Spray Park — Saturday, Jul. 13, 2024

Mowich Road was in excellent condition. We arrived at the trailhead around 4pm, and there were still many cars parked on the road. The vast majority were hiking Tolmie Peak, because once we got on the Spray Park trail, we had it mostly to ourselves. Less than 1/2 mile in we saw our first bear right on the trail. He gave us a curious look and headed on down the slope. The bugs weren’t too bad as long as we kept moving, but when we stopped to photograph the bear they were merciless. We continued past the turnoff to the falls, and huffed it up to Spray Park. There was some arnica, lupine, Sitka valerian, and beargrass along the trail as we went up. Once we came out of the woods, the avalanche lilies just exploded. They were carpeting the meadows and the late day sun illuminated them so beautifully. Lots of Jeffrey’s shooting-star and hot-pink paintbrush also popping up. The weather was cloudless and the mountain views were perfection. We had a quick turnaround time due to starting so late in the day. Stopped by the magical Spray Falls on the way down. No matter how many times I go I am struck by how massive this waterfall is. The light was beautiful and there was a rainbow in the spray. The rest of the trek down was uneventful until we got to the stream crossing about a mile before the trailhead. Mr. Bear was right off the trail near the stream having his dinner. As we approached the final climb out to the campground we heard a crack and looked up to see another, MASSIVE black bear enjoying his organic plant-based dinner on the slope above us. He was an absolute unit and so very handsome and non-plussed. We finally climbed out and notified the campers that the bear was around and looked like he was heading up towards the campground. All in all, it was a magical day. If you want to see bears, you have a good chance on this trail! I renamed it Bear Spray Park (no, we didn’t carry bear spray nor did we need it)!