Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Thorp Mountain
This loop offers outstanding rewards but demands serious effort in payment. The trail has suffered years of neglect, leaving the route rough. Add the strenuous climbs and you have a hike that taxes even the toughest hikers. In return, though, hikers will find views that are unmatched in this part of the state. From the fire-lookout cabin atop the heather-carpeted peak you can scan the horizon in every direction, picking out peaks and valleys throughout the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and south all the way to Mount Rainier (on clear days). The ridges rolling away from Thorp Mountain sport colorful flower meadows, and the blue pool of Kachess Lake sparkles in the deep valley at its foot.
Walk around the gate and walk 0.25 mile to a bridge over Thorp Creek. Cross the creek and turn left. The true trail starts 0.25 mile up this road on the left. The trail climbs steadily but modestly as it parallels tumbling Thorp Creek. Keep your eyes wide open and you might spot a lot of wildlife along the lower trail, especially as the path leaves the stands of forest and pops briefly into old, overgrown clear-cuts. These transition zones are popular places for deer to hang out, since they provide good cover (the forest) as well as close proximity to good browse (in the clear-cuts). About 1.5 miles from the gate the trail starts to climb more steeply, angling upward away from the creek. The forest thins with increasing elevation, providing more sun breaks and viewpoints. At nearly 3 miles a small side trail drops 0.5 mile to Thorp Lake. If time permits this makes a nice side trip. Otherwise, continue climbing as the trail sweeps upward around the headwall of the Thorp Valley. At 3.4 miles another junction is reached, this time with the Kachess Ridge Trail. Stay left as this trail angles west around the flank of Thorp Mountain, and in 0.2 mile go right to climb the steep 0.3-mile scramble trail to the top of the mountain and its awesome views. To complete the loop, drop back down the 0.3 mile to the Kachess Ridge Trail and follow it northeast along No Name Ridge for 1.5 miles. At that point, about 5.9 miles from the gate, turn right onto a faint trail heading west and follow it to Little Joe Lake, at 8.5 miles. This trail can be brushy and hard to follow at times. At Little Joe turn right and descend 1.5 miles back to the gate.
Driving Directions:
From Seattle drive east on I-90 to take exit 80 (signed "Roslyn/Salmon la Sac"). Head north on Salmon la Sac Road (State Route 903) about 15 miles, passing through Roslyn and past Cle Elum Lake. Just past the upper end of the lake, turn left onto French Cabin Road (Forest Road 4308). Drive 3.25 miles up FR 4308 to FR 4312 on the right. Go right and drive 1.5 miles to another road junction, with FR 4312-121. This road is typically gated, so park here (don't block the gate). Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Snow on trail | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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In celebration of our 21st wedding anniversary, my husband and I decided to do something really exci...
In celebration of our 21st wedding anniversary, my husband and I decided to do something really exciting... we went for a hike. We hardly EVER get to do that! ;) Thorp Mountain Lookout was our destination and we decided to walk the long ridgeline from the north called No Name Ridge.
We ended up parking on the wrong road; don't do that. It took us an hour to find the trailhead (turns out the right road was covered in snow and inaccessible anyway). There was lots of snow still on the trail (about 75% of the way), making navigation difficult at times. Our saving grace was knowing the trail traveled atop the ridgeline all the way to the spur trail heading to the lookout. When our route was in doubt, we slogged on until the trail appeared. No worries. Flowers are busting right through the snow in places, and out of the running snowmelt in others. We saw glacier lilies, prairie stars, ball-headed something-or-others, phlox, little yellow jobbies, and gardens of anemone (I think). Views are remarkable in places along the route! Mountains I hardly ever see and certainly don't know the names of appeared magnificently as clouds parted and skies became mostly sunny yesterday. Of course, the lookout boasts 360 degree views that are unbelievable! It's over 5 miles to the lookout from the trailhead (longer for us, since we had an hour walk before finding the trailhead). The route goes up and down, and up and down, and up and down, finally ending in a 700ft scramble in .3 mile to the lookout. There were snowfields along the north slopes, making for a significantly more challenging scramble to our final destination. My husband looked pretty cool carrying his new shiny ice axe (and fortunately didn't have to self-arrest). I'm quite sure we were the first to visit the lookout this spring (at least from the north ridge). There were no signs of human life. We played around the rocks, on the deck of the little house and snapped dozens of photos before fueling up for the return trip. What a slog the return trip ended up being!! Wow! Did I say this trail is entirely uphill BOTH ways? Well, it is. We forced our bodies up the hill coming out, and crawled off the trail at 7:00pm (ten hours on the trail!!), weary and footsore. What a beautiful day and a wonderful way to celebrate 21 years. We saw half a dozen elk with calves, a deer, a chipmunk, and TWO snowshoe hares whose feet were still white. What a fun day!
