Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Jolly Mountain
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. From the trailhead, find the trail behind the horse barn at the Forest Service workshop. The trail crosses Salmon la Sac Creek and starts upward immediately. The trail zigs and zags for a steep 3.2 miles through forest, with occasional views into the Cle Elum Valley, to reach the first trail junction. Stay right and climb the southern face of the valley's headwall. In another mile turn left at another trail junction, and climb even more steeply for another 0.5 mile to reach a third junction. This time, take the left fork and continue a long traverse around the north flank of Jolly Mountain. The views now increase in frequency and magnificence. A half mile of traversing leads to the last trail junction at 6000 feet. On this north face of the mountain lingering snowfields are likely from this point on--the slippery snow may persist into August. Be careful crossing these slick patches of winter remembrances. From the last trail junction at 6000 feet, turn right and climb a long, moderate mile to the summit of Jolly Mountain. The last 6 miles brought you up more than 4000 vertical feet. Congratulate yourself on a great achievement. Then look out from your lofty perch. On a clear day, enjoy views of everything within 100 miles as your fatigue falls away and the Jolliness of the summit takes over.
Driving Directions:
From Seattle drive east on I-90 to take exit 80 (signed "Roslyn/Salmon la Sac"). Head north on Salmon la Sac Road (State Route 903) about 15 miles, passing through Roslyn and past Cle Elum Lake to Salmon la Sac. Look for the trailhead on the right, between Cayuse Horse Camp and the picnic area. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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This week we headed over Snoqualmie Pass to continue exploring the Teanaway area. After flipping through some guidebooks and doing...
This week we headed over Snoqualmie Pass to continue exploring the Teanaway area. After flipping through some guidebooks and doing a little research online, we set our sights on Jolly Mountain. With clear skies overhead we geared up and headed up the trail toward great views and the remains of a fire lookout.
There are a number of approaches to Jolly Mountain. The more traditional approach is via the Jolly Mountain Trail #1307, a 12 mile route through pine forest climbing over 4000ft along the way. We decided to take a shortcut to shave off some of that distance and elevation by following logging roads halfway up the mountainside. While shorter, the shortcut is somewhat less scenic, as it involves hiking along forest roads and traversing a few clearcuts. Still, the views from the summit are the real price of this hike, and the shortcut delivers you to those views quickly. Check out the full report at: http://www.hikingwithmybrot[…]in-trail-1307-shortcut.html Jer
Sasse Ridge, Jolly Mountain
— Aug 15, 2011
— el tigre
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
No water source
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I drove to the end of FS 2315 and with the help of an off duty FS employee found my...
I drove to the end of FS 2315 and with the help of an off duty FS employee found my way over the gate, around the sheep driveway, up onto Sasse Ridge tr, past Jolly Mountain turnoff and W Fork Teanaway turnoff, to the peak of Jolly Mountain. On the way back I detoured down Jolly Mountain tr well past the Paris Creek fragment but there's not a lot to see here so I headed back steeply uphill.
Great north and west views - you can see the marine layer break up as it bumps up against the peaks of the Cascades. Pretty good flowers. Dry trail, bring water. no bugs. Breezy and coolish even in the sun. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Water on trail | Snow on trail | Bugs
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Flickr: http://bit.ly/jolly-mountain
After resting the entire weekend I was getting a little antsy. Jolly Mountain came to mind because I have...
Flickr: http://bit.ly/jolly-mountain
After resting the entire weekend I was getting a little antsy. Jolly Mountain came to mind because I have taken numerous pictures of it from other Teanaway peaks. It was time to pay the mountain a visit. Got to the trailhead relatively late and started hiking around 12:30. There wasn't anyone else around so I figured I'd be the only person on the trail and/or the mountain. Bugs on trail albeit not unbearable, insect repellent was still needed. No sign of snow until just below the ridge. The trail went in and out of the snow but was still easy to follow. Clear of snow once on the ridge until just before base of the peak. I didn't bring my spikes, the snow was packed enough not to have used them. Used Trekking poles to keep my balance. The summit was very windy, glad I brought my fleece along. Most of the Teanaway peaks I've been on were in plain view. Lots of dead ladybugs by the lookout pit, poor bugs. Took all the pictures I needed and then headed back down. Day hike
Issues:
Overgrown | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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We did a fun 10 mile loop hike using the Paris Creek and Jolly Mountain trails. Despite the nice weather...
