Naturalist (Paul M.) report, all of the sighted flowering plants and wildlife are below.

Where:  From the parking lot at Mowich Lake (elevation 4900 feet), we hiked through Spray Park to the Mist Park overlook (elevation 6400 feet).  There was also a couple hundred feet of up and down during the course of the hike, so the total elevation gain was about 1700 feet. The total distance hiked was about 8½ miles.

Who:  (Mountaineers) 

Weather:  That day:  We hiked in clouds all day.  The temperature was in the upper 40s and lower 50s (Brian’s car themometer read 45 when we arrived and 55 when we left).  At Spray Park a fair amount of the trail was under snow. The pace of the spring snowmelt was about average or perhaps a few days later than average.

WILDFLOWERS IN BLOOM (35 species)

white (14)

avalanche lily (Erythronium montanum) — thousands

foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata)

Sitka valerian (Valeriana sitchensis)

Siberian spring-beauty (Claytonia / Montia sibirica)

vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla)

one-sided wintergreen (Orthilia / Pyrola secunda)

white marsh marigold (Caltha leptosepala)

Pacific trillium / western trillium / wakerobin (Trillium ovatum)

five-leaved bramble / strawberry bramble (Rubus pedatus)

beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax)

white mountain-heather (Phyllodoce glanduliflora)

red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)

dwarf bramble / creeping raspberry (Rubus lasiococcus)

leatherleaf saxifrage (Leptarrhena pyrolifolia)

yellow (4)

pioneer / streambank violet (Viola glabella)

bracted lousewort (Pedicularis bracteosa)

sulphur-flower buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum)

Mt. Rainier lousewort (Pedicularis rainierensis)

pink to red to red-purple (12)

Scouler’s corydalis (Corydalis scouleri)

rosy twisted-stalk (Streptopus lanceolatus)

salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)

oval-leaf blueberry (Vaccinium ovalifolium)

Jeffrey’s shooting-star (Dodecatheon jeffryi)

pink mountain-heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis)

maple-leaf currant (Ribes acerifolium)

false azalea / fool’s huckleberry (Menziesia ferruginea)

black / tall huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum)

magenta paintbrush (Castilleja parviflora)

Cascade blueberry (Vaccinium deliciosum)

bird’s-beak lousewort (Pedicularis ornithorhycha)

blue to violet to blue-purple (3)

streamside bluebells (Mertensia ciliata)

marsh violet (Viola palustris)

broad-leaf lupine (Lupinus latifolius)

green (2)

Alaska rein orchid (Piperia unalascensis)

northwestern twayblade (Listera caurina)

BIRDS

Pacific Wren

Varied Thrush

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Hermit Thrush

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Gray Jay

Evening Grosbeak

MAMMALS

Hoary Marmot