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Spray Park Loop — Jul. 27, 2017

Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
4 photos
SorachiAce
10
Beware of: bugs
  • Wildflowers blooming
  • Ripe berries

5 people found this report helpful

 
They should have sent a poet. Spray Park and the Ipsut Valley is beyond beautiful. The weather was glorious and it was a fantastic experience. Ipsut was a tough climb. There were trail crews clearing the brush up to the Pass. The bugs were only bad at the Cataract Valley Camp. Blueberries are beginning to ripen along the Carbon River

Spray Park Loop — Jul. 22, 2017

Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
4 photos
Kiloa
Outstanding Trip Reporter
50
Beware of: road conditions
  • Wildflowers blooming

1 person found this report helpful

 

I did the Spray Park Loop; Ipsut Pass, Carbon River Cataract Valley, and Seattle/Spray Park. As others have reported, there are many wildflowers, the WTA has done some great trail work, and views of the Mountain are fantastic. The hike was about 17 miles with the trek from the suspension bridge up to Spray Park being a long steady climb. A few snow field but nothing to worry about.

Spray Park Loop, Northern Loop, Spray Park — Jul. 21, 2017

Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
1 photo
jdk610
Outstanding Trip Reporter
100
Beware of: bugs
  • Wildflowers blooming

16 people found this report helpful

 

Earlier this week I did a figure-eight of the Mother Mountain and the Northern Loops in Mount Rainier National Park, as part of the UP Wilderness Challenge. Route and trail conditions below, with some notes about the experience in the photo captions. Strava link here.  [caption id="attachment_15893" align="alignnone" width="2040"]3R0T Figure-eight combo of Mother Mountain and Northern Loop - 48 miles and 14,400 ft gain[/caption] Trail conditions: Mowich Lake to Spray Park - The trail is in excellent condition with zero blowdowns. There is no snow on trail until you are well into Spray Park. Wildflowers were still in bloom as of July 17. Take the spur trails to see the Eagle Cliff view point and Spray Falls - the spurs are short and the views are worth it. Spray Park to Seattle Park - This is the only place I encountered any noteworthy snow, in the form of several large patches as you enter Seattle Park.  When I went through early in the morning (630-7 am) the snow was icy and firm, and there was evidence of an overnight freeze (ground frozen solid, a thin layer of ice over small tarns). I did not have traction, and felt comfortable without it. I carried one trekking pole for stability (no axe) and that worked for me. As illustrated in the pic below, most of the snow that remains is low-angle. When I was there (on a Monday after a sunny weekend) there was a clearly established, frozen solid, bootpath through the snow, and routefinding was not an issue. Southern half of the Mother Mountain Loop (Wonderland Trail): Excellent condition. No blowdowns, no snow, just smooth sailing all the way until you connect with the Northern Loop trail. [caption id="attachment_15872" align="alignnone" width="3621"]untitled-3820 First light on Rainier, as seen from the Eagle Cliff viewpoint off of the Spray Park trail.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15873" align="alignnone" width="4567"]untitled-3840 Early morning in Spray Park[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15877" align="alignnone" width="3648"]untitled-3856 Thin layer of ice on some of the tarns[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15874" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3846 This is a good example of the remaining snow fields in Spray/Seattle Park. They were hard and icy when I went through early in the morning, but low-angle and with a well-defined bootpath.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15875" align="alignnone" width="3648"]untitled-3847 Cairns, paint, and MORE paint (?) in Seattle Park[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_15876" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3850 Dropping down from Seattle Park[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15878" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3865 Suspension bridge over the Carbon River - good for a giggle![/caption] [caption id="attachment_15879" align="alignnone" width="3648"]untitled-3870 Sweet soft singletrack along the Carbon River[/caption] Northern Loop trail: Once you leave the Wonderland Trail and start climbing towards Yellowstone Cliffs along the Northern Loop, you start to encounter a few blowdowns, but overall the trail is still in excellent condition with no significant obstacles. In fact, for the entirety of the Northern Loop trail, there is no snow, minimal blowdowns, and no major obstacles. The only section that gave me pause was crossing the White River after Lake James. The bridge is out, so getting across requires wading through two braids of the river and then doing a bit of bushwhacking to cross the final stretch on a sturdy log. I crossed late afternoon on a sunny day, and the river was approx 1.5 - 2 ft deep at its deepest. It was kind of fun to engage my brain again after mindlessly cruising along well-maintained trail for so many hours. [caption id="attachment_15880" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3876 Yellowstone Cliffs - what a treat! Endless wildflowers.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15881" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3884 Yellowstone Cliffs[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15882" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3889 One more pic of the bear grass and lupine below Yellowstone Cliffs[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15883" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3907 Unnamed tarn before Lake James. Perfect for swimming.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15884" align="alignnone" width="4218"]untitled-3913 The water was clear and not too cold.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15885" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3916 More smooth sailing[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15886" align="alignnone" width="3017"]untitled-3922 I took a 1-mile detour to refill my water bottles, and was rewarded with western coralroot orchids in the sun-dappled forest.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15887" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3951 Heading into Berkeley Park[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15888" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3963 Paintbrush in Berkeley Park[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15889" align="alignnone" width="2064"]untitled-3969 Flutterby[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15890" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-3981 Lupine fields in the Sunrise area[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15891" align="alignnone" width="2606"]untitled-3994 It's not a trip to Rainier without a marmot.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15892" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-4000 Headed towards Skyscraper Pass[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15894" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-4003 Sneak peek at Rainier[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15895" align="alignnone" width="5081"]untitled-4026 Little Tahoma playing coy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15896" align="alignnone" width="2201"]untitled-4027 Cinnamon-colored black bear! I saw him and said "Hey Bear!" He looked at me, and then put his head down and kept eating - ZFG.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15898" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-4051 Final river crossing of the loop - the bridge over the Carbon River. A definite no-go.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15899" align="alignnone" width="5472"]untitled-4053 Luckily this option was just a little bit upstream. Feet still got a little wet! :)[/caption] All in all, it was a lovely route with fantastic conditions, and a great way to see some spectacular scenery in the park. Thanks to  Kathy and Ras for coming up with the figure-eight route! p.s. I realize this report is heavy on the pics with not a lot of text. I blame it on a busy summer schedule without much time for writing.  If you have any questions about specific sections of the route, I'm more than happy to answer them! Just shoot me an email. :)  

