I had been saving the Mount Zion summit hike like a puzzle piece all summer and fall in case I wanted a short hike on short notice. It’s near enough to home that I can get there quickly if I sleep in late, and short enough to get in and out before dark even after a late start. The little Mt. Zion hike seemed to fit perfectly for the final day in 2010. It is short, close, and best of all, the trailhead sits at 2950’ - right at the sweet spot of snow depth from the week before.

We met up in Silverdale at 0800, climbed into my Jeep and Kevin’s big Ford, and headed west. The Ford has the ground clearance we might need in case the snow was too deep, so I was glad to have it along as we struggled up Forest Service Road 28. Another vehicle had traveled the road at some time during the week and left some deep ruts; at times it felt like I was on a slot-car track. I had some trouble getting the Grand Cherokee parked in the freshies at the trailhead without getting stuck, but a lot of back & forth and we were parked.

The trail starts across the road from the parking area so I plodded over through the deep snow and scouted ahead before we geared up. The trail itself looked almost bare for as far up as I could see. That’s weird; two feet or more of snow on the road, almost none on the trail. Greg and I donned our microspikes. Dustin was going to leave his snowshoes in the Jeep, but I advised against it since the snow would likely get very deep near the exposed top. I was wrong….again. The snow along the trail never got very deep, certainly not deep enough to need snowshoes, and on the summit the snow was deep but firm enough to walk without falling through.

We started hiking right at 1000 and made the summit at noon, where we spent an hour and a half eating, sightseeing, and making ham radio calls. We were able to raise our friend in Bremerton using simplex on VHF Common (146.520) and on the Bremerton repeater. There are spectacular views to the north, and we had the clear skies to see all the way to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We started back down and made it back to the trucks in only an hour. We had dinner at the Olympic Timber House on Highway 101 in Quilcene, then back to Silverdale.

This is a fantastic hike for the short days of winter, although I really want to come back when the Rhoddies are blooming next summer. It’s not a long hike at about two miles, but it’s steep in places.

This hike was described as difficult in one of the guides and not "kid friendly." In spite of this I took my 10 year daughter and 7 year old son along for this hike. The trailhead is off of Lords Lake Loop road which is about a mile or so north of Quilcene on the west side of the road. This road goes for about 15 miles or so and you come to the trailhead, with a restroom. The trailhead is on the opposite side of the road as the parking lot. There's a trail on the same side that goes "who know's where."

The trails were clear and very well maintained with no blockages. The trail offers little in the way of scenery on the way up aside from a few views through the trees and a better lookout point about 1/4 mile or so from the top. The hike is fairly steep but my kids made it just fine taking a few breaks and keeping occupied while eyeballing the GPS mileage.

The view from the top is very nice, it was a clear cool day this day with slight cloud coverage. The temperature at the trailhead was cool but you warm up on the climb only to be very cold at the top. Dress in layers this time of year, kids had cold noses but the knit hat and gloves took care of the rest of them. Aside from the hike up being a little bland it makes for a nice shorter hike if you don't have all day, with good views on clear days. If it were cloudy it would probably be a bit of a waste.

Although a short outing of 4.6 miles round trip, Mount Zion is always a delight and a good choice if you are a bit pressed for time yet are craving a nice expansive view. The road to the trailhead, over Bon Jon pass, is in perfect condition with not a single pothole. Even the toilet at the trailhead was in fine shape.

We reached the trailhead at 11:30, having lounged around until the marine layer burnt off. Only two other cars at the trailhead this Friday morning. The trail is in terrific condition. Although the rhodies are done, you'll still find many wildflowers to enjoy. Twinflower was spectacular--carpeting the forest in many spots. We also saw foamflower, bunchberry, penstemon, red columbine, tiger lilies, and more.

Views from the top were great - Mt. Baker, Puget Sound, the Hood Canal bridge. We took the way trail to the outcropping overlooking Mt. Townsend and enjoyed lunch before heading home. On the hike out, we encountered a garter snake in the middle of the trail, getting her jaws around what we think was a slug. Really hard to imagine how she was going to swallow that thing. We just stepped carefully around her -- she was definitely not about to slither away!

Trail was in good condition and dry, with some new repair work done by a group of ranger volunteers that morning. Warm enough for T-shirt on the way up. No views from the top due to low clouds. Rhododendrons out in full force on road to trailhead, almost in full bloom on trail.