Spray Park, Wonderland Trail & Northern Loop — Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025

Point to point trip from Sunrise to Longmire 8/23 - 8/28. The day before our trip we picked up our permit (very minimal line at Longmire; managed to find parking despite part of the lot being closed for paving) and dropped off our exit car. Rangers were super helpful with water sources, bridge crossings, and berry locations.

We took the Northern Trail (Fire Creek CG) to Spray Park (Cataract Valley CG), detoured for a dip at Mowich Lake (highly recommend), then stayed on the WT til Longmire (other sites being S Mowich, N Puyallup, and Devil’s Dream). Water was not an issue thanks to rain the prior week, with the exception of the long stretch north of South Mowich. We had close to zero bugs the entire time, Devil’s Dream included. No snow or need for spikes at all. Days were not too sweltering and nights were not cold. It sprinkled a bit but nothing torrential.

Trail is overall in fantastic condition and easy to follow. We likely had fortunate timing because we passed many freshly sawn blowdowns (thank you trail crew!!) and hardly had to deal with any. River crossings were, for the most part, navigable as long as you keep your eyes out for trail signs - boot path, flag tape, cairns, etc. We did no rock hopping but also had many crossings in the mornings. A footbridge on S Mowich was the only one that truly sketched us out.

The combined ascent and mileage of some days (5000’ gains and 14 miles) completely gassed us out with the heavy packs (37 and 41 lbs). Other days were great.

Despite the challenge, the views, wildlife, solitude, and geological history of the area all made it ridiculously worth it. Absolutely stunning area - even the forested parts are all so varied and beautiful. We were continually awe-struck.