* I dropped my phone in the boulder field coming down from Knapsack Pass toward Mist Park. If you happened to find a phone in that area on 10/7 or 10/8, please contact 253-394-8057. Thank you.*
Now, for the good part. Day One: We arrived at Mowich just before 8am on Saturday. It was already starting to fill up and there were a number of people camping at the lake. We started out from the Ranger's Cabin and headed up toward Mother Mountain and Knapsack Pass. As stated on the trail description for Knapsack, this trail is no longer maintained and REQUIRES navigational skills, GPS, and backcountry know-how. The trail was quite muddy at first but dried out as we gained elevation, which we did quickly. The scramble to the top of Mother Mountain was doable using hands and feet - again, use caution in this sparsely traveled, unmaintained area! Views from the top were exceptional - we saw Stuart, Glacier, Baker and, of course, Rainier in all its glory. Coming down from the pass you cross a large boulder / skree field. GPS is a necessity here. Cairns are in place, but it seems that some of them may have been knocked down in a slide. After the boulders we climbed down the steep and narrow trail through Mist Park and connected with the Wonderland. We headed down toward Cataract Valley and our camp for the night. Water at the campground was plentiful and the privy was in good shape. The campground was empty when we arrived about 4pm, but filled up as the evening went on.
Day Two: We backtracked up the Wonderland from Cataract Valley and traveled through Spray Park, detouring to the falls. Trail was in fantastic shape. The creeks are full and there were a couple of places between Cataract Valley and Spray Park where you could not avoid getting your feet a bit wet. I imagine things will only get wetter in the days to come. Fall colors were out in force and there were no bugs to be seen. If the weather holds, it's the right time to get out there and enjoy the view. The parking lot at Mowich was completely full when we returned shortly after 3pm on Sunday with cars parked well over half a mile down the road.
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