Great day on the mountain for an OCD guy who couldn’t find the trail last time.  Left Seattle 5:37, started hiking at 7:30.  Plenty of parking.  The final 15 miles of road are in okay shape for a semi-washboard gravel and dust road.  30 MPH up and 40 MPH down are doable in a Subaru Outback.

Two weeks ago I failed to find the trail to Fay—this time I found it just below and to the right of the cliffs near Knapsack Pass, but following the ridge line to the terminus still left me short of Fay’s summit.  Look at picture #2—it’s supposed to be an easy scramble from the hump on the left to the summit on the right, but the down-climb looked pretty cliffy to me—not a big fan of down-climbing and couldn’t see a route from above.  Maybe I was not supposed to be atop that hump but down below the ridge….Anyone who knows how to get to the top of Fay, please chime in.

I also could not find the trail from Fay to Pleasant as indicated in Goldman’s "75 Scrambles," and desperate for adventure, I went back to Knapsack Pass, and down into the basin beyond.  This had some routefinding challenges, but an awesome boulder field to scramble through, a couple helpful cairns, and voila!  I hooked up with the trail (basically stay right near the base of the ridge and head kind of toward Observation Rock and the Main summit.  Some snow patches to figure out. I crossed a pretty sizeable trail that generally led me SSE, which eventually intersected with the Spray Park trail in an area of multiple social trails—turn right/south onto the biggest one and continue into Spray Park.  My targets:  Mount Pleasant and Hessong Rock. 

The white gravel trail straight up to their saddle was obvious from miles away and quite steep (pant pant).  Once at the saddle, I opted to bag the easy and pleasant walk-up of Pleasant (20 minutes), then headed back to the saddle for Hessong.  Couldn’t quite crack that nut but when I got home I saw a photo I took of Hessong from the top of Pleasant and think the approach is via the NW ridge off to the right on the back side away from Spray Park.

Saw nobody in my first four hours, but once in Spray Park, a couple dozen hikers (most with face coverings).  I will add that the bugs were murderous--they seemed to avoid sunscreen, but my upper arms and torso have 50+ itchy bites--my skin feels so bumpy it's impossible to say where one sting ends and another begins. 

Hiked out and the round trip was 6 hours and 47 minutes.  Next time, I will figure out Fay and Hessong and be done with this corner of the park for the time being.

The road to Mowitch Lake is unpaved and pretty bumpy in places, but nothing too awful. The bugs, however, were horrendous. Bring bug spray and reapply constantly or just prepare to be eaten alive. The views were definitely worth all of the bug bites, though! There are still some wildflowers left (mid-August) and some small snow patches remain as well. Don't stop after the first meadow, as many people do. Keep hiking all the way to the second meadow (about a mile across) with views over the North Cascades and Mount Baker!

Left Seattle about 630 am, got to the trailhead about 830 am, lots of cars parked at the trailhead. the 17 miles of dirt/gravel road was dusty and bumpy; seemed more so on the way out...  Lots of wildflowers. we picnicked on a large rock in one of many meadows, were immediately swarmed by mosquitoes, be warned. saw a beautiful juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk, see photos. 

We got to the trailhead at 6:45 am and I was surprised to see a number of cross country skiers heading out. The wind was biting and cold so I was thankful I brought a hat and gloves.

Going up we saw 10+ people and a bear. On the way down we counted 100+ people. I'm happy to share 95% had masks or face coverings. This is a popular trail and it shows. When we got back to the trailhead around noon there were 10 people waiting in line for the bathroom. And when I got to my car, 3 people in vehicles asked if I was moving soon so they could take my spot. There was a huge line on cars stretching down the gravel road to Tolmie Peak trailhead. 

This is a stunning hike that I would love to do again but I'm not sure I would hike it on a weekend. 

This is a trip report for the following route (done as a loop):

Mowich Lake >> Fay Peak >> Knapsack Pass >> First Mother Mountain >> Mount Pleasant >> Hessong Rock >> Spray Park >> Spray Park Falls >> Return to Mowich Lake

This is a great route that has great views, multiple summits, a large lake, a large waterfall, and a limitless supply of wildflowers.  10/10 would highly recommend.  I discuss the route in brief below, then give more detail below. Cheers!

