The Flowers, Falls, and Bear of Spray Park in Mount Rainier

Late July or early August is the best time to see the display of wildflowers in Mount Rainier National Park in full bloom.  Grand Park and Summerland are both beautiful destination, but perhaps the best is Spray Park.

On a recent Tuesday morning, we decided to head south to see the spectacle.  The trip to Mt. Rainier has gotten longer in recent years from the Eastside of Seattle because of our notorious traffic.  Luckily, there were three of us, and we were "good to go" in the carpool lane through the worst of the snarls that began in Kirkland and continued all the way past Kent.  Of course, if you are not a daily commuter, you'll need to plan in advance pick up the pass at Fred Meyer or QFC and open an account on-line.

A small bridge has been out on 165 near Buckley for almost a year.  Pierce County, named after one of our great incompetent presidents, seems to be living up to its namesake on this project.  Expect an odd delay and detour on the edge of suburban sprawl.   

The dirt road in the park to the trailhead is in pretty good shape with a little bit of washboarding.  At the trailhead, you'll find all types of vehicles from a variety of states and provinces.  We rolled in at 9 AM on a Tuesday.  Parking was filling up.

As we drove down to the park, we were a little concerned about the Puget Sound marine overcast obscuring views of the mountain, but by the time we arrived, it was mostly gone with just a lingering of haze.

First good view of Mt. Rainier from Eagle Cliff

The hike starts at Mowich Lake Campground where there is access to a small beach, a few campsites, and a privy.  The trail begins by going down then climbing back up the ridge.  Since you begin the hike at 4900' and climb to 6000', the total elevation appears to be pretty easy.  We found all ages on the trail from toddlers riding on their parents' back to octogenarians.  That be said, the roots, mud, and undulations of the trail definitely create some work with some serious switchbacks after the falls, and of course, the final climb back to the trailhead on weary legs at the end of the hike.

Spray Falls

The first glimpse of the mountain in all it's glory is just a few steps off the trail at Eagle Cliff Lookout.  Shining Mowich Glacier glistens just a few miles away.   Here we met an intrepid senior hiker named Tony, from Gig Harbor.  He moved to the the Northwest years ago as a young man for work and beauty.  Decades later, he is still venturing into the mountains.

The next side trip we made were to Spray Falls.  We were impressed by the splaying diaphanous veil over the cliff.  If you stay on the main side of the creek, you'll see 80% of the falls.   I crossed over to get a better look.  The rock hopping, creek crossing is a bit tricky on slippery boulders.  Our new friend, Tony, with a decade or two on us with accompanying wisdom, decided that discretion was the better half of valor, and took his photos from the safer side.

Lupines along the trail in Spray Park

The switchbacks up to the park from the falls are steep with roots and mud.  You poke out of the woods briefly to see the mountain in its glory, then climbed again to meadows where bouquet of flowers are in full bloom. 

Unconcerned by our presence

As we moved up the park, a big bear with cinnamon highlights to his coat grazed nonchalantly off the trail 20 or 30 yards away.  He was grubbing about in a seasonal brook and didn't seem to care about hikers passing by and taking a quick photo or some video.

We continued up a trail lined in blue lupines and sparks of red paintbrush to the Upper Park, and ended up eating lunch on a moonscape ridge that marks the edge of Spray Park's floral beauty.  Here a hint of the true nature of mountain's volcanism is apparent in red and gray chunks of lava rock. 

Several parties of Wonderlanders were wandering by.  A party of three lunched near us.  They had spent 6 nights on the trail, and were looking forward to a dip in Mowich Lake.

Bugs were noticeable at lunch, but not a nuisance.  None of us dug out bug spray, but maybe folks with sweeter blood might want to have protection at the ready.

The trip down was highlighted by a trail-side conversation about a sow and her two clubs up the ridge from the trail.  With naked eyes, the bear family was only brown specks moving between talus fields.  Luckily, a kind gentleman with binoculars let us have a closer look where we could see playful cubs tagging along behind their mom.  Note to self:  Bring binoculars next time, and spend a moment glassing the mountain beyond the trail.

The afternoon heated up, and one of my friends filtered cold water from a stream on the way out.  The final up before the trailhead seems a little unfair but we cooled down in the lake afterwards and reflected back on one of the best day hikes of the summer.