Spray Park
Aug. 17th, 2022 07:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tiggymalvern
Monday was hiking day again, a real one! I've heard good things about Spray Park at Mount Tahoma (Rainier) for years as a flower destination. Usually I've been to Berkeley Park or Naches Peak for flowers, but with the awful construction on Hwy 410, this year I decided to check out the alternative. Especially since the trip reports for the weekend said the mosquito hordes had gone from 'terrible' to 'not too bad'.
For the first mile and a half, the trail meanders through forest, crossing various creeks along the way. Flowers here in a wetland alongside a stream.
Creeks here and there, breaking up the dense forest of firs.
Some of them are a little wider.
And then the climb begins, and the streams are falling rather than flowing.
Eagle Cliff viewpoint finds a break in the trees to look across the precipitous valley to Tahoma (Rainier).
The climb gets quite steep for the last half a mile or so to the meadows - and then you cross another stream and emerge from the trees to the first view of Spray Park. So this is why I just did that!
The trail continues to climb up through the meadows.
The flatter areas have small shallow tarns.
With frogs!
And salamanders in their aquatic forms.
And of course, the flowers, as advertised.
How far you go at this point is up to you - the trail carries on up to a ridge and down beyond into Seattle Park. If you had two cars and a lot of energy, you could do a through hike of about 12 miles. I turned around about a mile into the park, making a round trip hike of about 8 miles and 2000 feet of climb.
Looking back down the trail on the return trip.
Mount Tahoma reflected in one of the shallow tarns.
Anyway, having explored the new place, I declare it to be prettier than Berkeley Park, but I think I still prefer Naches Peak on the whole. And Naches Peak is easier to get to when 410 isn't being dug up, so I think I'll stick to that plan most years.
On the way back home, I got a flat tyre on a nasty pothole. Of the 'tyre wrecked' kind, rather than the nail embedded kind. And of course, in the way of new cars, there's no spare wheel, just a can of goop, which would be fine for a nail, but not for what I had. And there's no cell phone service out there, obviously. So I had to thumb a lift into the nearst town (thankfully at that point just 5 miles away).
I only had to wait for 5 minutes for a car, since I was far from the only one out hiking that day, and the first car that came along stopped for me. There was a couple in front and the woman was a little hesitant: 'We have a large dog in the back, are you good with dogs?'
Yes, I assured them, I'm good with dogs. So I got to share a seat with a German Shepherd, who as soon as I got in was all, 'A human! Hello human, I love humans, let me lick you!' I'm definitely fine with those kinds of dogs, though it's probably best not to lick me when I'm covered in sunscreen and bug spray, girl...
Anyway, I used the phone at the pub to call the AAA who got me a tow to the tyre place in the nearest large town. It was busy and I had a wait there, but everything got fixed, and I eventually made it home three hours later than planned. Still worth it though!
For the first mile and a half, the trail meanders through forest, crossing various creeks along the way. Flowers here in a wetland alongside a stream.
Creeks here and there, breaking up the dense forest of firs.
Some of them are a little wider.
And then the climb begins, and the streams are falling rather than flowing.
Eagle Cliff viewpoint finds a break in the trees to look across the precipitous valley to Tahoma (Rainier).
The climb gets quite steep for the last half a mile or so to the meadows - and then you cross another stream and emerge from the trees to the first view of Spray Park. So this is why I just did that!
The trail continues to climb up through the meadows.
The flatter areas have small shallow tarns.
With frogs!
And salamanders in their aquatic forms.
And of course, the flowers, as advertised.
How far you go at this point is up to you - the trail carries on up to a ridge and down beyond into Seattle Park. If you had two cars and a lot of energy, you could do a through hike of about 12 miles. I turned around about a mile into the park, making a round trip hike of about 8 miles and 2000 feet of climb.
Looking back down the trail on the return trip.
Mount Tahoma reflected in one of the shallow tarns.
Anyway, having explored the new place, I declare it to be prettier than Berkeley Park, but I think I still prefer Naches Peak on the whole. And Naches Peak is easier to get to when 410 isn't being dug up, so I think I'll stick to that plan most years.
On the way back home, I got a flat tyre on a nasty pothole. Of the 'tyre wrecked' kind, rather than the nail embedded kind. And of course, in the way of new cars, there's no spare wheel, just a can of goop, which would be fine for a nail, but not for what I had. And there's no cell phone service out there, obviously. So I had to thumb a lift into the nearst town (thankfully at that point just 5 miles away).
I only had to wait for 5 minutes for a car, since I was far from the only one out hiking that day, and the first car that came along stopped for me. There was a couple in front and the woman was a little hesitant: 'We have a large dog in the back, are you good with dogs?'
Yes, I assured them, I'm good with dogs. So I got to share a seat with a German Shepherd, who as soon as I got in was all, 'A human! Hello human, I love humans, let me lick you!' I'm definitely fine with those kinds of dogs, though it's probably best not to lick me when I'm covered in sunscreen and bug spray, girl...
Anyway, I used the phone at the pub to call the AAA who got me a tow to the tyre place in the nearest large town. It was busy and I had a wait there, but everything got fixed, and I eventually made it home three hours later than planned. Still worth it though!
no subject
Date: 2022-08-19 07:19 am (UTC)Bummer about the tyre :( Erm, and better you than me with the doggo :)
(Did new car really not come with a spare of any kind? That wouldn't be legal in my state!)
no subject
Date: 2022-08-19 05:51 pm (UTC)According to AAA, currently 30% of new cars don't come with a spare wheel. Consumer reports say about a third of cars in the UK don't either, so that's similar. More and more cars are using run-flat tyres, that's a big part of the reason.