Hike Date: 01-10-2015
Distance (Roundtrip): 5.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 2300 ft
Highest Point: 5327 ft
Mount Pilchuck Hiking Guide
Happy new year! As my tradition continues, I decided to venture up Mount Pilchuck as the winter hike to kick off 2015. This hiking trail is very popular, offering one of the best views in the Pacific Northwest with very little effort. On most days, especially if conditions are clear, the trail will be jam-packed with hikers looking to explore the wooden lookout tower at the top of the mountain.
While the trail isn't exactly a cake-walk, it isn't super grueling either. In the spring and summer, the trail is usually easy to find and is very well-maintained. However, in the winter, conditions make the trail fairly dangerous and hard to navigate. My first adventure up Mount Pilchuck left me cold and lost, as snow and fog took me completely off path and forced me to turn around.
The road to the trailhead (USFS Road 42) hasn't changed much since the last time I drove it. My Jeep managed to make it up the 7 miles of pothole-covered, unpaved road to the trailhead. Though a high-clearance vehicle is recommended, there were a diverse amount of cars at the parking lot when we got there. We arrived at about 8am, the trail was mostly empty, maybe 4-5 other hikers. There was snow and ice in the parking lot and the fog was just starting to settle in. It was eerily similar to my last trip up Mount Pilchuck, where weather conditions forced me to retreat. Nevertheless, we started our hike to the tower.
The trail starts off with a straight, shallow climb south through thick forest. A sign indicating the trail number (700) greets you at the beginning. At this time of year, parts of the trail are really wet from snow melt. It can sometimes resemble a small creek. We ran into a some mud and a couple of deep puddle crossings. They're inconvenient, but not show-stopping. The first and only creek-crossing is less than half a mile in. Using the larger rocks along the creek, we made it over with ease. Soon after, a sign reading "Mt. Pilchuck State Park" sits on the left of the trail. All throughout the rest of the first mile or so of the trail, there are lots of man-made wooden stairs and pathways, making it fairly easy to walk and navigate.
There was only one noticeable blowdown up some wooden stairs. It appears some volunteers came in and chopped it out of the way. About a mile into the trail, the forest canopy opens up to a boulder-covered slope. With the fog, there wasn't much of a view, but it was nice to get a break from the tree-cover. At this point, the trail became a bit more rugged, with big rocks and roots covering most of the trail.
The trail marker pointed us back up through the forest, in and out of openings. At this point, snow was starting to show up on the trail. About a half-mile up, we decided to pull over and put on some micro-spikes. They helped out a lot with hiking over the compact, icy snow! With the snowy trail, we used the footsteps of hikers before us to stay on trail. There were also many posts plunked into the snow, giving us direction along the way.
The views were stunning. Even with visibility clouded by the fog, we were able to peer through the mist out at the snowy mountainside. With every break, we peered up at various summits high above. The snow-covered mountainside was a quite a sight to be seen!
Navigation and traction is the key to Mount Pilchuck in the winter. Paying close attention to the footpath of others and keeping an eye out for posts will drastically improve your chance of reaching the lookout. Micro-spikes are a huge help! Especially along the steep and narrow switchbacks the last mile of the trail. Though it may seem overkill, snowshoes and hiking poles are also a huge help. We saw plenty of 2-foot post-holes along the way. Better safe than sorry (or injury)!
During the last mile from the top, we continued slowly along the slick, narrow trail. It switches back and forth up along the mountain, mostly open, but occasionally through light forest-cover. We stopped and took a photo break at some ginormous, flat-faced boulders. These were awesome to see!
The last switch-back from the top is an open climb up some large boulders. From here, we were able to see the tower through the fog, off in the distance. It was comforting to see! We continued up the snowy trail as it narrowed closer and closer to the top. One final climb through the slick, snow-covered boulders and up a metal ladder, we were inside the lookout tower!
The tower is very well-maintained. With a full deck surrounding it, I can imagine the views this place offers on a clear day! On one end, there is an open standing platform that leads to even more viewpoints along some large rocks. We'd had enough of scrambling snow and boulders for the day, so we decided to stay on the safe footing of the lookout. Inside, there were plenty of signatures, markings, and Twitter handles written on the walls. It was also a small museum, with old photos and written history of Mount Pilchuck and the entire area.
Like many hikes offer, there was a small booklet for people to sign. We had noticed, earlier that same morning, a couple had gotten engaged! After signing the book, we ate some granola, snapped a couple more photos, and geared up to head back down.
Getting back down was much faster than going up, but we were still extra careful to maintain footing. At this point in the day, the trail was extremely busy! We passed one group of 20 and another of about 10 making their way up to the lookout. I can only imagine how crowded it was up there with that many people!
It was about a 3 1/2 hour hike round-trip. We took frequent breaks and moved slowly through the snow, so I'm sure this can be done very quickly in optimal conditions. I'll have to come back when the sun is out so I can get the full 360-degree view from the lookout! Despite the lack of a view at the end, I very much enjoyed exploring Mount Pilchuck. It felt great to finally get revenge and conquer on this trail!
Photos
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