Mount Dickerman
Last modified
Oct 24, 2009 03:07 PM
Contributors:
Mark
Big Four Mountain from Mt. Dickerman trail (Mark Dexter)
One of the most popular hikes off of the Mountain Loop Highway, the Mount Dickerman Trail delivers jaw-slacking views of a ring of rugged peaks near and far. Big Four and Del Campo practically leap out at you, while Glacier mesmerizes off in the distance. Though well-built and well-maintained, the trail is not easy. It starts low and heads high, wasting little time on the way to the 5723-foot summit. Come in September and Dickerman's legendary blueberry patches will slow your momentum even more than the steep trail. You'll likely end up looking like an "indigo girl"with all your picking and sampling. Recent Trip Reports
Hiked here recently?
Submit a trip report!
There are
295
trip reports for this hike.
See all trip reports for this hike.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
The day began foggy, but cleared up enough for spectacular views from the summit of Mount Dickerman. Though there is...
The day began foggy, but cleared up enough for spectacular views from the summit of Mount Dickerman. Though there is a lot of elevation gain (3875 feet), the trail is laid out with numerous switchbacks so that there are no really steep sections. The trail is in great shape all the way to the end.
Equally as notable as the summit views is the number of wildflowers in bloom along the way. In the lower forest section, in particular, I saw many fairly rare species such as the candystick (see pic), one of the beautiful parasitic plants that live only in the Pacific Northwest. These, and many other smaller plants, are usually ignored by those in a rush to get to the summit. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mud/Rockslide | Bugs
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Trail free of snow. Bugs showed up about three miles into the hike but soon disappeared. Nothing serious to report....
Trail free of snow. Bugs showed up about three miles into the hike but soon disappeared. Nothing serious to report.
Mount Dickerman
— Jul 10, 2009
— Sydney Kaplan
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
Mount Dickerman is one of my favorite hikes and I try to do it every year. Friday's weather was...
Mount Dickerman is one of my favorite hikes and I try to do it every year. Friday's weather was beautiful on the Mountain Loop and it held up the entire day, although some clouds began to appear as the afternoon went on. There were quite a few cars in the lot when we arrived, more than I had expected on a week day. But it never seemed crowded, even at the summit, since we took our time and didn't arrive there until many had descended. There are some larger patches of snow in the upper meadows, but they are all quite manageable, especially if you have a walking stick. But they are melting quickly and will probably be gone within days. Great views of Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, and hundreds of mountains from the 5720 foot summit. Lots of wildflowers although no blueberries yet.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
We left the trailhead about 8:30 a.m. Fewer than 10 cars were in the lot, and we met fewer hikers...
We left the trailhead about 8:30 a.m. Fewer than 10 cars were in the lot, and we met fewer hikers than on a typical sunny summer Friday. The trail was very good. A few minor snow patches once out of the woods, but the boot path was visible and almost entirely solid. The broad ascending meadow below the summit was under snow but quite walkable with poles and kick steps. We saw thousands of glacier lilies just below the meadow, indicating that this part of the trail had only just emerged from under snow.
The first and second summits were separated by an easy snow patch, otherwise dry and with new wildflowers, most notably fresh purple phlox. The 360-degree mountain vistas were their usual spectacular selves, with high clouds overhead. The lower-elevation march through the woods had its own rewards: lovely forest with sometimes ancient old growth stands. My partner JM observed (for the first time, after two decades of hiking here) that we were switchbacking between these giant trees and spindly ones lying among much fallen timber ("junk"). We guessed that we were passing back and forth across a vertical swath of an old burn -- later confirmed with evidence of a few scorched giant trees amid the junk. Who knows what else we'll discover right under our noses after another 20 years. Despite the hot weather in the flatlands today, our ascent and descent (2:20 up, 2:00 down) were entirely comfortable. The summit was quite warm with no wind, and a delightful breeze picked up as we descended. A few mosquitos were at the trailhead, meadow, and summit, easy to ignore. Note to Backpacker Nature Boy, whom we met this morning as you were descending. Hope your personal aesthetic experience at the second summit justified leaving your cherry pits and the charcoal and ashes from your fire for the rest of this summer's hikers to look at and sit in. We dispersed the warm ash and tossed the dry wood that you left right next to it.
Mount Dickerman
— Jun 27, 2009
— Richard
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
Up Dickerman for the first time in two years, and the first time on the trail in about eight -...
Up Dickerman for the first time in two years, and the first time on the trail in about eight - last hike in '07 on the "winter route" due snow. Found the trail's grade pleasantly moderate, especially with a heavier pack than usual. Snowfree for about an hour and change, then run into considerable snow cover right about where the trail broke into the open. (Look for the avalanche lilies by the side of the trail just prior - always a dead giveaway!)The paucity of WTA trip reports notwithstanding, there are lots of footsteps to follow, and most of them lead in approximately the right direction :-) Look for the occasional red flag on a tree, marking where the trail, buried underneath, switches back. Catch a nice glimpse of the summit above, about 600' or so to the top, as the route meanders back and begins the final climb. The luckier among you, or those more familiar with the route, may succeed in staying on course far better than I - however, with the aid of still-plentiful footsteps in the snow, some step kicking, and an ice ax, the old standby "Aim for the top" navigational approach worked yet again. Think I ended up approaching the summit area from the general direction of the winter route - a few old glissade paths were evident. Two arrived immediately afterward, both approaching from slightly different directions, evidence that the equation renders multiple solutions. If you like your hikes snowfree, wait awhile....at least three weeks or so to ensure carefree navigation. If you don't mind, go for it....great flowers low, lilies in the middle, and terrific views of the surrounding sentinels - Sperry, Vesper, Morning Star, Del Campo, Monte Cristo, Sloan, Pugh, Forgotten, plus the usual suspects in the distance.
|
Driving Directions
From Granite Falls follow the Mountain Loop Highway east for 27 miles to the trailhead, 1.8 miles beyond (east of) the Big Four Picnic Area (elev. 1850 ft). Privy available. |
Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
Forgot your
New user?
