Great weather. check. Good company. check. Nice views. check. Nice workout. check. All the conditions I ordered for this hike arrived. On Wednesday, Feb. 5 (in the middle of the work week) a group of us headed to Mt. Walker just outside of Quilcence. Six of us met at the Gig Harbor Park and Ride at 8 a.m. to start our journey. Who are the six midweek hikers? Dick (a retiree and volunteer at Mt. Rainier), Nancy (a retiree with a kick-*** butt from hiking Mt. Si weekly), Lyn (""a kept-woman""), Fred (an escapee of Waipahu, HI), ""Ronni"" (not her real name since she was playing hookie from work and I want to protect the not-so-innocent) and myself (an unemployed but enthusiatic training specialist with experience in social services - just in case hiring managers are reading this). We started our trek at 9:50. It's 2.5 miles to the top and 2000 ft. gain. We arrived at the top in two groups at 11:20 and 11:40. When we reached the top (2800 ft)the views that we saw on the trek up disappeared and it was cold and windy! Thankfully, we ran into another hiker who told us that the southend view point was in the sun and protected from the wind. It didn't take much to convince this group to head that way. And sure 'nuff, the southend view point was in full sun with great views of the valley below and Mt. Rainier in the background. We spent a leisurely lunch lounging in the sun and taking pictures. After lunch we headed back to the northend view point hoping that the fog had lifted. And sure 'nuff it had. Again, great views of the Olympics and the Quilcene valley. Since the road up (YES! There's a road up to this area)...since the road up is closed to vehicles during the winter we decided to save wear and tear on our joints and take the road back. This road is 4 miles long therefore the grade is kinder. Although the snow level was low just the night before, the trail was snow/frost free, dry and in great condition. And to make a perfect day even more perfect, Lyn and Fred invited us to their home in Gig Harbor for dinner. Yum! This was definately a very, very good day! See you on the trail. Catherine Kwon Walters (real name...just in case some hiring manager is out there reading this and is in search of a hiking program manager who has managed a nationally recognized prevention program and have trained hundreds of professionals in adolescent development and program evaluation. Hey! You gotta do what you gotta do. :-)

I took my son(he is 4 1/2 yrs old) on his first Mt. summit. We hiked the trail up and walked the road down, for a hike of 6.2 miles. Elevation of 2,805ft. The trail is VERY steep, with an average of 20% grade, but very well kept. Saw many birds-and a moochy chipmunk! I would defintely recomend this-but you will feel it the next day!

I kept hoping the dense fog would lift by the time we climbed the 2000 feet to Mt. Walker's summit (it's at 2800 feet), but it did not. We ate lunch in the mist and remembered all the times we've been up here when we could see the fabulous views of the Olympics and--at the south summit--Puget Sound and the Cascades. But it was a good hike nonetheless,and for this season--a treat to find a trail with a lot of elevation that is not snow covered. In fact, there wasn't a drop of snow anywhere.

A wonderful fall day to climb Mt. Walker. There were several cars at the trailhead--others clearly had the same idea. Although there had been thick fog as we crossed the Hood Canal Bridge, it had lifted by the time we reached Quilcene. I was a bit suprised to see a large grader going up the road--I wonder why they're smoothing out the road so late in the season. They usually lock the gate at the bottom by the end of October. The trail is short and steep (2000 feet elevation in two miles), but well maintained. The view from the north viewpoint was great! It was fun to look up at so many of the places we had hiked this summer--I could even see the high point on the ridge of the Tunnel Creek trail where we had sat and had lunch in August. I couldn't see any snow on any of the peaks--if they've had some it must have been scant. The view from the south viewpoint had Mount Rainier boldly in the center--even though clouds were gathering over much of the Puget Sound area. Faintly through them we could see Seattle. When the wind blew it was a reminder that winter is really coming soon.

Although we expected at least some snow over 2000 feet, the trail was bare and dry all the way to the summit at 2860 feet. There was a slight dusting here and there, and some slight snow fell while we walked from the north to the south summit. But we certainly didn't need to bring our snowshoes, and I'm glad that at the last minute we decided to leave them in the car. Since it was so cloudy, there was no view; but the trail is a great workout (2000 feet in 2 miles) and the forest mixed with so many rhodedendrons is quite lovely. (It's spectactular in season when both the rhodies are out and the 360 degree views are possible.)