After a failed attempt of the summit that June prior (no snowshoes, failed to find trail). Dave and I decided to come back and finally conquer the mountain. It was a beautiful day out, a day that screamed "Out of the house and into the hills with you!". Picked Dave up from Monroe about 8:30, and instead of taking the Hwy 2 -> Hwy 9 -> Hwy 92 approach to Granite Falls, I took the Woods Creek Road at Albertsons via Lake Roesiger. It turned out to be a really scenic drive through lush forests (NO TRAFFIC except the slow Verizon truck).

Pulled onto Mt. Pilchuck road about 9:30 am, and proceeded to take the pothole ridden road to the trailhead. Only about eight cars at the TH. Always nice to get there early :). The temperature was roasting in the high-80s lower90s, and unfortunately a little smoggy. Started up the hike and right off the bat wasps that were hovering over the garbage cans at the TH took off on pursuit of us which got us moving pretty fast. The wasps then passed the baton to biting horse flies that didn't leave us alone until the last 500 feet to the top. I want to thank the small group of hikers with the Avon skin-so-soft with bug repellant! Other than the bugs I have to laud the WTA for their great work. I left feeling that the $30 fee for the Northwest Forest Pass was well spent. The new trail was superb, the WTA has been doing a really good job taking care of it.

The hike starts out in some old growth forest, which was nice due to the hot weather. Then out of the forest comes a slight boulder field which opens up some views of Raineer. You traverse left on the boulder field around the southside to open views of Baker, Shuskan, and the almighty Queest-Alb (3 Fingers). It's really too bad the road to the Three Fingers trailhead has been washed out, adding an additional 10 miles (one way) to the hike. I was hoping to get up to the Lookout this year. After about half a mile the north face of Pilchuck opens up, which is really breathtaking. You also begin to realize that it's still a long, hard way up to the summit. Here you will be in the direct sun pretty much to the top. The remains of the old ski lifts are still evident right off the trail, and we stopped to check out the blocks and pullies that litter areas of the face. We plodded on through the sun and steepness to the top for about another hour or so, then finally we saw that the lookout was only about a hundred feet. Scrambled the brief boulder field to the ladder and then up into the lookout. The ladder can be a little intimidating but trust me it's safe (unless it's icy). Open arriving into the lookout Dave and I dropped like jelly on to the benches. It was really nice to get out of the sun for a while and check out the mini museum the lookout has to offer. The Lookout simply rocks! There are summit markers with outlines to help you distinguish distant peaks in every horizontal direction. There is also a history of the lookout complete with pictures and a phenomenal wrap around outside observation deck. The Everett Mountaineers have done a really great job maintaining the lookout. The views are stunning from up here and a little airy. Full 360 views can be obtained at the summit. If you are planning on doing this hike, wait for a cloudless sunny day, you won't be dissapointed. This is simply one of my favorite hikes and a yearly must do.

We ate some lunch (EAS Advantage bars), soaked up the views, then decided to get on our way down. Passed several hiking parties on the way down, and almost everyone we ran into was complaining furiously about the biting flies. Other than that the way down was uneventful. Got to my truck and we were off for a fitting place for burgers, Pilchucks at Snohomish.

Getting There

From Seattle take I-5 northbound to North Everett and then merge onto US-2 E via exit number 194 toward SNOHOMISH/WENATCHEE. Stay on the Hwy 2 for about 4 miles then exit onto WA-9 N toward Lake Stevens. Then take the right onto WA-92 to Granite Falls. Drive through Granite Falls, and at the end of the road turn left on the Mountain Loop Highway and drive 12 miles to Mt. Pilchuck Road just after the the bridge (After Verlot Ranger Station). Travel pothole ridden road approx. 7.0 miles to the trailhead. Depending on what time of year you go up, you might have to park a half mile before parking lot because of snow that melts slow due to cold water creek flowing underneath road.

From Sultan take Hwy 2 westbound. In Monroe go straight after Main Street stop light and take next right onto Woods Creek Road. Stay on road for 8 miles then take a right onto west Lk. Roesiger road. Follow road into Granite Falls and take a right onto Mountain Loop Highway. From here follow above directions.

Pictures From The Trip