North Fork Tieton to Tieton Pass, Old Snowy Mountain - Elk Pass — Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020

Our group found this hike to exceed our expectations in every way! Getting up to Elk Pass was very doable for someone in moderately good shape, even for me 15 weeks pregnant, and the meadows and views were incredibly worth it.

We started at Scatter Creek trailhead off highway 12, to NF-1200 and then NF-1207. The roads are paved until the last 5 miles or so where it is gravel but easy for any vehicle. There were several cars there at 9:30am on a Saturday, but not too busy. The outhouse was usable but had no toilet paper.

Just after leaving the parking area, the trail splits and we went right to get on North Fork Tieton trail towards Tieton Pass. We were on this trail for 4.7 miles. Overall fairly easy and gradual. Several miles of the trail were burnt out recently, so it can get pretty hot without the shade. There area few easy creek crossings. We saw lots of blackberries that would be ready to pick in a couple weeks.

At the pass is a trail junction and we headed south on the PCT. Just after the pass we came across a recently fallen tree that was a bit difficult to get over, but we made it with our packs on. The next three miles take you slightly steeper upwards to get over a ridge and then somewhat steeply down to the large creek. You're in and out of the trees during this, with some views of the Goat Rocks.

There was a snow bridge over the creek that we used to cross just fine, but it was getting visibly thin and after melting for another week or so we worry that it will break with weight on it. Not sure what the best way to cross is at that time. If you did get stuck on this side of the creek, we saw nice camp sites in the meadow but of course you could not make it up to the big views.

Now you're in open meadows with unbelievable colors (lupine, indian paintbrush, yellow and lavender daisies, western pasque, dandelions, heather, and many more). Just up from the large creek is a flat area where we found a well define campsite near a small group of trees. It was a total of 8 miles to get here and took us just under 5 hours. There were plenty of small creeks around to get water from and surprisingly few bugs. I attribute this to the intermittent winds and lack of standing water.

After setting up camp, we continued on for just over a mile up to Elk Pass. This trail was slightly more difficult, with fairly steep sections, a couple small snow patches to cross, and areas where you really have to watch your footing. We did not need spikes on our boots. But boy are the views worth it! First you just enjoy the amazing flowers, then Mt. Rainier becomes visible to the north, and finally coming around the corner you have glorious views into the McCall Basin and the surrounding Goat Rocks.

At this point, I turned around back to camp, but two of our group went on for two more miles up to the peak of Old Snowy. This trail is steeper and goes along the top of a razor-back ridge with a short scramble at the end. There was no snow at this point. At the top are views of Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens to the south.

We saw plenty of other hikers on the trail (probably mostly PCTers) but we were the only ones camping in the area. Sunrise views of Mt. Rainier and the flowers were unbelievable. The next day we made it down uneventfully but with sore muscles and feet. Definitely recommend this hike at this time of year for anyone yearning for flowers without the crowds and bugs on Mt. Rainier.