Spray Park — Friday, Jul. 14, 2023

Bottom Line:

Hurry to see the avalanche lilies before the bears hoover them all! Flowers are already abundant, and there is no snow except at the Spray / Seattle Park boundary, or if you take one of the bootpaths higher up into Spray Park toward Echo and Observation Rocks; the bootpaths are narrow and it take some concentration to stay on trail or rock to preserve the meadows; lots of wild footprints around the receding tarns up high - from bear to deer or elk. On a slow weekday, I took my time, just reveling in my surroundings and the calm embrace of nature. Outstanding! PS. Cinnamon bears really are beautiful creatures, and apparently not bothered by the cloud of bugs around his head!

Stats:

• Distance: 11-1/2 miles
• Duration: 5-1/2 hours 
• Vertical: 2650 ft
• Road/Parking: The gravel road at the end of SR165 after crossing the Carbon River is in great condition - looks like it was recently regraded with nary a pothole; the gravel is (noticeably in an Outback) still a spinout hazard with the speed limit posted at 30 MPH at the NP boundary; the road can be challenging returning in the early evening with the blinding sun glare and dust; parking at Mowich Lake was easy - able to find a parking spot near the front at about 1:30pm; like my recent Sunrise hike, the park was quiet - just the way I like it :) A NP pass is required to park although there is no gate (ranger often checking though); Mowich Lake looked beautiful in the mid-day sunshine with at least a handful of folks actually swimming
• Weather: Sunshine, 70s - 60s, light breeze, mosquitos pretty bad once you get up to Spray Park owing to all the tarns in the meadows; head netting and insect repellent suggested
• Trail: Followed the trail from Mowich Campground to Spray Park (~3 miles), and then took the skiers' bootpath up to the beautiful glacier-fed emerald lake at the base of Observation Rock, hidden from below behind a tall terminal moraine; the trail is in good condition with no obstacles, except snowfields that I crossed on the way down (they are avoidable, but they were much easier to hike on than the rocky moonscape terrain); the trail up to the lake starts with lush meadows full of flowers, transitions to rocky terrain with succulents and more sporatic flowers (magenta paintbrush becomes red), and then gets very boulder-strewn with many snowfields; CAUTION: There is creek flowing from the lake that traverses under many of the snowfields creating a snow-bridge risk; the bear spent most of the day grazing on in the meadows after the switchbacks up from Spray Falls (big appetite!); he seemed largely oblivious to the hikers although some folks were probably getting too close (mostly based on their telling on their way out); WTA was out working on the trail from Mowich to Spray Falls - THANK YOU :) This was a wonderful day of beauty, solitude and discovery - after the 1st hour, I only saw one other group all day, and it was hours later; of course, that can play with your head when discovering a new trail :)
• Flowers: As is typical a week into reopening for the summer, avalanche lilies are everywhere - hurry, they fade in about a week; lots of magenta paintbrush and bear grass as well (more bear grass than I have ever seen here); lupine is just getting going; among the other flowers: heather (pink and white), penstemon, marsh marigolds, fleabane, spirea, aster, lovage, yarrow, corn lilies, blue bells, cow parsnip, coralroot and buttercup.
• Takeaway: Spray Park opened last Saturday 7/8 but the park was very quiet, peaceful and beautiful; lots of flowers, and obviously critters; the flower show is generally long here, but the species change over the weeks; as is usual for Spray Park, the mosquitos are pretty bad - come prepared!

The attached HD video includes highlights from the ascent up to the lake below Observation Rock as well as footage of the bear (and its massive claws!) The tarn reflections were especially magical, although there was a bit of a breeze (which was nice to keep the bugs down honestly)

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=449731&id=ED504504-155D-4519-3E0BA1C8F549D4E4