Started with fog at the base and hiked up to sunny look outs.

Hiked with Rice Noodle above the marine layer to a beautiful day above the clouds. Trail is clear and snow free until the very top. Be prepared to defend your snacks from fearless camp robbers at the top! We made it back just in time for oysters at Hama Hama (they close at 4 FYI). 

We hiked up to the two view areas at the top of the trail. We hoped to walk up and sled down because of the recent snow that we had and the other trail reports with their descriptions of the snow.  He talked to someone that was just getting back to the parking area as we left and they said there was barely any snow on the trail all the way to the top. We left the sleds in the car.

The friendly hiker was correct. There was no snow on the trail or even off to the side of the trail until the very top.  We returned down the road for more milage and different scenery. There was a bit of snow on the road, but it was not steep enough to sled down. There were about 20 downed trees or large branches across the road.  There will be quite a bit of work to clear the road in the spring to allow car traffic to access the view spots. 

The hike was great. we walked up out of the fog and had a beautiful blue sky day. Mt. Constance looked amazing with the snow on it and the blue sky behind it. We could see out to Mt. Baker and Mr. Ranier. Both of those mountain peaks were visible above the blanket of fog below.

Tried getting to Lena lake but I wasn’t comfortable with the road. So I opted for an accessible hike- mount Walker. I used micro spikes and was glad I had them. The road to the trail is ice. Once you get to the trail it’s melted for a quarter mile with intermittent patches. I’d say 3/4 of the trail is snow. I kept my spikes on the whole time. It’s deeper at the top! walking toward the south viewpoint I wish I had my snowshoes. I post holed most of the way to the south viewpoint. For a crowded trail I had a wonderful time and enjoyed myself. Please don’t park on the side of the roads and block the view to the main highway. If there’s no parking I would park further down so cars leaving the gate area can see oncoming traffic.

Thanks to the last trail report for Mt Walker, we avoided Lena Lake & opted for this hike — I love WTA so much! Half the trail is completely snow free & then it slowly creeps in & maybe the last mile of trail was covered in packed, but slushy, snow. We put on our spikes, which was very helpful. Up top is covered in snow. This hike is up up up, a steady slope with no flat sections. It was clear & blue skies most of the hike but socked in up top, so we didn’t get any views, just a visit from a few, cute Canadian Jays. We were looking for a winter hike under an hour away from Port Townsend & this was a nice bun-burner, 45 min away.