On our way to the trail head it started sprinkling and we wondered what we were in for, but as we climbed the road from Carbonado to Mowich Lake the skies cleared and it was a glorious, sunny day. We had read previous trip reports and were prepared not only for the fall foliage but also the possibility we would see our first bear. The trail is in great condition, with the exception of a few muddy spots and some water on the trail. Common sense makes these seem insignificant. Definitely take the short side trip to Spray Falls. It's pretty special all on it's own. After Spray Falls the trail gets steep. To one (myself) with bad knees, I'd say this hike goes from an easy 2 to a 7 or 8 after the Falls. It seemed a bit more elevation gain than what has been described. When you hit the meadows it is spectacular ! The colors of fall, the majesty of The Mountain and the breathtaking stretches as you move further along the trail are incredibly satisfying. We saw no wildlife to speak of on this day. The trail is popular, so you won't get a lot of privacy on the weekend, but every single person we met along the way added positively to our experience. We lucked out with the beautiful weather. We could see the cloud line and it was a delight to be nestled above it ! Great hike !

wonderful, well maintained trail with spectacular views on Mt Rainier! Saw a huge, peaceful black bear when walking through the meadows.

This is a hike I have long been wanting to take so, with sun in the forecast, I left Redmond around 7:40 and arrived at Mowich Lake just after 10:00. (Weekday rush hour traffic, road work and 16 miles of gravel road helped slow the trip down). Much has been written about this great hike so I will focus on the conditions two days ago. The trail is in great shape, except for some muddy stretches and some standing water up in Spray Park. But this is only minor and causes no problems. There are ripe blueberries along the trails through the meadows but not in great quantity. It’s a little late for wildflowers in the meadows except for some scattered bunches of mountain gentian that were not quite open…but still very pretty. The blueberry bushes are starting to turn and promise some nice fall colors before long. On the way up, take a very short detour to the Eagle Cliff overlook for an amazing view of Rainier and the short side trip to Spray Falls. Both are just a short distance off the trail and worth checking out. Once you come out of the forest and into Spray Park, you have great views of Rainier. Another mile or so up to the higher meadows and rocky flats, gets you amazing views of Hessong Rock to the north, other peaks in the distance and, of course, Rainier towering above you. Just as I entered Spray Park, a huge cloud wedge moved across Rainier so I didn’t get to see the entire vista as much as I would have liked. But, even with the big guy behind a cloud, it is still an awesome place. From the higher flats, as I started back down, I noticed a large black bear grazing in one of the meadows far below and near the trail. I Joined up with a group of hikers on the way back down just in case it was still there when we went through the meadows. No sight of the bear then. Great place, great hike and some nice folks along the trail. A good day. Started at 10:30 and was back at the parking lot at 4:00. Spent an hour or so wandering around up top before coming down. That day, there was one group of 14 spread out in bunches of 3 or 4 and only a small handful of other hikers and backpackers coming down on my way up. For those who have never made the trip to the Mowich Lake trailhead, allow some extra time in your trip planning for the 16 or so miles of gravel road. It’s a good road but has lots of washboards and takes a while. Also, there was some work underway on the Carbon River Gorge bridge (an amazing sight itself) the day I was there but did not cause any delay. Also, remember…you pay the Park fee ($15) part of the way out to Mowich Lake. It is a non-manned entrance with a lock box for fee envelopes so make sure you have some cash with you. You can also provide information from any pass you have. Just some things to think about when you go.

was cloudy and drizzling when we started out, It was basically all downhill to Carbon river camp. There were tons of ripe berries of all kinds along the trail. From carbon river to spray park is all up hill, can be steep at times. It was raining all that day, so there wasn't much view, what we did see was still gorgeous. The highlight of the trip was seeing a bear in spray park!

Hiking to Spray Park had been on my list of "Hikes to do" for 2010 and when an open day in my schedule opened up, I threw lunch and water in my always ready pack and headed out. I arrived at the trail head later than expected due to one of the most wash-boarded road surfaces I have driven on. This made the last 10 miles of the drive take nearly 45 minutes. The trail head had 30-40 cars parked at it, at 10:45am. Because of this I was expecting a crowded trail, but to my surprise I had numerous periods of solitude. The day was overcast with the clouds sitting around the 5,000 foot level. I hoped that by the time I had reached Spray Park the sun would have burned off the clouds or they would have lifted. Once on the trail, the clouds moved in and out through the trees and blanketed all of the foliage with a layer of dew. The first mile and a quarter of the hike was across well groomed trails over rolling terrain. It seemed every foot of elevation I gained, I lost two. Just after a rock debris field the trail begins a vertical climb. This section of the trail has been groomed into a staircase which makes the climb easier. As you reach the top of the climb and short level walk there is a side trip that you can take to the Eagles Nest lookout. When I reached the lookout visibility was cut down to roughly 20 feet due to the clouds. Once back on the trail most of the elevation I gained up the staircase, I lost on my way down to the junction with the Spray Falls trail. The .25 mile hike down to Spray Falls is well worth the effort. The falls tower above you as it cascades off of the top of a cliff and then fans out like a spiderweb on a lower rock face below. Once back on the Spray Park trail there is a .8 mile climb to the entrance to Spray Park. This section of the hike reminds me of what the term "Switchbacks" truly mean. You going to go a short distance, and its going to take you a long time, but you will go really high. The .8 mile hike does not offer much on sights, but at this point I was just focusing on keeping one foot in front of the other so I didn't mind. As soon as the switch backs flattened out I crosses a small footbridge and into a small meadow, which is the entrance to Spray Park. I choose to continue up the park to see what it had to offer. The further up the Park I went the more it opened up. All along the way are little pockets of seclusion, each with its own special feature. One would have an Ansel Adams photo worthy reflection pool, while another would have Marmots chirping at you. I made my way about half way up the park and found a nice rock overlooking a rock field and a mirror pond to make my picnic bench. Unfortunately for the hour and a half spent at Spray Park, the clouds never lifted and the visibility was at best a quarter mile. This along with not seeing anyone for more than 45 minutes gave Spray Park an almost haunted feeling. The foliage in Spray Park was beautiful, but does seem to be on the downturn for the season. In another few weeks most of the wild flowers will be out of bloom. I talked with a few passing hikers who had been on a multi-day overnight hike in the area who had stated that they had seen a black bear on one of the huckleberry patches on the ridges to the North West of Spray Park. After holding out hope that the clouds would break I made my way back to the trail head. Just before reaching the trail head I ran into a couple who was just finishing up a 13 day trek around Mt. Rainier on the Wonderland Trail. Being that this is one of my bucket list hikes I talked with them for a but, hearing about there trek and further fueling my desire to make this hike myself someday. Once back at the trail head roughly 20 cars were still in the parking lot. Given the amount of cars I was pleasantly surprised at how much solitude, and how quiet the hike had been. This was a great hike to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and recharge the batteries before the winter sets in. I can't wait to return to this hike when the weather allows for views of all of Spray Park and Mt. Rainier.