Mount Pilchuck #700

A beautiful day for a spring hike. Only problem was, we couldn't get anywhere near the trailhead. After about 2-3 miles on the access road, hit heavy snow, and despite 4WD, did not have enough clearance underneath to make it further up. About 10 vehicles were parked on the road here. Hike up the road toward the parking lot was another approx 3-4 miles. Only snowmobiles and 4WD vehicles with very high clearance were able to make it further up the road. It'll probably take another several weeks of warm weather and continued melting and road use to enable access to the trailhead parking lot. Talked to a large group coming down from the top (AAC class) who summited -- they went straight up the old ski slope (about 1.5 hours from the parking lot). Thigh deep snow, getting soft in the sun. Excellent views. Stay on hikes which have low-elevation access and trailheads for now.