I began counterclockwise loop at 8:30 a.m. Lovely flowers, a cool breeze and no bugs! Probably 8 hours hiking, 1 hr of breaks and an hour of picture-taking and admiring. It seems preferable to do this counterclockwise when you can come up Ipsut pass in the shade. It would be a long, hot climb from Carbon River to Seattle Park the other way. Note that you have to go right and cross the Carbon river on the suspension bridge, then left a couple miles until you take the lower crossing back over the Carbon River to walk to the Ipsut Pass trail. I wish I had counted the lovely creeks crossing and logs arranged for me - there were MANY! Also, a shout out for the recently brushed trail up Ipsut Pass! Folks, the road isn't that bad. Really just 30 min of dirt and you don't have to come to a stop to negotiate a dip. Pretend you are in a Star Trek movie and you'll be fine.

Parked at Mowich Lake Campground and began our hike to Eagle Roost. After setting up camp we stopped by Spray Falls, make sure to cross the creek and scramble up the rocks for the full view of this 300+ft waterfall. We continued up more elevation entering beautiful Spray Park meadows, we had been told a black bear was seen earlier in the day but Rangers on their way down said the bear hadn't been seen for a couple hours and finding a rock out in the meadow for dinner would be a great idea for the evening. Once we entered the meadow we soon came across a golden black bear munching away on flowers just 15ft away from us behind a set of short bushes. This bear was profiled as not responding to humans but hasn't shown aggression, would agree 100% as this bear was just enjoying his beautiful backyard. We slowly and quietly walked away from the bear and continued up the ridge to get a better look North towards Mother Mountain and South for hidden cloud previews of Rainier with Echo Rock & Observation Rock as its foothills.Spent sometime enjoying the views up top and then ventured back to Eagle Roost camp for dinner, no bear this time in the meadow.

We started at Mowich Lake on July 4th with a plan of camping along the Spray Park Loop Trail. Concerns about making campsite reservations got us up early and to the Carbon River Ranger Station by 8:30am. The rangers were very friendly and it was easy to plan out a loop with an overnight stay at Cataract Valley. Apparently the new reservation system has deterred campers who are worried about not getting to do their desired routes. The road to Mowich is long and gravel with washboard and potholes, but my little Honda Civic made it up just fine... just plan for at least 45 minutes on gravel unless you have a 4-wheel drive. The Wonderland trail north out of Mowich Lake was not very well marked, but once we found it, it was a nice jaunt through a forest with views of Mowich shrouded in clouds. About 1 mile out, you come over Ipsut Pass and start a steep talus descent into a valley (overgrown at times). Again, the clouds obscured the view, but we could tell there were massive cliffs overhead and a deep, rich valley below. The hike through the valley was lush and full of forest, overflowing streams and waterfalls. There were plenty of bridges to get you over the bigger streams. We could see freshly fallen trees that had already been cut and cleared off the trail. The trail is routed over the Carbon River (follow cairns and log bridges) and around a permanently closed portion of the trail. One hiker we passed wasn't aware of the closed trail and had nearly gotten lost looking for it. The trail continues through the river valley for a bit (bushes were thick here), and then you reach the suspension bridge. Well worth a look! What a feat of engineering! We passed the Carbon River campsite and began a grueling ascent up to our campground at Cataract Valley. The trail is not well-graded and very rocky... we were huffing and exhausted after the 1.6 mile ascent from the valley to the campground. After all of our concern, we were the ONLY people at the Cataract Valley campground. Perhaps partly because it is in a wooded forest area without a view. We still found it to be a really lovely place to camp, with a sweet creek running in and around the campsites. The bear poles seemed short, but perhaps the bears are short too? The only wildlife we saw were pikas and birds. Day 2: We began in clouds and start climbing up out of Cataract Valley towards Seattle Park on the Spray Park Trail. The ascent is STEEP and again not well-graded. There are switchbacks as well as areas where you're just trudging up a hill. Then you reach a verdant alpine meadow with streams and wildflowers and it's almost all worth it :) I'm sure the views there are great, but again, all we could see were clouds. After a sweet jaunt up through the alpine meadow, we started to see some patches of snow. They were not hard to cross and usually marked with cairns. As we climbed higher the patches of snow turned into more like snow fields. Again, it wasn't too difficult to find your way across/over them... just follow the footprints and look for a cairn on the other side. Good boots and poles were helpful, but no need for any snow climbing gear or extra traction. The snow began to subside as we descended into Spray Park. What a lovely meadow! Again, our views were obstructed by clouds, but we could ALMOST imagine what it would be like with the mountain showing herself behind us. Lovely wildflowers. After Spray Park, there is a STEEP descent into forest. The trail is pretty straightforward after that. Flowing water and forest. Then within a few miles we were back at our car at Mowich Lake. Phew! I forgot my digital camera, so here are some pics from a disposable film camera.

Hiked this loop counter clockwise starting at Mowich Lake. Eagle Cliff has a great view of the mountain with Spray Park not too much further. After Spray Park you will reach meadows with amazing views of Mother Mountain and Mt. Rainier. Continue on through a glacial rock field and descend down to Carbon River. Part of the original Wonderland Trail is still washed out so you will have to use the detour across the suspension bridge and use the Northern Loop Trail for a bit until you are able to cross again and meet up with the trail that hasn't been washed out. Once you hit the crossing of the carbon river trail and the wonderland be ready for a 3000+ ft gain in a total of 3.5 miles up Ipsut Pass. Once at the top of Ipsut pass its an easy downhill grade back to Mowich Lake. Hike time was 7 hours.

Amazing hike around Mother Mountain Loop. Started out at Mowich Lake. Set out for Isput Creek hiking clockwise. Crazy downhill hike to Isput Creek. Ahead of schedule and strange man in camp do decided to keep going. Took a lunch break at Carbon River Suspension Bridge. Decided to hike up to Cataract Valley and set up camp for the night. (Permit required) Ir was a brutal hike to Cataract Valley. Total miles first day 11.5. 5 other hikers at this camp. Plenty of tent sites (6 I think). Bears sighted about 50 yards off camp eating berries. Next day hiked up to Eagles Roost camp, a pretty good elevation gain to this camp. Beautiful landscape and scenery through Spray Park. There were 4 other hikers staying at Eagles Roost, plenty of sites (6) and nice campsite with views of Rainier. Next day hiked to Mowich Lake. I was due to stay here the night but found a ranger who changed my permit to South Mowich camp to have some solitude. Mowich Lake is a drive in car camp. Pretty lake and beautiful trails around lake. So I made my way down to South Mowich camp and arrived early around 4 pm. I had the 3 sided shelter all to myself. Beautiful camp! After about 8pm more hikers arrived at camp. Total of 1 group of 4 and a group of 2 for the night. Plenty of spaces left over. Next day woke up early and made my way back up the climb to Mowich Lake. Uphill all the way ! I decided to keep hiking out to Tolmie Peak, it was early in the day still and beautiful. It was totally worth the added miles. Breathtaking views at the top and a quick dip in Eunice Lake which is absolutely beautiful!