Thorp Mountain
— Jun 02, 2013
— michmas
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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We hit snow ~1.5 miles in, and the trail became harder and harder to find under the snowpack. The ri...
We hit snow ~1.5 miles in, and the trail became harder and harder to find under the snowpack. The rivers were running high, and the snow is melting enough now to where you punch through frequently. Assuming the warm weather continues, the trail should be navigable in 3-4 weeks.
Day hike
Issues:
Water on trail | Snow on trail
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We were hoping for a partly sunny day, but got some snow instead. There was about 1-2" of new snow o...
We were hoping for a partly sunny day, but got some snow instead. There was about 1-2" of new snow on NF4312 the last mile before the gate. Creek is running pretty good, poles will help you cross. New snow on trail but could see no tracks, and we did not see anyone on the trail all day. Only a couple small blow downs on the trail. Trail turned into small creek in some sections. About 2-3" new snow near Thorp Lake. Trail was somewhat difficult to follow at times past the lake. Surprised to run into six people (+2 dogs) on the summit. They came up different route. Cloudy with almost no views, very cold on the summit. Our water tubes started to freeze after 30 min. Micro spikes and gators recommended past the lake, although we put on only for the return. All in all a very nice (but cold) hike.
Thorp Mountain, Thorp Creek, Red Mountain, Little Joe Lake
— Sep 12, 2012
— wanderdoc
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns
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I'm very attached to my well used 1993 edition of the 100 Hikes in Washington's Alpine Lakes and aft...
I'm very attached to my well used 1993 edition of the 100 Hikes in Washington's Alpine Lakes and after doing all of the more popular hikes, I thought it would be a worthy goal to actually do every hike in the book. But after difficult journeys on some of the less popular trails, I was discouraged by the description of the conditions of trail 1330.1 to Little Joe Lake. The description of the starting point of the hike is accurate and there is only room to park 3-4 vehicles along a wide spot in the road. To our surprise, the trail was easy to follow, had a good easy to see trail sign and seemed to be well used in spite of the lack of maintenance. I don't know why it isn't on any maps as it is in better shape than many of the trails marked with solid green lines on Green Trails maps. There was a fair amount of blowdown, but it was mostly one or two trees which we're easy to climb over or duck under. We reached the lake in about one hour. The junction with trail 1330 is unmarked on a faint footpath in a small meadow at the far side of Little Joe Lake.
Trail 1330 was scenic and also in good shape. Logging activity goes up to the crest of the divide between Skave and Thorp Creeks, but the trail quickly climbs above it into the forest and we we're exposed to the clearcut area for only a few minutes. It's a scenic and straight forward stroll from there along No Name Ridge and then on up to Thorp Mtn. lookout. We then descended Thorp Creek trail 1316 and closed the loop. All in all, it was a pleasant day. We saw no other hikers but we're lucky to see several deer and a bear on the drive out to the main road.
Thorp Mountain
— Aug 30, 2012
— Lindy
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Overgrown
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I drove right by the short spur (FR4312-121) mentioned in the driving directions, and I did not see ...
I drove right by the short spur (FR4312-121) mentioned in the driving directions, and I did not see the gate that was mentioned, so I ended up parking at the very dead end of FR4312. I got out and found a well-defined but unmarked trail in some heavy brush, and sure 'nuf, it took me to Thorp Lake and to a junction with the Kachess Ridge trail and to the top of Thorp Mtn.
Although the first 1/4-1/2 mile of the trail I found is very steep, the benefit is that it gets you to the ridge in a hurry, and you do not have to walk through old clearcuts--you're in old forest from almost the very beginning. There were several nice meadows to walk through, though things are at the tail end of the flower season. After being eaten alive by bugs at Trapper's Peak only 7 days earlier, I was amazed at how few bugs there were today. Only surprise was how short the trail was--perhaps due to my taking the end-of-FR4312 route instead of the actual trail as described in the hiking guide. I didn't push myself, still it only took 1:45 from car to top and 1:15 from top to car. If you're in the mood to do some leisurely high-ridge walking, you'll want to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a nice spot with views for a picnic and a doze in the sun, this is a good spot. I saw maybe 2 ripe berries all day, still a tad early for that in this area. Also, no other humans on the trail or mountain. |
 Thorp Mountain. Brink.
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