Didn’t summit observation Rock. Turned around at 7300 ft and went down to glacial tarn below it. There is supposed to be a trail connecting that lake/tarn back to the spray park but even with navigation it was hard to find. Knapsack pass has multiple blowdowns but all manageable. The bugs at mother mountain were so horrible I had to run down immediately after summiting. Multiple opportunities to refill water but once on observation rock trail they dwindle.

Road to Trailhead(TH):
There are not much potholes. Any car would be fine but there is a long drive on dirt road, very dusty and filled with washboards. At TH the restrooms were stocked and at 9:45am I was able to get spot at in the parking lot. Many cars were already parked along the road. From here you need to walk past the campground towards the ranger cabin and turn left just before the cabin where the sign for unmaintained trail is. The walk around the lake in the morning with calm water was soothing.

TH to Knapsack Pass:
Steep in places and has some fallen trees but otherwise in good shape. Multiple waterfalls right on the trail, easy to refill water if needed. IMO this part of the trail is much more beautiful as compared to regular spray trail. The streams in this section are more beautiful right now than any other section. Other than lupines and painbrushes I also saw glacier lilies on some parts. I even beargrass on a slope but they were past peak. Fay peak gives a nice background with snow still sticking on north and east flanks.

Pass to First Mother:
Some unexposed scrambling needed but at max class 2 only. Summit block is small and the views were incredible. Well worth the extra few hundred feet of elevation gain from the pass. The views from First Mother to second and third are nice. I am unsure you can do a ridge walk from First to Second or Third Mother mountain and I was unable to find any trail going that way even if you drop down. The summit has a sheer drop off on multiple sides so be careful of your footing. Bugs were horrible at the summit so I couldn't east or rest there.

First Mother to Mt Pleasant Junction(Jn)
Many snowfields to cross, could be challenging to stay on trail without navigation.I was surprised to see there was still so much snow on this section of the trail. There are few cairns to help but they are far apart. In upcoming weeks this section will become more challenging due to melting snow making transition between rocks and snow fields bit tricky and dangerous in places. Ate a snack and refilled water at a stream in this section. Saw only 1 person so far who was heading down from pass towards the Spray Park.

Mt Pleasant Jn to Seattle Park:

This section is snow free and mostly flat. This is one of the major legs of spray park and wildflowers are just exploding there. The trail is covered with paintbrushes and lupines at both side of the trail. I kind of missed the junction to Observation rock since there rocks and branches put on the intersection blocking the trail. I assumed that section of trail was closed for repair/recovery and followed the rockpile (with pink paint on them) indicating main trail. After half mile I met a group of three who asked where was the intersection for spray park since they also came from Knapsack pass. I told them they were on path to Observation Rock and the junction was almost a mile back. To provide them more details I pulled out my phone and only then I realized that I missed the turn and I was headed towards Cataract Valley Camp instead. After taking some pictures of Russel glacier, I walked back to the junction over the snowfields which were once part of Russel glacier.

(After coming home I came to know that this was Seattle Park from where I turned around) 

Seattle Park to Flett Glacier terminus
Once back on my desired trail I followed the trail to saddle between Echo and Observation Rock. You see a really nice Glacial Lake/Tarn from the ridgeline below Fleet Glacier Western Lobe. I met another person here who was returning from Ptarmigan ridge and recommended to go all the way past observation rock till 8700 ft as the views of Mowich glacier there were amazing. The person was wearing gloves and mentioned most the the trail is just loose scree so gloves help for holding rocks. I did observe the rocks here were rough pumice kind of stone and having gloves while scrambling would be really nice. At 7300ft I had hit my turn around time and clouds started to increase so after exploring the toe of the glacier I turned around. Refilled water here before heading down. 

Flett Glacier to Glacial Lake:
There were multiple tracks of snowboard on the flett glacier. Glissaded and down to 7000ft level and followed some dried streams and goat trails towards the western lobe of the Fleet glacier. Once I was above the Glacial Lake I followed the glacial debris and mud down to the lake. The lake itself is not named on any maps but it is quite sizable. The Azure color of this waterbody is more like Lake Louise or any other Glacial Lakes in Banff/Jasper area rather than Diablo. I didnt see any crevasses where I was and traversing that mud/snow/ice combination around flowing water was bit tiring. Once at Lake I had my lunch and took bunch of pictures around the Lake and then headed back.

Glacier Lake to Spray Park Trail Jn:
Just before I was about the leave the clouds rolled in and it was completely fogged. This has more than 5 snowfields to cross and trail is completely under the snow unless you are near the main spray trail. When I mapped this on Caltopo this was supposed to be easy 1.5 miles back to main trail but find the trail here made it much much harder. It was hard to find the trail even with GPS. I according to GPS I crossed the trail multiple times but I never saw any trail. No cairns or footsteps of any other person seen in this section. Route finding is must in this section else you should trace back to observation rock trail and go back via that trail. I saw a family on marmots enjoying the foggy/hazy weather perched on a rock above the trail. Once below the snow I saw bunch of tents in this section of the trail but I am unsure if you can camp here on the meadows.