We did a fun 10 mile loop hike using the Paris Creek and Jolly Mountain trails. Despite the nice weather on Sunday, we only saw one party of horse riders on the entire loop. To get back to the Paris Creek trailhead, we left the Jolly Mountain trail at 3600' and followed logging roads. This quiet gated road network is much better for walking than the main Cle Elum river road from Salmon La Sac.
The little used Paris Creek trail was in o.k. condition, with areas of narrow and slumped tread. Evidence of fairly recent drainage work and cut logs indicate that this trail is getting some tender loving care. After a mile, the trail levels out for a spell, and approaches the creek near a shady campsite. This is a good place to cool off your dog and yourself, for the trail climbs somewhat aggressively for the next half mile. Soon the path enters a section of logged land which is a bit hot and shadeless. For a ways, the trail follows a logging road. At an unsigned split, take the right-branching (dowhill) road. The uphill road branch climbs high up the ridge and makes for an interesting hike in its own right. Once out of the clearcut, the road reverts to single track, and the hiking once again becomes shady and pleasant. There are several nice and little-used campsites in the upper valley of Paris Creek. The best is near the point where the trail crosses the creek--a tricky ford right now with the high water. The trail's grade steepens beyond the ford. The junction with trail #1393.1 is signed and easy to spot. Snow patches appear and become heavy as the trail reaches the charming headwater basin of Paris Creek at 4800'. The meadowy basin itself is free on snow, and should put on a nice flower show in a few weeks. A lovely seasonal waterfall adorns the cliffs above. The trail is almost invisible in the meadow. Above it, the path has become a creek for about 100 feet. Intermittent snow buries the trail on its steep climb to the mile high pass. We lost the trail entirely for a quarter mile. The pass offers a nice alpine view, most notably toward Esmerelda and Ingalls Peak. Across Paris Creek, there is a craggy ridge of colorful rock that suggests some interesting geology. The trail descends toward Salmon La Sac creek in a gulley filled with nuisance snowbanks. Below the gulley, the trail plunges down the slope at an amazingly steep grade--what were the trail builders thinking? The trail levels out at the bottom of the Salmon La Sac creek valley, but there still is a lot of snow here, and a tricky ford of the creek. A brief climb brings the trail to a junction with the Jolly Mountain Trail. This trail is more heavily used and easier to follow than the Paris Creek trail, though intermittent snow remains a problem down to about 4600'. Hit hard with horse traffic and some motorbikes, the trail is badly eroded in spots. The trail crosses a raging Salmon La Sac Creek at 4300', a slightly tricky crossing right now. The trail eventually enters a clearcut area with good views--although this section might be really hot for hiking up later in summer. The trail crosses a logging road at 3900' and another at 3600. This is the road we followed back toward Paris Creek. The road offers good views and is quite a nice walking route. It joins the dusty, heavily travelled road #4430 just a few hundred yards south of the Paris Creek trailhead.
Jolly Mountain
— Sep 28, 2008
— par
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
No water source
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Taking advantage of beautiful fall sunshine, 3 of us started near the upper gate around 3,600 feet on the logging...
Taking advantage of beautiful fall sunshine, 3 of us started near the upper gate around 3,600 feet on the logging road leading to Sasse Ridge. At the end of the road on Sasse Ridge we picked up the Sasse Mountain Trail and then the Jolly Mountain Trail which goes to the 6,443 feet. When we got to the flat area around 6,000 feet we discovered that the steep hikers trail leading to the summit has been replaced by a new motorbike friendly trail. As a result we were visited by 4 motorbikes at the summit.
I guess one could call that progress. However, in view of the current budget of the Forest Service I am not sure where the funds come from to build new motorbike trails. |
Jolly Mountain by Sadie's Driver
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