Sunrise on Noble Knob. Photo by Trip Report poster 'Log Hopper.'

Hike through meadows nestled more than a mile above sea level, but climb only 500 feet to get there. What could be better? Perhaps meadows punctuated with stunning horizons capped by the snow-clad Mount Rainier. Add in a large resident herd of elk, some pretty doe-eyed mule deer, and a few hundred birds. Too much to ask? Maybe, but that's exactly what you get on Noble Knob.

The trail angles north around the flank of Mutton Mountain, gaining only a few feet in the first mile. From the start the trail slides through lush wildflower meadows with incredible views of the rocky top of this moun-tain and back south to Castle Mountain.

A few hundred feet down the trail, a rough side trail leads to the right; this boot-beaten path rejoins the main trail in about a mile. Stay left on the mail trail to avoid this rough path. About 1.5 miles from the car, an-other trail split is reached. Stay right to continue contouring through meadows below the jagged spine of Dalles Ridge. At nearly 2.5 miles the trail crosses a low saddle (elev. 5900 ft) with phenomenal views over the surrounding meadows. Soak it in, before pushing on, dropping a couple hundred feet in the next mile to another trail junction.

This time the left fork drops to above Twentyeight Mile Lake. Stay right and in 0.25 mile find a third junction, this one offering you three trails to choose from. Look left (George Lake), look right (Lost Lake), and go down the middle. Or rather, up the middle, as the center trail climbs a steep 0.5 mile, looping around the circular summit to the 6011-foot crest of Noble Knob.

Once upon a time, a fire lookout station positioned here enabled the fire watch guard to keep on eye on the forest in all directions, watching for lightning strikes and long fingers of smoke. Today the lookout cabin is gone, but the views remain.