Word on the trails is that the newly refreshed road up to the Mt. Pilchuck parking area will be opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 am on Friday the 14th, at the Heather Lake trailhead parking area where the gate is located. I was probably one of the last ones up there before the grand opening. 4 cars in the Heather Lake lot at 8:30 am.
Road is about 5.5 miles with 1600 elevation gain from the Heather Lake gate up to the Pilchuck trailhead (this info will be useless tomorrow). Made it up in a little less than an hour; the new gravel is kinda big and chunky, which makes running the road a little wobbly in places, but there are some smoother sections and also the pavement for the last 2 miles. Saw probably half a dozen not-so-fresh bear piles along the road and at the trailhead, but no bears. Will be interesting to see how they respond to increased human traffic; due to the road closure, they've owned this area since early 2023.
Trail was a little wet to start, but not too bad. I haven't been up here for a couple years, so I don't remember, but it seems a lot of new steps have been built in over the first mile in the woods. Trail seems freshly manicured and ready to impress.
A mile in, you hit that boulder field, which slows the pace, and soon after you'll come across snow at about 4100 feet, as mentioned previously. Keep your offline map handy, as the bootpath through the snow is fairly braided and I lost it several times, inadvertently creating new false trails along the way. The snow was soft enough to plunge-step on the descent, but there are definitely cavities underneath through the boulder fields, so beware of post-hole opportunities. I broke down a couple snow bridges that had a decent 2-3 foot drop below. Spikes and trail runners accompanied by poles were sufficient for me; your comfort level may vary.
The lookout smells of fresh paint and (as of 13JUN) is still shuttered and bolted, but a hatch opens to allow access to the door. At the request of the previous report, I brought some tools and my handyman hat and fixed the door handle. I saw a few forest service vehicles coming up the road as I ran back down; assuming they were there to do some last-minute preparations before the land rush on Friday.
Views from the summit were perfect - too many mountains to list, and blue sky as far as you can see, which is quite a long way. I had the place to myself, as I saw only one other trail user all day, who had stashed a bike at the trailhead.
The return was much like the ascent in reverse - find the best path through the snow, pick through the rock field, cruise down the forest mile, and then back on the road to close it out. Heather Lake trailhead lot was at capacity when I finished at 1:30.
15.9 miles
shy 4k vert
4 hours moving, 4:50 total time
Gear: trail runners, spikes, poles, running pack. 1.5L of fluids and all the snacks.
Comments
The path before you on Mount Pilchuck
This is a very descriptive report, detailed, informative. Also thank you for fixing the handle.
Posted by:
The path before you on Jun 19, 2024 08:15 AM