Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Hessong Rock & Mount Pleasant
Crisp fall weather, some fall color, and amazing views of Mount Rainier
Christina Black
- Sun, Sep 29, 2024
- Alpine Scramble - Hessong Rock & Mount Pleasant
- Fay Peak, Hessong Rock & Mount Pleasant
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road rough but passable
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The trail was quite muddy, particularly in the first mile or two from the trailhead (both towards Mowich Lake and towards Spray Park). We noticed ice crystals in the dirt and heather, but the rock was dry. Decent bootpath most of the way made navigation easy to follow. I recommend going low while traveling around the back of Hessong Rock to the ridge to avoid boulder hopping / loose scree.
We appreciated seeing some fall colors and the crisp fall weather! The views of Rainier were also amazing, and we got to see several different types of clouds near the mountain at different times of day. We did the route counter-clockwise. The routefinding was fairly easy most of the way except in the boulder field between Mount Pleasant and Knapsack Pass. Some prior trip reports suggest going the opposite direction makes it easier to find your way in that section.
Photos courtesy of Kimberly Glock, Mire Kashikura, and Alex Negrila