Spray Park Loop, Observation Rock — Jul. 19, 2017

Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
4 photos
jrod
100
Beware of: road conditions
  • Wildflowers blooming

20 people found this report helpful

 

(Used Observation Rock approach to access Echo Rock so included for info)

Been meaning to get to Spray Park for years. All I can say is that it was worth the wait! I’ve never seen so many flowers and varieties on a hike, and the weather was perfect.

After about a mile in, I took the spur to Spray Falls. For only 0.2 miles extra, it’s definitely worth it. I crossed the creek and headed up to get a closer view. It’s a big beautiful falls. Very broad, and delicate looking.

After a few miles back on trail, I was at Spray Park. Stunning. The flower scene is just waaaay outta control up there right now. It’s like 1000 weddings are about to happen all at once. Groves and groves of flowers everywhere you look. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Once I got to the main high point (around 6300’), I noticed a spur trail heading south towards Mt. Rainier. Echo and Observation Rocks were also in the distance. I thought it would be cool to head up that way to get a little better view of the area.

In no time I was up on a knoll looking down over the entire Spray and Seattle Parks area. Echo and Observation were really tempting my curiosity and seducing me at this point -it doesn’t take much in the hills, so up I went...

The snowfields on Flett Glacier were in perfect shape for hiking. Semi firm snow with a couple inches of soft on top. Fairly mellow and moderately sloped. Got there pretty quick and scrambled up Echo Rock. Really unique and interesting red/orange volcanic rock. Views were amazing. Olympics, Puget Sound, Tacoma, Baker, Glacier, Stuart… I could even see the sun reflecting off a Seattle skyscraper. Hearing the constant cracking and popping of the North Mowich Glacier was an added treat.

Observation Rock had a slightly steeper snow approach to the northeast. I left my axe at home for the first time this year, otherwise I would have attempted. Another time.

After a quick lunch on top of Echo, I headed down, plunge stepping, boot skiing and glissading my way back to the main trail. I made good time and continued on towards Seattle Park. Another flower show... More weddings... The whole place has the scenery thing in spades. The non-flower views alone are spectacular enough!

Soon after exiting the Seattle Park area, the grade plummets. It feels like you are going downhill for eternity. I sorta checked out on this section as the flowers and views dissipated, and the trail got a bit brushy as it entered some old growth.

Finally arrived at the Carbon River area, and due to the trail washout, I got to cross the most awesomely fun suspension bridge. Signs on it said "one-at-a-time only.” There wasn’t much to it, it was high up over the river, and it moved a lot. So fun.

The next several miles meandered along Carbon River mostly through forest with many creek crossings. By the time I hit the junction to Ipsut Pass, I was already on mile 16, and had a pretty daunting section of trail looming. Ipsut Pass is a beast! Lots of slow, steady gain ending with a super steep switchback finale.

Once at the pass, it was 1.5 miles of easy flat tread back to Mowich Lake where I promptly shed my clothes and jumped in. Fully recommend. Water is beautifully clear and pure. The perfect way to end an awesome hike! 21.2 miles, 6350’ gain.

OH, and I must mention how impressively maintained this entire trail system is! It’s staggering to see all the work put in to erosion control, stepping stones, berms, steps, and bridges! Seriously, there must have been 20-30 bridges I crossed over streams, creeks, falls, etc. Some serious engineering going on in the NPS. So grateful.

