In spite of 100% fog all day, and the total lack of the views we came for, in spite of the 26 miles on bumpy Forest Service roads to get there, and in spite of our disappointment in not hiking our originally planned but still snowbound destination on Mt. Baker, Green Mtn was SUPERB! It's 4 steep miles and 3200 ft. of gain to the summit lookout at 6500 ft. The first mile is in forest, then the meadows & flowers start. 3 miles and 500 or more acres of solid wildflowers . The effect is like 50 Butchart Gardens stuck together and tilted at 45 degrees. There hasn't been any logging here and there is no evidence of past fires, this mountain just likes flowers and a low tree line. At one mile at the forest edge are a couple of campsites. Just beyond here the first meadow area is highlighted by hundreds of bright orange tiger lilies. The trail starts switch backing up the steep meadow slope with flowers at shoulder or eye level on the uphill side in this section. On other days the first views of Glacier peak and other mountains to the south appear here . Up and up we climb in the fog, passing outstanding groves of red columbine mixed with 5 or 6 other species of various colors including the dainty bluebells of Scotland. Some scattered groups of alpine trees appear at 2 miles where the trail rounds the ridge of the false summit (which we couldn't see) and is less steep for a bit before traversing down almost 200 ft. in 1/2 mile to a little basin with a lakelet , gardens amid snow patches , a creek to jump over on stones, and some campsites. We are now at 5200 ft. It's a pleasant 60 degrees and time for a rest and snack break on the lake shore before our big push to the summit. No camp robber jays while eating and no bugs either. Back on the way we cross a mostly snow covered gently sloped upper basin with western anemone starting to poke up and bloom immediately right next to the snow. Past the basin the trail traverses under our still unseen summit lookout thru vast fields of golden glacier lilies and white and yellow anemone. Then we switch back more steeply up the east ridge thru mixed meadows of smaller flowers and thousands of dwarf huckleberries. It's a steep trail all the way & sections of the last mile are steepest of all. 800 ft. / mile average , 15% grade. Parts of my body's leg system are complaining. We pass several foggy view points and finally see the lookout 100 yards ahead. Lunch at 2:05 on the mountain top. More breeze on top but no fog/cloud breakup , so no views beyond 200 yards. Oh well, it already rates a 10 for the flowers so what would I give it with the 360 degree North Cascade views ""A 20"" or off my chart for aesthetic splendor. After lunch a mist and fine drizzle begin so we started down. On the way down I notice some more flower varieties missed on the way up to bring the day's total to over 40! The most I have ever enjoyed in one day. Just before reentering the woods the low fog rises to give us one peek a boo view of the Suiattle river 3000 ft. below. Counting our group, about 25 people are visiting Green Mtn. today, giving at least a million flowers per hiker. But the bug to human ratio remains zero. The trail tread is good smooth dirt most all of the way, fir needle cushioned in the woods, & rocky only about 5% of the way. Major trail work has been done by W.T.A. volunteers within the last few weeks. There is not a single downed log to step over! I plan to come again, next year, on a sunny day when the flowers and views are out. Time up 3 1/2 hours , down 2 hours. RATINGS included in 100 Classic Hikes in Wash. by Spring & Manning included in Pacific Northwest Hiking by Judd & Nelson with rating of 9 (out of 10) included in Don't Waste Your Time in the North Cascades by Copeland with premier 4 star rating And to quote Spring & Manning ""climbs through these remarkable meadows to a lookout summit with magnificent views to every point of the compass"".

The trail has snow on it, but is easily walked without an ice axe. Poles might be handy in a few sections. Once you get to the lake, make sure to head a little towards the right to pick up the trail again. Mostly snow free to the summit. Fog obscured all views for us. The trail is in mostly excellent condition, newly brushed on the lower half. Wet brush on the upper half on our trip!

