic tables. I continued onward and upward toward Ipsut Pass and ran into another pair of individuals on their way out.

At the trail junction, I got off the Wonderland and headed towards Eunice Lake and the Tolmie Peak lookout. A short way past the junction, I heard a rustling and looked uphill to see a bit of brown fur. I thought yay, an elk! I cautiously continued forward, hoping not to startle it, only to find it wasn't an elk. It was a bear! Hey, there, bear! The bear and I watched each other for a few moments, and then my fuzzy friend continued on their way, and I on mine.

The rest of my uphill slog went by without issue, and soon, I was at the Tolmie Peak Lookout. The Lookout is closed for the season, but I had a lovely time lounging on the deck, enjoying the views, making friends with the birbs, and generally just soaking in the tranquility. Eventually, it was time to quit lolling about, and I was on my way down the trail, shortly back at Mowich Lake. Once you are headed down the road, keep your eyes peeled for the unsigned Grindstone trail. It does have orange reflective markers in the trees. This trail allows you to bypass a few road switchbacks and saves close to a mile of road walking.

Eventually, you do have to walk on the road, but it's only for 2 miles and closed, so there is zero traffic. It is a small price to pay for a bit of solitude in what is typically a very popular area.

There is little in the way of fall colors in this area, but if you are a Funghi fan, you are in for many mushroom treats!

I took a quiet forest walk this morning up to Sunset Park/Golden Lakes via Paul Peak TH. 

I love this hike for the gentle grade, the lush, moss covered forest that most of the trail follows and the solitude that can be found.  I only saw 3 people the entire morning!

Note: the blowdowns reported a couple of weeks ago in the last trip report have all been cleared!

Bridges:  The trail is well marked except one area mentioned below at South Mowich crossing.

Meadow Creek (first creek crossing from the Paul PeakTH) - no bridge needed. The flow is very low.

Mowich River - The log bridge is one of the longest I have ever seen!  It was a little nerve wracking as it bounces a lot as one crosses it.

South Mowich River -  Flow is low.  There are technically 3 areas that cross the river.  The first two bridges aren’t really needed at this point due to the low flow.  Rock hopping works easily.  The third, or the southernmost log (tree) bridge isn’t really needed.  However, it is the easiest way to get to and from the trail as one crosses this area.  Otherwise one would have to drop down to the creek and back up again to stay on trail.  See pic.

Wildflowers….well, some fireweed and a random aster, lupine and bear grass that seem lost.  

Wildlife was the story of the day.  About a mile from Golden Lakes, it looks like a new bridge is being built.  I had stopped to take a picture of the work when I heard a rustling directly to my right.  Too much noise for a squirrel or even a marten.  Much quieter than a spooked elk.

I took a couple of steps around the dead stump where I heard the noise and saw a smaller black bear.  They must have been using the stump as a den/sleeping area.

The bear sauntered away from me.  I looked at it and verbally said “sorry dude!”  The bear looked at me and huffed as it continued to move south parallel to the trail.  That was one of the funniest things I have ever encountered.

I stopped and waited as I watched the bear continue to head south and then up onto the trail eating berries as it went.  After waiting five minutes to give it space, I continued along the trail.  200 feet into my jaunt, I saw the bear again, slowly walking along the trail eating berries as it went.  I gave it another 5 minutes before I continued to hike.  This time when I started back up, I saw it heading down through the forest towards Golden Lakes.

I also saw a blue heron this morning up at the lakes.  That was wild.  I am used to the nesting grounds at the Marymoor Dog Park.  Never expected to see one in MRNP.

Mowich Lake Rd is deteriorating quickly this year!  It is much worse than when I was up there 3 weeks ago.  I am guessing all of the traffic this year as the line of cars at Mowich Lake/Tolmie Peak was at least 1.5 miles down the road.

Overall a great morning!

The aim was a dayhike to Golden Lakes Camp, but we started on the Paul Peak Trail - same distance, but the trailhead starts much lower than Mowich Lake, so the final climb out is easier.  The weather forecast included possible showers and later, possible thunderstorms, but none of this transpired, so we got foggy territorial views in exchange for pleasantly cool temperatures.

The Meadow Creek bridge (.75 miles in on the Paul Peak Trail) is indeed, still missing, but there is a passable series of stones to cross instead.  The main story here is crossing the South Fork Mowich River, which had been putting me off this hike for years because the river keeps knocking out the bridges, thus requiring a ford or an improvised log walk (and you get to do it twice for a dayhike). But this year it appears the South Mowich jumped most of its volume to a side channel, turning the river ford into a hop across a creek.

After you hit the Wonderland and make your way down to the river, there is a clear deviation to the right (west) for a new log bridge that crosses the whole Mowich and puts you out on the rocky, wide channel where the South Fork used to run. The confluence of the two forks is just to the east, and you then ascend to a skinny forested section between the former channel and the new channel (this section is also where the South Mowich Camp is located; its unclear to me if there is any good water source for this camp, so you should probably not rely on any water between Meadow Creek and Golden Lakes Camp; I have no idea if there's any water between Mowich Lake and the intersection with the Paul Peak Trail).  After the South Mowich Camp, cross the old channel again, crossing over 2 trickles and a more substantial section of the river, about as wide as Meadow Creek.  There's no official bridge here, but there is a very sturdy log or you can descend and make it across with a rock and a hop. The trail picks up at the other end of the log, and from there you start going up.

Almost all wildflowers are in a short ridgewalk after you finish with the switchbacks, and at the Camp, which features at least one nice spot to hang out on the rocks by the lake and eat your lunch. It's 20+ miles roundtrip, and took me about the same time (4.5 hours) there as back, even though there's much less elevation gain on the way back.  This was mostly due to fatigue and an ankle injury that makes climbing hard, particularly after 17 miles.

Per usual, the Mowich Lake road has a lot of washboard. It is rough in many spots but should be OK for most cars. Trailhead has toilet.

I've hiked this trail several times, and I always notice it seems to be divided into four parts. The first is mostly downhill through lovely forest to Meadow Creek, and is the steepest section of the day. The second is from the creek to a very distinct left turn of the trail as it abruptly changes direction. There is some very moderate climbing here. The third section is from the turn to the first views of Mt Rainier. This is my favorite part, as it is a flat, pleasant contour before beginning the descent to the South Mowich. There are 3 or 4 views from as many different switchbacks; I personally like the second one best. The last section goes from the views to the river. Quite a few switchbacks here, as well as a bit rougher trail, but still pretty decent tread.

If you want to go on, there is a new bridge that leads to some nice forest and lunch spots by the river. Or, you can use the campground sites close by if they are unoccupied.

Of course, it is mostly uphill on the way out, but the gain is spread out well enough that most of the climbing is fairly moderate. As I mentioned, the steepest part is at the end, but even that is fairly short.

This is a nice hike. It doesn't have the spectacular scenery of nearby Spray Park or Tolmie Peak, but it is certainly worth a look.