The hike to Spray Park is one of my favorites in Mt. Rainier so I wanted to share its beauty with a friend! The trail itself is in great shape, still some good sized snow patches up high which adds to the beauty! We saw marmots and a bear up on the ridge above the park. Lots of wildflowers, some big patches of lupine. As you climb out of the woods into the alpine meadows the bugs start attacking you so bring repellent! Afterwards we dipped our hot feet in Mowich lake and it felt sooooo good, as it was a very hot day in the mountains!

Trail snow free until top of switchbacks after Spray Falls. HUGE blowdowns in several spots this year that are all clear. Hats off to whoever cleared those buggers! Even though there there's snow on the trail, the route is easily followed by sticking to the muddy track in the snow! Wildflowers in the upper meadow are starting to come out. And no bugs... at least on my trip!

Escaped work on a great Friday for a trip up to Spray Park. The road to Mowich is in great shape -- I don't think I hit a single pothole! The mosquitoes attacked as soon as I left the car, but subsided once I got on the trail. There's almost no snow from the trailhead to the falls, but once you start up to Spray Park the snow gets pretty heavy...maybe 75-80% covered. Lots of water, lots of snow, no flowers until you get up above Spray Park, where it's almost entirely melted out. There are plenty of tracks in the snow, so it's not too hard to see where to go.

I am entering this trip a few days late. It took me that long to get over it. With most of the flowers since gone, it was a very long hike through a lackluster forest. There was a falls, nothing spectacular.

When I did reach the much talked about meadows where the trail wonders so it does not end at any particular point, I kept going looking for those damn flowers someone posted previously of beautiful avalance lilies. Well, they are gone, my own fault for doing the hike 2 weeks two late.

Since the meadow never seemed to end and go over one small peak to another, I ended up hiking 9 miles roundtrip on a 6 mile roundtrip hike. I did find a rock w/a carved out area that fit my butt, so I was happy to lay there, drink water and eat chocolate rice cakes.

Did I mention I took off my Nike dri-fit shorts and wick underwear? It took only 5 min. or so to dry out much to the dismay of approaching hikers, one older man, one younger guy. My wick shirt was way long enough to cover me, just above my knees, but they seemed to avoid me and walk out (off bounds) into the field.

My husband continued to ANOTHER peak. This one seemed to be a good view point from the pics he took of a meadow below and jagged brown outcroppings in front of him. He surprised a deer or the deer surprised him.

We did see the usual suspects, marmots sunning themselves. We did spot a huge elk w/a huge rack on the opposite mountain side grazing.

I felt bad for other hikers passing us on our way down, maybe thinking flowers were still there and one poor woman had this nice big camera.

Oh, how quickly I forget, the mosquitos! Bring deet and make sure you don't run out.

P.S. - To the hiker who questioned dogs on the trail, dogs are not permitted in National Park Buildings or on the trails, but that doesn't mean people don't do it. I think the rule was insituted because of careless hikers w/dogs that let them run down wild animals so basically, they ruined it for everyone else w/well behaved dogs. Also, the dog you saw could have been a service dog and they are allowed most places.