There was a little bit of snow coming down at the trailhead, but nothing really sticking.
We started off a little after 10.
Snow on the trail almost all the way up except for some parts deep in the trees at the beginning.
Before we hit the ridge we put on snowshoes which was a good idea since without the shoes the snow was waist deep(6'). We made it to the ridge looking down into the neighboring valley to the north but lost sign of any trail going to the meadows.
We shoveled some snow and made a wind guard and ate some food and decided it was time to head back down.
In the hour that we ate, our tracks became harder to follow down, especially since the snow was falling even harder. On the way down we ran across lots of branches that were bent over the trail that weren't on our way up, and lots of branches breaking in the distance.
When we got to the car there was three inches of snow on the car.
Fun hike, but every time I try it there's snow that stops me from getting to the top...

Hiked up the Perry Creek Trail to the Mount Forgotten Meadows. Amazing views of snow-covered mountains, including Mt. Baker - and Glacier Peak is right in front of you!

Arrived at trailhead before 9 (thanks, Daylight Standard Time!), and there were two cars; a few more came during the day, but otherwise it was quiet. Mt. Dickerman shares the parking lot and had about a dozen cars - lots of folks taking advantage of a sunny day in late fall.

A dusting of snow was on the trail about a mile or so before Perry Creek Falls, and a good foot of fresh snow covering the meadows. It wasn't too hard to follow the trail to the meadows, but any more snow will require strong navigation skills. I found poles helpful, and snow shoes would've been nice at the meadows, but by no means necessary.

Pressing on from the first viewpoint of Mt. Baker is worth it to get amazing views of Glacier Peak. I followed animal tracks, which seemed to mostly follow snow-buried trails, to navigate the meadows.

     My usual weekend handsome hiking partner and I were excited to get to the top of two peaks in a day and Mount Forgotten and it's neighbor Mount Stillaguamish seemed to fit the bill.
      We got to the trail head at 8:00 (about an hour and a half from Seattle that time of the day). The hike up Perry creek drainage was incredibly beautiful with golden, red and yellow swaths of foliage set against forest green and granite. Stream levels at the stream crossing (about 3 or so miles in from the parking lot) were totally fine and manageable. After the creek crossing is where the climb really starts with switchbacks starting shortly thereafter and continuing until you break out into the meadows at around 5000 or so feet. We started to see snow about halfway up the flank which culminated to close to six inches at the meadows.
     The Meadows....wow. Pristinely blanketed in snow and with the clear day we were gifted incredible views of surrounding peaks. I would love to come here in the summer. The snow, though, made the looming peak of Forgotten seem much too dire for our liking. Even to get across the small saddle from the meadows seemed like an undertaking nevertheless the scramble itself (I seem to remember reading that during winter it is much more of a fourth class climb than the third class in the summer). The conditions were in between --- not yet cold and snowy enough to take advantage of it with crampons and an axe yet to slippery and wet to safely travel (in my opinion).
     We instead climbed up to the small viewpoint on the other side of the meadow from the main summit and had our customary cup of hot coffee (brewed in a french press right there!). Again, incredible views just made better by the snowfall.
     We had noticed the trail to Stillaguamish on the way to the meadows so we started towards the ridge that runs up to the summit. In the snow we were not sure of the trail so we made the decision (a poor one as it turns out) to stay high and run along the ridge as it was easy travel at first. This did not work out. We eventually came to a standstill as we were confronted with some 2nd and 3rd class scrambling all together too close to the sheer cliff. We then tried to bushwack down figuring we would at some point hit the trail. We did indeed after a while but only after at least two or three ten foot slides and lots of lowering off of thorns and saplings. When we finally found the trail we debated whether to go up to the summit anyway but we had set a turnaround time earlier in the day and we try to never make exceptions to the days plan so we turned back towards the main trail (reading when I got back home how easy the peak was definitely had me feeling a little foolish).
     Beautiful walk out as the sun was bathing Perry Creek. Incredible day that left us pretty bushed (think we did around 16 or so miles with our excursion towards Stillaguamish).

Watch the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/[…]/SCvi2tE8TUg

I got an early start and enjoyed cool morning temps on the lower Perry Creek Trail (now starts at the same parking lot at Dickerman, south side). A few views of Big 4 opened up over the first mile. This temporary trail briefly connects to the forest road and to the new trail head in less than a couple of miles. You could hear the rushing of waterfalls as the morning sun crested over the ridge keeping me relatively cool while the grade steepened. The hidden waterfall is a gem, and there are a few stream crossings to dip your hat in. The upper meadows had a few bugs, but were spectacular. The meadows area a great turnaround objective if you aren't considering climbing the peak.

Look for a short steep bit of trail near the ridge line leading to Mt Forgotten. From here there are some steep exposed and brushy spots as you traverse right around the mountain until cresting to an obvious partially snow-filled gully which connects to the obvious trail to the summit.

Beautiful hike in great condition!

Car-to-Summit 2:53
Car-to-Car 5:22
Approx 14 miles round trip 5,000ft total elevation gain