Our destination today was Knapsack Pass over to Spray Park out of the Mowich Lake trailhead. The route we chose would not be recommended for inexperienced hikers.  My hiking group met at 7:30 in Wilkeson at the parking lot in the middle of town.  We were surprised to find the public restroom open, but the TP was empty  After driving the 16+ miles of washboard road we arrived at the Mowich parking area just before 8:30 AM and snagged a couple spots in the straight in parking stalls.   Cars were parked for about 1/3 mile back from overnight camping or backpacking.  The sky was clear blue and it was in the 58 degrees with a nice breeze when we started hiking..  The vault toilet facility was open and stocked with supplies.

     Following the trail on the south shore of Mowich Lake we headed up the unmaintained trail to Knapsack Pass just past the wooden Ranger Cabin. The entire trail was dry and dusty except 2 easy snow field crossings after descending Knapsack Pass. The trail has several narrow spots, few switchbacks, many challenging step up situations.  Most of the wildflowers are past their prime.  It looked like it was an incredible year for bear grass as stands of dried but stalks littered the hillsides. Once over Knapsack Pass a few lupine, magenta paintbrush and lousewort were still looking good and Monkey Pod was in full bloom along stream crossings and water ponds. Blueberries and blue huckleberries were  ripening everywhere. We only meet 2 other hikers until with reconnected with the Wonderland Trail at the eastern edge of Spray Park.    At that point we passed many backpackers doing the Wonderland Trail and several day hikers.

   We saw a mother bear and her 2 cubs from a distance on the lower flanks of Mt Pleasant where the loop trail comes down, an immature marmot descending Knapsack Pass in the scree area and saw clumps of mountain goat fur on both sides of Knapsack Pass.   After descending the pass and negotiating the loose scree slope followed by the large boulder field we took a much deserved rest a lunch / rest break on a huge rocky outcropping with a 360 degree territorial view of Seattle Park and Mt. Rainier.  Initially we followed an All Trails App for what was touted as a 6 mile loop hike.  Once on the side of Mt. Pleasant and looking at the terrain we decided to take a longer but easier trail down to the Wonderland Trail. Descending from Spray Park, the .1 mile side trip to Spray Falls was worth the view.  We arrived back to our vehicles just after 4:00PM completing a 7.5  mile loop.  Hikers and backpackers were still heading out on the trail at that time.  Another fantastic day to be out in nature with friends.

Got to the trailhead around 9:10, the road has a lot of washboarding but overall there aren’t really any potholes. Started our hike at 9:15, the side trail to Spray Falls is amazing. The switchbacks up to Spray Park are not as bad as I thought they would be, and definitely worth it. We saw some bear poop along the trail, but no bears. The wildflowers aren’t at their best, but there’s some really nice paintbrush. Got back to the trailhead around 1:30. The area to pay is before the Mowich Lake campground, at the Paul Peak trailhead. Great day on the mountain!

Did the Spray Park Loop starting and ending at the Mowich Lake Campground, clocking 17.4 miles and 4980' elevation gain. The road to Mowich Lake is washboard gravel, but should be easy with any vehicle if you go slow. 

On Sunday, August 28 there were sparse wildflower blooms remaining in the Spray Park meadows, mostly concentrated around streams and springs. There was one short (50') section of snow along the trail near the high point above 6500', which was soft and had a well-worn path through it. The rest of the trail was well maintained and easy to follow. Some huckleberries were ripe along the trail, but also not super abundant. All stream crossings had log bridges or better, and most had a handrail, too. I'd recommend the short side trip to see Spray Falls, too. 

I opted to cross the Carbon River over the suspension bridge, and had to follow pink flagging to find the downstream river crossing to connect back to the Ipsut Camp direction, finishing this loop to Mowich Lake. That last climb from the forest and then up in the afternoon heat was well-graded at first, and then became rockier toward Ipsut Pass. The final 1.5 miles from the pass back down to the lake were the only place I saw crowds all day. I'd come back and do this a few weeks earlier next time for more flowers! 

