We arrived at the trailhead around 9:30am after enduring the famously infamous Mowich Lake Road with its 11 miles of washboards and bomb craters. As expected the parking area was full and we had to join the line of cars forming along the road. It was slightly overcast and bit chilly, but as the day progressed the sun came out and it warmed up some.
The Spray Park trail is very easy for the first couple of miles, deeply forested with just modest ups and downs and numerous large old-growth trees along the way to keep things interesting. 1.5 miles in there is a viewpoint called "Eagle Cliff" that provides a very impressive view of The Mountain (you know which one I'm talking about). At 2.0 miles there is a short spur that leads to Spray Falls... definitely DO NOT miss this one as it's one of the prettiest waterfalls I have ever seen. Taking left at the spur leads you up the steep switchbacks to Spray Park itself.
Once at Spray Park my friend and I stopped to eat lunch, then we jointly decided that Mount Pleasant directly in front of us needed to be tackled as well. It's basically a near-vertical charge right up the face of the slope, barely zig-zagging at all as you deal with a slight scramble at times (it reminds me of Mount McCausland near Stevens Pass). The views south get better and better as you climb, until once you reach the saddle between Hessong Rock and Mount Pleasant the views are grand in all directions. But don't stop there... keep going east along the ridge crest until you reach the rocky top of Mount Pleasant where you can see all the way north to Baker, Glacier and Stuart. You can also see west towards the Puget Sound region, and of course Tahoma herself and Spray Park dominates the view to the south.
Getting back down required a lot of care, and IMHO poles are essential although a few other hikers still managed without. The foot traffic we encountered to and from Spray Park and Mount Pleasant was modest, and on this day everyone was super-friendly (yes I read the previous trip reports). The fall colors are starting to come out, and in a couple more weeks they should be at their peak. Numerous mushrooms large and small also dotted the landscape.
Our total distance hiked was around 8.5 miles, and with all of our messing around and picture-taking we didn't get back to our vehicle until 4:30pm. Once finally out of the park we stopped by the Carbonado Saloon for burgers and onion rings... definitely good food and super-nice people.
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