Headed up to the hills on Tuesday after work for an overnighter on Green Mountain. The drive from the Seattle area is a little long but is still reasonable, even for a dayhike. Also, the long drive up gravel Suiattle and Green Mountain Roads was somewhat drawn out and tedius. Suiattle is in great shape (managed 35 to 40 mph) and Green Mtn. is in fair shape, if a little narrow and steep in places. From the trailhead, you can see up and down the Suiattle Valley and glimpse a sliver of Glacier Peak to the Southeast. Started up the incredible well maintained and well graded trail in late afternoon. The day was hazy because of morning clouds so the views weren't that great until evening. As I said, the first mile through healthy Western Hemlock and Douglas Fir Forest is on very good trail. It feels like much less than a mile. After some time, you exit the forest into the first of the subalpine meadows, the namesake of this mountain. As previous reports have stated, the flowers here have already peaked. The ones in the second meadow are fantastic, one of the best displays I have seen. Supurb examples of Columbine and Tiger Lilies can be seen here. The path in these meadows is still well graded and engineered, but the tread deteriorates somewhat (and continues to do so for the rest of the way). It is now a little dusty and irregular, but was recently brushed. Still a great trail. As you switchback over a small shoulder, snow is suddenly encountered. None here is steep, and finding your way to the small lake basin is not difficult because of previous footprints in the snow. There are a few small campsites melted out in the basin (one of which we used). Also plenty of cold clear snowmelt water to drink (after filtering). Because of snow, the trail through the basin isn't very apparent. Route finding isn't too hard because you can plainly see the lookout on the mountain above you. Just stay off of extremely fragile meadows. In general trend to the right of what looks like a marshy area at the upper end of the basin. Pick up the trail to the right of a SW to NE line of trees. From here the path is easy to see as it winds up the green and white south face of the mountain. After this point, the trail is definetly steep, but easy to follow. Two or three snowfields must be crossed. All but one are not even nerve racking. The one would send you tumbling for a very long way if you fell. Fortunatly there is a sizeable ledge carved out by many a boot and I wouldn't consider an ice axe to be required. I would definetly recommend at least one pole of some sort for security Where the trail crosses this field should melt out very soon. Stopping for frequent rests isn't necessarily a bad thing as the views to the south open up more and more. Just as you reach the southeast summit ridge, take a right around a rock outcrop and find a remarkable campsite. Camping is banned beyond the lakes, but this is out of view from the trail, is not on meadow and wow! what a view. Continue up the narrow ridge to the summit and lookout building. It was a little cold and breezy on top (it was mid-evening when we got there) but the view was absolutly fantastic! Probably one of the top 5 trail accessible perches in the Cascades! Back down the steep south face dotted with avalanche lilies to the basin. Tent-sleep-dream-wake-clouds'! Yesterday was so nice! Even the notoriously weather finicky Ptarmigan Traverse was cloud free. Now; fog, cloud, white, water vapor. We had planned to get up to the summit again and spend a few hours there before the dayhikers arrived, but after traveling a ways to retrieve a trekking pole I accidentally left, we decided it wasn't worth it. We packed out to the parking lot surprizingly fast and painlessly and went to Denny's instead.

Wow! – Now this is hiking! After slogging through countless spring hikes we were once again reminded of how incredible a hiking experience can be, and to think that this hike almost never happened. First of all the Forest Service report stated that there were long steep snow filed and that an ice axe was needed. We were worried about this but we carry trekking poles and have had some experience on snow. Secondly our camera batteries died Saturday night and we didn’t figure we would be able to find a replacement set on a Sunday morning. Luckily the IGA in Darrington was open at 9am and had the right kind. The hike itself was so good and we shot so many pictures we will probably need another set soon. You start the hike off switch backing through cool forest. After a mile or so you break out into a vast green meadow and on this particular day scorching hot sunlight. Unless you are a wannabe lobster I would recommend sunscreen, sunglasses & lip gloss (re-apply often). The meadow is a microcosm of the entire summer season, the flowers in the lower reaches are past their prime and the upper reaches are just breaking through the soil. In between there is every conceivable wildflower you can imagine. There is lots of buzzing to be heard but surprisingly we had no problems with biting insects (we had on bug dope). The trail is in fantastic shape thanks in part to a WTA work party we passed en route to the summit. After you round the first ridge you can spy the gray lookout cabin atop the summit. The mountain itself looks like a vertical golf course with lots of white snow ‘bunkers’. These are the snowfields that the forest service warns you about. In between the basin is completely filled with snow. Once past the snow the trail is easily picked up on the other side. On the upper switchbacks there are a few places where one should be cautious when crossing the snowfields however the boots of many a hiker have pounded a solid groove. The view at the top is almost a complete 360 with only the lookout cabin in the way. Despite what the trailhead sign says the deck is brand new and completely safe. Absolutely one of the best hikes we have ever been on. We can’t recommend it enough. Happy Hiking David & Karen [Online Editor's note: Nice meeting you two on Sunday. I enjoy it when I get a chance to meet some of our web-users out on the trail. It's one of the many pleasures of doing trail work.]

This is the place for lovers of sweeping 360 degree mountain panoramas. Glacier Peak is the star, with Baker, Chaval, Shuksan, Snowking, Buckindy, Logan, the peaks of the Ptarmigan Traverse, Bonanza, Del Campo, Sloan, Pugh, Whitechuck, Three Fingers, Whitehorse and various others playing supporting roles. Forests of Downey Creek, Buck Creek, Suiattle River, etc., below. Wildflowers are superb. There is, however, considerably more snow than we would normally have expected at this time of year - the very cool early summer weather seems to be delaying the thaw. The trail is clear of snow and in excellent condition on the first mile through the forest, and on the switchbacks up the marvellous meadow wall. Lots of tiger lily and red columbine, as well as lupine, paintbrush, valerian, yellow composites, yarrow, and others, make for a spectacular flower show on the wall. A hard-working WTA trail crew was laboring on a trail realignment here. After leaving the meadow wall and rounding the corner, the snow soon starts. The trail is 90% covered from this point until it emerges from the tarn basin and the Glacier Peak views resume (probably the better part of a mile). If the tracks of previous hikers are not evident, a 7.5 minute USGS map and/or previous experience with this trail would be quite helpful for routefinding in this stretch. The trail finally reappears in glorious meadows of glacier lily and pasqueflower. Several sizable snow patches remain across the trail as it subsequently climbs to the ridgecrest. One is especially steep, long, and with a rather nasty looking runout. Although steps were pretty well tromped across it, an ice ax would still be a wise precaution. After attaining the ridgecrest, the rest of the way up to the old lookout is snowfree. The walkway around the old lookout house has been replaced since we were last there.