Mount Townsend — Friday, Dec. 4, 2020

Went up on Friday, December 4. The road was fine and clear of snow all the way up until about half mile from the upper trailhead parking lot. The last half mile was an obstacle course of patchy icy and big, deep pot holes. The parking lot itself was a solid sheet of ice and I was sliding a little bit in the Jeep. It wasn't too bad, but I would have been nervous to do it without 4WD or AWD. The trail itself was in great shape. Mostly snow free for the first 1.5 miles with some patchy snow and icy near the stream crossings. Eventually does change over to completely snow covered and microspikes are most helpful. The snow is pretty well packed down and trail is easy to follow. Summit was mostly snow free. This is such a beautiful hike to do on a day with good visibility. You can see Baker, Rainier, Adams and St. Helens - pretty much the entire Cascade Range, with beautiful views of the Hood Canal, Puget Sound and other waterways. Plus some dramatic Olympic Peaks and even the Canadian mountains. Trail is steep but manageable.