If it's Saturday solitude that you're seeking, hike the Mt Aix trail. Not one other person was on this trail, beginning to end. I walked past my hiking poles on the way out the door, so I knew Mt Aix wasn't going to happen so at the Aix-Nelson Ridge intersection, I turned left and hiked up to the high point of Nelson Ridge to have lunch, then returned to the car. Trail in excellent condition, no snow, and no downed trees. No bugs either. Didn't see elk or goats, but saw evidence of them. Other than that, only a few birds, chippies, and doug squirrels. A few flowers, mostly yellow glacier lillies and phlox, but not nearly at it's floral peak. Windy and cold at the ridge top, but all in all, a most pleasant Saturday. Plan on a 3 hour (one way) drive from Seattle.

Trail to Nelson Ridge free of snow and free of major down trees - 2 or 3 small ones easily crossed. One snow patch on right ridge that we went around on the way out but easily crossed on the way back. Hiked out the ridge and did not go to the top of Mt. Aix so cannot comment on the one pesky snowpatch that sometimes lingers at the back. This is a good hike to see mountain avens. This is about as far south as it gets. 360 views. Other alpine wildflowers out and beautiful. Very few bugs.

The stretch of road from the end of the pavement to the trailhead is a pile of big, loose, sharp rocks – high clearance is a good thing (but not vital) here. The lower part of the trail – the harder, steeper part – isn’t a lot better than the road: lots of lose rock and crumbly downhill edges. But there’s only one blow-down! (actually, one tree blown down, but you have to cross it twice: it lies across a switchback) And the trees are nice – fatter than you might (or I might, at least) expect in this high and dry forest. After about 2 miles, a few welcome streams (for now, I don’t know if they last the summer). Shortly after that, the switchbacks relent a bit and the tread improves. The spring at 3.5 miles mentioned in the Mountaineers guide gushes out from under the roots of a fat, old, gnarled tree – very Tolkien. The camp by the spring has room for several thermarests, (up to four, depending on how cozy you feel) or a small tent and views you can't complain about. Again, I don’t know if the water lasts the summer. The next camp, half a mile further up (at the fourth switchback past the spring), has views that require a rest and staring break for at least an hour: Nelson Ridge, Adams, Goat Rocks, St. Helens, Rainier, and Bumping Lake nearly within diving distance 3000 feet below. More room than the lower camp, too. There’s a pretty large snow patch there, I’d say it has at least another month of water in it, and anyway, the improved view makes it worth the trek back down to the spring (if it’s still running, that is) if the snow’s headed north for the summer. Tread stays good another short mile to and beyond a saddle on Nelson Ridge’s (serrated) knife-edge. Space for a couple of under-the-stars sleepers or small tent/big bivvy just a few feet below the saddle – deep snow patch just on the other side of the saddle should be there to quench thirst for a while. The path splits at the saddle: trail to the south rounds a peak and at first sighting of Mt Aix, meets an easy snow bank – dry the rest of the way to the summit; trail north looks tempting, too.

Notes:

I think the water I mentioned should be reliable for another four weeks or so, but maybe carrying a few extra liters couldn’t hurt – Nalgenes get light really quickly on a trail like this. Better yet, call the rangers and ask them. Mileages on Green Trails Maps and in Mountaineers’ guide don’t jive. I’ve used the Mountaineers’ mileages because their longer estimates felt more accurate (or maybe I’m just out of shape!)

I spent 3 days exploring the ""dry side"" of the W. O. Douglas wilderness last weekend, and it was extemely rewarding and lonesome. If you want a bit of solitude, you may find it here. I did not meet a single soul in three days. You can hear and see herds of Elk roaming the meadows. They sure do whistle, those elk. I hiked in from Bumping Crossing campground and started on the Richmond Mine trail 973 (marked Thunder Creek trail on the green trails map). Close to the N. fork of Rattlesnake creek you can see the remnants of the Richmond mine and the miners log cabins. From there I headed up the Nelson ridge trail 982. There is a fine campsite at just below 6,000 feet. I did not get lost, fortunately, but I did lose the trail a couple times. Part of the problem is that the Forest Service has relocated the trail, but the green trails map shows the old one. The next day I walked south along Nelson ridge, and enjoyed the summits of 3 7,000 footers, culminating with the wonderful Mt. Aix at 7,766 feet. Views from Mt. Adams to Mt. Stuart, with a stunning look at Rainer. This was a day to remember. I descended through steep scree (bushwhacking) down into Hindoo creek. The last day was a very long hike out for me: I needed to cross 3 mountain passes to reach Thunder creek to get back to my car. My legs were sore. If I had had one more day to explore the lovely upper vales of Hindoo creek, the trip would have been perfect. BTW, I forgot my water filter at home so I drank creek water the whole trip (lots of it) and had no problems.