Road Conditions: Suitable for all vehicles, but rough and washboardy at times. Expect to drive between 20-30 mph for the majority of the 15-mile dirt road. ALSO. This is a very popular area on the weekends, get there early if you don't want to walk an extra 0.5 miles to Mowich Lake.

Trail Conditions: Overall the trail is in great shape. There is some lingering snow, particularly between Knapsack Pass and Mount Pleasant, but nothing that is difficult in the slightest - certainly doable for the average hiker. The scramble up and over Fay is easy-to-moderate Class II by most routes (difficulty can be added by climbing up the west face) with little-to-no exposure.  The rest of the summits are generally less technical than Fay Peak.

Bugs: Ever-present, never a real bother.

Gear Required: A nice pair of hiking boots. Walking sticks are not a bad idea either but are certainly not necessary. No traction gear necessary.

Route Detail:

Beginning at the Mowich Lake Campground, follow the trail to the north (towards Mowich Lake) and take the eastern (right) branch. Follow the well-defined trail until you pass the Ranger Cabin on your right.  The trail you are looking for is the unsigned but well defined Knapsack Pass Trail. As you past the ranger cabin it is just ahead on your right (past the ranger cabin by about 1 minute).  Follow this trail as it ascends (at times steeply) through the forest.  After roughly a half mile, detour off the Knapsack Pass Trail onto the less defined, but still very manageable Fay Peak Trail (the Knapsack Pass Trail ascends through the middle of the basin between the ridgeline of Fay and First Mother Mountain. 

Follow the Fay Peak Trail as it traverses beneath the west face of the peak. After approximately 0.35 miles, the trail turns NE (left) at a low point on the ridgeline.  Follow the ridgeline as best as possible.  There are spur trails in different directions, which can lead to some difficult scrambling if you choose incorrectly. However, the easiest route is moderate class  II or easy class III - generally suitable for anyone with rock scrambling experience.  If you follow a route that looks too difficult, trend towards the east side (right) of the peak, there are multiple manageable routes from that side.

Descending from Fay Peak, follow the ridgeline as it loses some elevation before gaining most of it back as it goes up and over the other obvious high point on the ridge (aka as “East Fay Peak”).  Continue descending past East Fay, following the ridgeline for just a few moments keeping an eye out for a hikers trail that descends steeply into the basin to the west (left).  The Knapsack Pass trail should be obvious from the ridgeline - choose a path that best works for you and follow the path to the pass. From Knapsack Pass, north (left) will lead you towards First Mother Mountain, while SE (right) will take you down the Pass, into the basin beneath Mount Pleasant.

For First Mother Mountain, take the left trail as it winds to the west side of the ridgeline. Follow the ridgeline, trending toward the left side of the ridge spine as you pass over the first high point. The ridgeline is rather straightforward and the trail leads directly to the summit (more or less). Descend the way you came back to the pass.

From Knapsack Pass, take the SE path (right) as it descends into the basin beneath East Fay and Mount Pleasant. Traverse across the basin for roughly half a mile until you reach the low point on the Mount Pleasant ridgeline. From here, follow the well-defined hikers trail to the west (left) for about 0.25 miles along the ridgeline spine to the summit of Mount Pleasant. From the summit of Pleasant you have some options: The first option is to descend the way you came, back to the fork in the trail and take the east (right) path. This will take you on a long loop around Spray Park before ending up in the middle of the park. Alternatively; descend the ridgeline in the opposite direction (SW) to a fork in the saddle between Pleasant and Hessong. Turning SE (left) will take you down a well-defined trail that leads into the basin known as Spray Park below. Continuing along the ridgeline (straight) will lead you towards the summit of Hessong Rock. The summit of Hessong Rock is relatively simple. The easiest approach is to ascend the ridgeline from the west - which requires hiking beneath and around the north face of Hessong. Follow the ridgeline, from the west, with some minor scrambling to the large summit of Hessong Rock - descend the way you came back to the fork in the saddle between Pleasant and Hessong.

From the fork, descend into Spray Park and follow the well-defined trail as it descends south and east (right).  Many spur trails exist here, but the main trail is well-defined and quite obvious. Follow the Spray Park Trail for roughly 3 miles to return to the Mowich Lake Campground. Be sure to take the 0.1 mile detour along the way to Spray Falls as it is definitely worth the extra time.

GPS available upon request. Cheers!