Spray Park Loop — Sep. 27, 2016

Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
4 photos
Mark47n
5
  • Fall foliage

9 people found this report helpful

 
To start the day I had a leisurely breakfast in my kitchen and then proceeded to the Carbon River ranger station to pick up my permits, where I arrives at 1000hrs. I planned on staying at Eagles Roost and Ipsut but ended up not pulling a permit for Eagles Roost and staying at Mowich (more on that later). I then drove the last 2.5 miles from the ranger station to the end of the road, parked and got started at 1030. I chose to walk in from the Carbon River Road, to prevent a time consuming backtrack. This added 10 miles to my round trip but what's 5 miles of road walking, anyway? I'm a pretty fast walker so this added 3 hours to my round trip. I reached the Ipsut CG around 1200 and had a brief lunch. I knew that the hike up Ipsut Creek would be challenging, at least the last 1100' of gain would. The beginning of this leg started climbing right away. not steep but not gentle either, just enough for you to know that you're climbing. Well, only 2700' to go! The hike along Ipsut Creek was beautiful and I'll be sure to do it again. It's deep under the forest canopy and there were many great mushrooms, boletes, various Amanitas and a whole mess of them that I'd no idea about but I was sure to take some pictures. Alas, I didn't bring anything I would need to cook the ones that would be great, like great big King Boletes and Lions Mane/Bear's Tooth, but it was awesome to see such great specimens. The hike, like I mentioned above, isn't steep but'll keep you on your toes...until 4000'. At this point the trail tilts upward like the Titanic just before she sank. I'm not a trekking pole person but I used them anyway and my knees were glad. The switchbacks were viciously steep, narrow (don't fall) and covered in broken shingle and they just kept going. In spite of that, however, the view was amazing. I topped out on Ipsut pass, at 5100' around 1445 and plopped down on the ground to catch my breath as it seemed to have run away from me. From here, after I could breathe, I descended to Mowich Lake. As I descended I reached a point where my map and altimeter were insisting that I should be able to see the lake off to my left. It was a little foggy but eventually I saw it. Glass smooth as far as the eye could see, which was about 50'. I was clouded in. I reached the campground and visibility was about 100' over the ground but far less over the water. I set up camp and proceeded to grouse about being IN the cloud cover and hoped that the weather reports for the next day were accurate. As the day rolled on to early evening the clouds suddenly broke open and I could see everything. This lasted for about 15 minutes and I captured what photos I could. I had originally planned to stay at Eagle Roost, about 1.5 miles further on the trail and, if and when I do this again, I will. Mowich Lake is a nice campground but a lousy and mood breaking place to camp if your trying to get your backcountry on. The bear lockers are great but listening to people open them at 2200 was obnoxious, especially when they would just slam them shut. People driving up the road and wandering into the CG and my personal favorite, someone shining a flashlight directly into my tent at 2100 when I'm trying to sleep. It just made me grumpy. My solution was to be back on the trail around dawn. Dawn comes late, fortunately. I had my camp broken down, packed and I was on my way by 0730. As I started down the trail to Eagle Roost the last bits of fog were drifting away and the sky was a clear blue. I reached the camp site and grumbled about my stupid decision. Moving on...just BEFORE reaching the campsite I reached the Eagle Cliff overlook which had the best view I've ever had of Mt. Rainier. I took a few pics and split, I had 17 miles to go and mustn't dilly dally, especially since I'd just gotten started. I got to the cutoff to go and see the waterfall but elected to continue on. I don't know how carefully you've studied the map, but more switchbacks. Not as steep as Ipsut Pass but quite steep. This climb paid off when I got out of the trees and the entire W. side of the mountain was open to me! What I said about Eagle Cliff, scratch that! This is Spray Park. The hike through Spray Park was breathtaking and I can only imagine what it would be like during wild flower season but, as it was, the foliage was on fire! Reds, yellows and green were vivid and saturated the atmosphere around you. The trail is still climbing for a few miles but at a much more measured rate until you are out of the foliage and into the shingle and talus. At this point it a bit further until you top out at 6400', the high point of this loop, and you begin the long march down. The hike down is long and descends quickly, but not suicidally. This side was definitely muddier but, as you can imagine, was equally beautiful but I couldn't look as often or I might fall. One other thing to note; the trail is wiped out from Carbon Camp to Ipsut CG along the W. side of the Carbon River. This will require you to cross the river twice and, if it's early in the year or if there is big water it's possible that this loop won't be passable at all due to the fact that the lower crossing is comprised entirely of logs across various parts of this braided river. Use caution and, perhaps, call the rangers and ask. I did run across two gentlemen who attempted to bushwhack around the landslide and they said it was unquestionably a no-go. They wasted about 1.5 hours trying to get around it. I can say that if the loop were done in a counter clockwise fashion that the climbing would be much easier but some of the descents, especially Ipsut Pass to the creek would be...sporting. This would be a long day hike for many (probably 8-10 hours), from Mowich (as guides tend to write it) and it involves a lot of elevation gain quickly. If you're planning on doing it in one day please bring the 10 Essentials, especially the headlamp and batteries. If you're not sure that you can manage this distance on more moderate trails then don't attempt it, those switchbacks will require a lot from you! The detour imposed by the rail washout will add approximately 1 additional mile. I know it doesn't sound like a lot but, at the end of the day, it's a lot if you didn't plan on it.