Alpine Scramble - Echo Rock & Observation Rock

Trip Report

We left Spray Park Trailhead at 8am and headed for Knapsack Pass via Knapsack Pass Trail. The trail was occasionally muddy but otherwise in decent shape. Once at the saddle you get your first view of Echo & Observation as well as Rainier.

Past the pass we crossed some small snow fields to get to the junction with Spray Park Trail.

We were on Spray Park Trail for less than a mile before bearing right at the junction to head towards Echo & Observation.

Because we brought them, we put on our crampons to ascend the Flett Glacier which made the ascent easier, however, they are not necessary if you are comfortable on steep snow. The glacier is just a benign snow field at this point in the season.

From the bottom, Echo Rock doesn't appear to be scramble-able, however, following the obvious booth path led to a surprisingly easy scramble to the summit.

The biggest danger on Echo is rockfall kicked loose from others. The only real exposure is the final few feet of the summit.  Group summit photo, the actual true summit being the pointy bit behind us.

We descended Echo Rock and headed over to Observation Rock. Again, an obvious boot path on the east side of the faces makes finding the route to the summit via the back side easy.

The actual scramble of Observation Rock is simple and has no exposure. Our group summit photo with Rainier behind us. The summit of Observation gives great views of Liberty Ridge, the Willis Wall, and Liberty Cap.

We returned to the trailhead through Spray Park and its many wildflowers.

We arrived back to the trailhead just before 7pm. It was a long day! Averaging our various devices we logged 13 miles and 4,500 ft of ascent.

This is an excellent trip that I recommend highly.

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