What a spectacular day for this hike, even though flowers are mostly past and berries and fall foliage haven't yet begun.  We got to the trailhead about 10:30 on a Sunday morning  and were a little daunted by the line of cars stretching down the road from Mowich Lake, but the trail itself was not crowded.  This trail has one of those near-perfect, a-little-of-everything combinations of beautiful forest,  gorgeous waterfalls and pleasant burbling streams, and  a lovely alpine meadow with that gradually unfolds to view as the trail winds up and around, with  eye-filling views of Mt Rainier  on one side and mountains I can't name on the other.  The trail is in great condition for such a popular spot, with only a few rocky/rooty areas.  Many thanks to whoever does the trail maintenance here, and to whoever built the stone steps that keep the steeper parts stable. Bugs today were not too bad--only a problem at the meadow itself, and even there they weren't really swarming, but I did get bitten and normally they don't bother me. My companions who get bitten more often put bug spray on and were fine.  Other wildlife included a tiny mole excavating under a hemlock seedling, fat tadpoles in the meadow ponds, and a gang of Canada jays at work snatching food from people's fingers. 

Escaping the crowds of the eastern side, the Spray Park loop is always a great option for the quieter northwest corner.

We started on Saturday, and parked up the road past the Tolmie trailhead, joining the long line of cars parked on the shoulder. Mowich Camp was busy with both frontcountry and backcountry campers, and we joined the dayhikers up the Spray Park trail.

Spray Park

Spray Falls was as splashy as I remember, and we booked it up the steps to the Spray Park plateau. Flowers were largely gone, but some paintbrush, a handful of glacier lily, and emerging bog gentian lined the trail. Pasqueflower brushes haven't fully erupted yet, but the first opening into the Spray Park meadows usually features a field of them in September.

From the top of Spray Park, we continued up to Flett Glacier, where a group of eight folks were camped on a cross-country, practicing glacial rescue techniques. A couple ptarmigan made their soft cooing sounds on the aptly named Ptarmigan Ridge. 

Saturday was overcast in a blanket gray, and you could only occasionally make out Rainier amidst the loud wind gusts. Sunday morning cleared into an incredible bluebird day, with distant visibility. We continued up Flett, zigzagging past the icy patches on the glacier. There are some bootpath options (which help if you have a gps track to follow), but we curved along the ridge and up the snow to the scree between Echo and Observation Rock. Make sure you have sunglasses and chapstick!

We opted for a boulder climb going up, and snow coming down, but aside from occasional sliding gravel, the approach isn't bad. We were joined by two groups going up to Observation, and everyone had helmets, but we experienced no rockfall. The climb up Observation is just light scrambling. 

Coming back down, we briefly hopped back onto the Spray Park trail before turning towards Mt Pleasant. The westside sunsets are epic, with their gradient from orange, to crimson, to purple, and we shared the view with 14 (!!) mountain goat on an adjacent ridge, hidden from view by those on the trail below.

Knapsack Pass / First Mother Mtn

Climbing over the ridge towards Knapsack, the trail loses itself over the large boulder fields. There are a couple ponds here, and we filtered some water while briefly laying on a snow patch for some cooling respite.

There are some well-intentioned but misleading cairns left by multiple parties, directing you nowhere in particular. As long as you can make out the trail going up each ridge, you can generally find your way across the boulder scrambles as you wish.

We were passed by five women coming up who scrambled over the field, and without them pointing out the trail to Knapsack, we probably would've taken a while to identify where to go. The slope up was slippery, with sand and gravel challenging our traction given our overnight packs. Use your poles and go slow! We later saw a trail runner who tried to make it to Spray Park, that later turned around after losing the trail. 

At the top, a junction leads to the top of First Mother Mountain to the right, with Mowich Lake appearing below. Loose switchbacks make your way down, and we paused for a family of marmots that occupied the trail. You eventually reach a small creek, beautifully lined with arnica, daisy, and penstemon. There is a small shaded waterfall ringed by wildflowers that provides a restful break further down.

We blew past the spur towards Fay Peak, as the trail starts to widen and become recognizable with drainages and switchbacks. This was a maintained trail back in the day, but is now typically used by folks at Mowich wandering along the shore further than realized. If you can't make the whole Spray Park / Mother Mountain loop via Carbon River (and can do basic wayfinding), this loop via Knapsack can be a packed dayhike or overnighter. 

We intended to add Tolmie to cap the hike, but scorched from the strong UV rays (even with hats/sleeves/bandanas!), we opted for an early return home.