A gorgeous day on the mountain!  Road in is rough, though I didn't find it as bad as in years past. Lots of washboarding mostly, though do pay attention as every once in a while it throws a large hole or rock at you for variety.  Also please slow down on the corners - there were lots of vehicles tending to take the middle path down the road, which led to a couple close calls with trucks screaming through. Also passed a group that was in the process of changing out their tire; one more tire casualty at the hands of the sharp rocks that proliferate the road.

Got to the TH a little before 8AM.  The toilets were clean and had hand sanitizer but at least the one I used didn't have TP in the morning (there was TP in the afternoon).

Stopped at the lake for some photos while things were still serene (minus the guys inflating their SUPs), then took off on the Spray Park trail.

Trail overall is in excellent condition. There were some patches where water was running on the trail, and one spot of mud just before one of the first meadows. There were two Rangers out today working on improving drainage, putting stones on the trail at the muddy area to try to keep people on the trail (Please respect the Rangers' hard work and stay on the trail!), etc. If you see shovels of muddy earth along the trail, that was their efforts in clearing out the culverts along the side of the trails to try to improve water flow.  Thanks again for all the work you put in!

There was one blowdown on the Spray Park trail just a bit after the turn off for Spray Falls, but it was easily stepped over.

I hit the falls on the way up; they are always impressive.  Photos just don't do them justice. 

Flowers overall are past their peak but still very enjoyable, especially when you get up to Spray Park! Magenta paintbrush, American bistort, pink mountain heather, yellow monkeyflower, arnica, asters, mountain gentian, yellow willowherb, lousewort, thistles, western columbine, rosy spirea, woodland penstemon, spreading stonecrop, fireweed and bluebells were still hanging around, among several others!

Bugs weren't biting, but there were a ton of flies buzzing around, especially in the general vicinity of Mowich Lake (within 1.3 miles or so).  Weren't too bad as long as you kept moving, but tended to swarm if you stopped.  Thankfully there was a bit of a breeze up at Spray Park that seemed to keep a lot of them away. 

Bottom Line:

Spray Park is always a treat, and the flowers are still plentiful as an added bonus (see video); love the terrain on the ascent up lower Ptarmigan Ridge with the mix of heather, succulents, rocks covered in ancient black lichen and simply fantastic views of Rainier, and Echo/Observations rocks; many of the higher elevation tarns are still frozen; still more snow than normal for this time of year although the trail is clean up to the permanent snowfields apart from a handful of short patches

Stats:

• Distance: 11 miles
• Vertical: 2730 feet
• Duration: 6 hours
• Road/Parking: Road is rough and dusty as usual, but doable by normal cars if one goes slow enough; blind spots descending in the afternoon with bridge sunshine filtering through the dust in light/dark transition areas (also creating beautiful "alien abduction" shafts of light in the forest); quiet day with lots of parking, although could I suggest folks slow down a bit when you reach the open cars and pedestrians at the end of the road to avoid kicking up so much dust? :) Mowich lake is as beautiful as ever, and a great way to start your hike; quick a number of cars with parking tickets, even up the road (Park pass required)
• Weather: Sunny and warm with temperatures in the 60s and 70s
• Trail: A well-maintained, beautiful trail from beginning to end, exactly what you would expect for a popular trail in a National Park; very few  people, with everyone happy to be our on such a beautiful day, so lots of solitude, just the way I like it; lots of flowing water, and Spray Falls were particularly beautiful today with all the flowers along the edges (see video); the mosquitos are not that bad until you reach the meadows and even then if you keep moving they are not a bother; I brought a mosquito net but did not use it; no bugs on lower Ptarmigan Ridge; horse flies have to be the dumbest out there (so slow and easy to swat), but I will give one the size of a quarter credit for following me for a whole mile before giving up (I was happy to share with the family that passed by!); lots of different flowers, with TONS of lupine and magenta paintbrush in particular (see video); butterflies and dragonflies, and ripe berries (blueberry and huckleberry) on sections of the trail
• Takeaway: The flower show lives on, and now is a great time to explore! Ptarmigan Ridge is a special place where one really wants to stay on the boot-path; flowers are late on the ridge, with much of the paintbrush now just coming up; lots of goat hair around but did not see any goats; there are endless views west of meadows and tarns on the ridge, so binoculars are recommended (easy for the wildlife to avoid the busy Spray Park trail)

Meant to hike to Observation Rock, but stopped short on lower Ptarmigan Ridge, in part because I was breaking in brand new hiking boots, and in part because I just wanted to chill in the sun and soak in the incredible views. The boot path up the ridge is at the high point between Spray and Seattle Parks (location of a large cairn, and a significant snowfield covering the trail down to Seattle Park (see video)). Links to distant views of Echo/Observation from Fremont Lookout hike, and 3rd Burrough hike (in video).

The attached video shows the beautiful conditions and the extent of the flowers in late August - pretty good I would say! 

We left Tacoma around 6:15am and got to the trailhead by 8am. The gravel road is long, but fine for any vehicle. There is a self-pay station a few miles up, no formal entrance to get into the park. We didn't have trouble finding parking just off the road outside the parking lot at Mowich. 

The trail is in great condition. No issues to report.

We heard several other hikers mention bear sightings (one who had turned around because the bear was on the trail ahead of him). As we entered the meadow, Rainier was majestic in the background! As we turned a bend, another group said they had seen a family of bears just ahead, and we just caught a glimpse of a baby scurrying across the trail to catch up. 

The flowers appear to be about a week past their prime, but there are still patches of full-bloom lupine and some paintbrush hanging in there. We meandered until we found a nice rock to rest on and enjoyed the view in all directions. There were a few mosquitos, but nothing like the swarms I've experienced there in prior years. 

On the hike down, we stopped for a view of the waterfall, which didn't disappoint. At the parking lot, we saw people enjoying summer recreation on Mowich Lake -swimming, boating, paddle boards.

The cars stretched for quite a ways down the road, signaling that many people arrived after us. However, the trail itself was fairly quiet. Much nicer than the crowds at the more popular entrances!

Epic views and lovely day for a hike! 

Terrific weekend trip! Went up to Tolmie Lookout first, no views at all from (very crowded) summit but mist was burning off as we descended. Eunice lake is a lovely swim spot. Spray Park and Seattle Park were as majestic as expected and more. Went up to Mount Pleasant in case the views weren't already enough.

Bugs were stinkers but mostly just mosquitoes and not the worst ever.

No bears, but saw seven magical mountain goats headed toward Knapsack Pass plus a happy marmot. And a cute little snake in Mowich lake while paddleboarding after!

Sadly only a handful of blueberries the whole time.

It is a 16-mile gravel road to get to the Mowich Lake trailhead, but the road to the lake was in good condition. The hike itself is stunning. You can hike and hike all you want and never run out of beauty to see, which can make the slog back to the car exhausting. But, all you have to do is add in a few really aggressive bees on the way back down and you will be amazed at how fast your muscles and joints will loosen up when you are running and jumping to avoid roots and rocks. It makes for a really fun adventure! 

The wildflowers, especially the avalanche lilies, made it all worthwhile.  The views of Rainier and other peaks in the distance were okay too. Overall, a beautiful day in the mountains and I slept like a baby.