An overnight loop trip to Pyramid Mtn. via the North Fork Entiat River Trail, So. Pyramid Creek Trail, Pyramid Mtn Trail and return via the Pugh Ridge trail. We camped in a pleasant meadow at Buck Camp at approx. 6500' to the west of the summit. All trails are in good shape, the only snow was minimal and was found off trail on the WNW aspect of the summit ridge. Won't be there for much longer. Plenty of water in all the creeks. The three crossings along the So. Pyramid Trail weren't too difficult. A little deep to keep dry boots, but good logs are found just a short way up stream in all cases. The Pugh Ridge trail, as has been noted in other reports, fades here and there especially when heading south, but we didn't have too much difficulty staying with it. Bugs were out, but a little lethargic with the still cool evenings. That won't last for long. Great trip. Looking forward to a return trip to explore the area around Cardinal, Emerald and beyond.

Sept 5-6, 2004

Saturday’s rain was forecasted to give way to partly cloudy skies on Sunday and great weather on Monday. I’ve wanted to hike up Mt. Pugh for a couple of years now and managed to talk Denver into going for it. We decided to camp at Metan Lake Sunday night and summit on Monday. Monday’s weather turned out just as forecasted, and there were clear blue skies.

The trail through the forest from the trailhead to the top of Stujack Pass is in great shape. The trail is free of debris, and there are minimal roots in comparison to our last hike on Vesper Peak. The trail in the forest climbs at a very modest rate. Stujack Pass picks up nicely as is to be expected and gives a good workout in contrast to the ease of going through the forest.

From the top of Stujack Pass we had great views of Mt. Baker, White Chuck Mountain and Sloan Peak along with tempting views of Mt. Rainier.

Here is our first warning on the hike. Metan Lake was fairly brown in color which made the thought of drinking the water, even filtered, seem unappealing. Also we couldn’t see any water coming into or draining out of the lake. We decided to hold out for some running water later on and doing so proved disappointing. There was, of course, no running water as we were going up rather late in the season. We each had a little over a quart of water and we managed to ration it just fine. Remember, you’ll want to bring plenty of water with you on this hike.

This was our first experience with a razorback ridge and it proved impressive as well. There is a fair amount of exposure on the ridge and a lot more on the scramble up from the ridge to the top.

Here is our second warning on the hike. You’ll want to cinch your packs down tight, keep a close eye on the cairns and watch your step. The margin for error is minimal at best in several places above the ridge.

The exposure had us questioning our sanity and right about the time we were discussing turning around, we made it to the top. The 360 degree view from the top is truly amazing and makes it all worth while. In addition to the mountains mentioned above, we had great views of Glacier Peak, Three Fingers and Whitehorse Mountain. I've attached two pictures with views from the top.

The bugs were light and the other hikers were polite and courteous. We recommend adding this hike to your to-do list. It is outstanding!

Road to the trailhead is in good shape. We started walking at about ten in the morning and hit snow within 1/2 mile of the trailhead. At the junction with Pyramid Creek trail snow became constant but very firm and made for decent walking. There were a handfull of blowdowns in the first 2 1/2 miles and a couple of wet stream crossings. We turned off at Pugh Ridge trail and within 100 ft were out of the snow. The Pugh ridge trail is very narrow and obviously little used. It's moderately steep and south facing, I'll bet this is a hot one in mid-summer. We hit heavy snow about a mile up the trail and turned back. This would be a great fall hike, lots of solitude, I think we'll go back then.

Mike

Started at N. Fork Entiat trailhead, up Pyramid Cr. to Pyramid Pk. junction, then up to Pyramid lookout site. Returned cross-country down to Pugh Ridge trail and returned via Pugh Ridge trail to N. Fork. trail. Pyramid Cr. trail has three creek crossings without bridges but a way across can be found nearby at each one. No snow on any part of the trail to top of Pyramid. Horse traffic has churned up some of the steeper sections of the trail up to the turnoff to Pyramid Pk. The downhill section of the Pugh Ridge trail has about a dozen trees across the trail, most of which are small and low enough to step over with a couple needing to crawl under. Otherwise this trail is in good shape with a nice smooth tread. Trail on top of ridge gets a bit vague at times through open meadowy sections but generally stays near top of ridge until it starts downhill. Minimum problem with bugs. Day was cool with a breeze.