The first time I had heard about Spray Park was when Valerie went there on a cloudy day a few months ago. I had no idea what to expect, but my mind was definitely blown away.
A
friend and I had planned to go on a hike somewhere off of Chinook Pass,
but when we got to Enumclaw, there were hoardes of people talking about
going to the same place. So we enacted plan B: head to Mowich Lake.
The
road to Mowich Lake is not too bad, for the first few miles after the
town of Carbonado. Then you hit dirt. Literally. It's about 13 miles of
gravel road, filled with potholes. Not as bad as Middle Fork Road, mind
you, but not exactly fun.
After
getting a nice coating of dust on the car, we arrived at Mowich Lake,
packed up our gear, then headed to Spray Park. The trail was nice and
cool in the trees and it felt great to stretch my legs after that bumpy
ride. We stopped at an overlook and I was blown away!
After
the overlook, we continued on to Spray Falls. I loved how the falls
weren't one big stream of water, but many small streams. I snapped a few
pictures, then we headed on our way to the main attraction.
I
had been so busy chatting and paying attention to the trail that I
hadn't noticed where we ended up. I turned around, and WHAM! Mt. Rainier
right in your face!
Look at those pictures! Isn't is so gorgeous!??!
After
a quick snack and getting eaten alive by mosquitos, we headed up to the
Hessong Rock - Mt. Pleasant Saddle. That trail was steep! It looked so
long, but didn't take us that long to get up there.
Mount Pleasant |
The view from up there was spectacular! You could see most of Spray Park with Mt. Rainier in the background.
Hessong Rock |
We then hiked
back down and headed back to the car. I was so tired but I still wanted
to grab some shots of Mowich Lake before we left. It was super late when
we got back, but I still had lots of fun.
Total time: 6 hours
Distance: 7.5 miles, 1600 ft elevation gain (including side trip to Hessong-Pleasant Saddle)
Passes: Mt. Rainier entrance fee required
Location: Mowich Lake Trail head, GPS: N 46 55.978, W 121 51.833
Location: Mowich Lake Trail head, GPS: N 46 55.978, W 121 51.833