Spray Park Trail to Hessong Rock Jn:

Once back on Spray trail I was relaxed and could start running again. Many opportunities to refill water. At the junction to Hessong Rock I saw two other people sitting on rock, eating snacks, enjoying views(making total count of parties met so far to 5 with total 9 people). The tread on the trail is soft and wildflowers are most vibrant in this section. Cloud cover helped in this section even then the wind blowing was warm enough to slow you down. Spray park has more pink colored flowers than green colored plants right now. The density cannot captured on phone cannot do any justice of what I saw. When I close my eyes while writing this report I can only see those pink colored paintbrushes. The section reminds you how well the national park maintained trails are with steps made of heavy rocks, wide trails. Makes you feel like walking in the Park (pun intended :D ) 

Hessong Rock Jn to TH via Eagle Roost camp

There were so many people coming up the Mowich campground that I had to yield every few hundred feet which really slowed me down. Saw may be 40+ people in this last section in less than an hour. There are many nice bridges to cross over the streams here. The trail drops down to 4700 ft after switchbacks and you have to gain 300 feet of elevation in the end to get back to campground. There is so much up and down in this section that I would prefer not coming back to this section if I am going for a longer day in Observation Rock area and rather just return via Knapsack pass. Back at TH around 4pm and there were many more cars parked on side of the road.

Caltopo Link : https://caltopo.com/m/MHJJT

Around 12 miles and 4k feet gain/loss in 6 hours. 

Cellphone Coverage : None. At First Mother there was a bleak signal but other than that once you are on SR165 there is no reception.

I backpacked the Mother Mountain Loop over two days heading clockwise with a night at Ipsut Creek Camp.

Most of the views are in the Spray Park section and the hike is predominantly in (really nice) wooded areas. We added on Tolmie Peak which was very crowded but has an undoubtedly great view of the mountain. Besides Tolmie Peak however, the trails were lightly trafficked and we saw few travelers between Spray Park and the top of Ipsut Pass besides except at the campground.

Mosquitoes are aggressive in the Spray Park section and flies and bees become annoying around Tolmie Peak and at the top of Ipsut Pass. Bugs were not an issue in forested areas or at our camp at Ipsut. There are some snow fields to cross after Spray Park before descending down towards the Cataract Valley Camp but there is a defined bootpack through them and no traction is required.

The route is pretty straight forward except when crossing the Carbon River where the trail was washed out. There are pink ribbons that will help guide you through the reroute and new crossings back to the Wonderland Trail but they’re easy to miss so I recommended you stay diligent here. 

A glorious backpacking trip into Spray Park: in on Tuesday, out on Friday (3 nights).  Road is fine, but we were surprised at all the cars in the lot at 8:00 on a Tuesday.  Trail is in great shape.  Left the trail, at the 5900 ft. amsl spur trail that leads truly into a wonderland,and the most beautiful meadow in MRNP.  Did some serious wanderings, elevating through the green and, higher up, snow patches; searching for that perfect basecamp.  Camped at about 6100 ft. amsl, on a hardened (DIRT) site surrounded by purple heather, blue lupine, and electric-pink paintbrush; amazing.  Perfect site with some tree cover, but not for the tent, a personal refrigerator for our real dinners, chocolate, and tequila, and an ice-cold tarn for water.  

Next day was an incredible grunt up  Mt. Pleasant.  The trailhead is about 0.75 miles back down the main trail and starts at 5,800 ft. amsl.  The short, one-mile trail can be seen from all areas south, and is straight up at a 75 degree pitch; steep and rocky.  Worth the view, with provides an amazing perspective of how large the Spray is, and we could pick out our tent and our route up to Echo Rock for Thursday.  We were amazed as the mist from Seattle slowly meandered up the valley, until we were whited out.  It cleared in 2 hours; no rain.

Next day was an incredible scramble up the cliffs, to the southeast, and hit the main bootpath coming from The Pass.  Climbed to the base of Echo Rock on the Fleet Glacier.  Requires good navigation skills, ability to cross some snowfields (easy), and ability to cliff climb up some rock faces. No bozos. Had poles, did not use our microspikes. What an amazing climb. We would have climbed further up but had already about 20 hrs of hot, scorching sun, and it was radiating, even with sun clothes.

Yes, our nemisis was The Sun; in all, 26 hrs of sun exposure.  The Bugs (no flies) were out in force, and especially gloried in attacking us during the dreaded water pumping. Bring Deet and headnet: was tolerable though. Yes, we were permitted and legally camped; however, it was obvious not all, camped in the basin, were permitted which is a bummer and quite disgusting.  The System is in place to avoid trashing this green slice of mountain heaven; unfortunately the Rangers may have to start patroling this area which really sucks-- thanks to those subhumans who think the rules don't apply to them. Forgive my protestations, but this is truly a magical place, and dear to my heart, and needs to be protected before we have the Enchantments, Part Two. Go, enjoy, challenge yourself,seek that mountain high; leave no trace. 

One of my favorite hikes. The road in is long and rough but not too many potholes thankfully. The trail is in good condition. Once you break out of the trees and enter Spray Park it feels like you’ve entered another world. Rainier was out and there were lots of wildflowers, streams and views to enjoy. No bears this time, though I heard others saw one off in the distance. Bugs were an annoyance, I really couldn’t stop otherwise they would swarm me.

• Glorious mountain vistas
• Glacier fed lakes
• Scrambling 
• Snow traverse
• Tons of wildflowers
• Awesome waterfall