Bear Creek Mountain #1130,Bear Creek Mountain Lookout #1130.1
Jul 20, 2008
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Bear Creek Mountain
- Region: South Cascades -- White Pass / Cowlitz River Valley
- Agency: Wentachee National Forest, Naches Ranger District
- Trails: Bear Creek Mountain (#1130)
- Avg Rating: 3.22
- Be Aware Of
- Snow on trail
FS road 1204 up to the trailhead is snow free, but probably hasn't been for long. The road is muddy in a few spots and severely rutted and rock for two long stretches within the last 2-3 miles before the trailhead. You may be able to get up there without a high clearance vehicle, but I wouldn't bet the underside of my car on it.
There were a few mosquitoes at the trailhead, but the breeze kept them down enough to deal with as we donned our boots. The hike up to the summit spur is a very pleasant hike and is easy to follow as you go over the snow patches. The spur trail has three or four large snow patches that are somewhat steep and sloppy, but certainly doable for an average hiker. Again, it is easy to keep the trail through the snow. The view from the top was outstanding. Great views of Adams to the SW (through smoke, obviously), Old Snowy to the west, Rainier to the NW, Mt. Aix to the north and even Stuart peeking at us from the NE. The east slope of Goat Rocks still has significant snow cover over about 5700-ish feet.
One really unique aspect of the hike was the swarm of lady bugs up on top. It was a really cool experience to eat lunch and enjoy the awesome views while 1000s of lady bugs flew around us.
A really nice hike above 7300 feet for a snowy July if your vehicle can make the voyage.
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