Greetings hikers,
My father and I embarked on this hike early Thursday morning around 9:00 am being the only car in the potholey parking lot when we started, and still the only one when we finished. Completely isolated from civilization and surrounded by vast mountains as far as the eye can see, this clear and sunny day was the perfect day for a hike like this. Also, the road is in driveable conditions but only for cars with adequate clearance - do not underestimate the road approaching the parking lot because the potholes are unforgiving.
Armed with boots, poles, and microspikes, the first couple miles were dry and well-maintained with the occasional helpful boardwalk. We broke out our microspikes once we reached the clear transition from dry trail to snow trail and followed the conveniently-placed footsteps of our previous fellow hikers. Following the fairly distinguished trail for the vast majority of the hike, navigating the terrain was fairly straight forward using the path of footsteps and the downloaded All Trails map.
However, once we reached the infamous saddle, we were faced with a difficult decision - try to reach the lookout, possibly summit, or turn back and call it a day. Spending the better part of an hour debating this dilemma, we tried reaching the lookout via the seemingly established Northern route to no avail. In the end, we concluded that an attempt made at reaching this lookout would be far too dangerous in the current conditions and not worth risking our life scaling snowy boulders and fast-melting unpredictable terrain.
For hikers determined to reach the lookout, I would strongly recommend waiting until early July to attempt it as, by then, I would hope conditions would be more favorable and a path to the lookout would actually exist. In its current conditions, there is not clear path to the lookout and making this final stretch would be very difficult, if not impossible. I caution anyone who wants to attempt it in the snowy month of June.
Despite this unfortunate realization, the hike was still one of the most beautiful hikes I have been on so far and something I would highly recommend for interested Washingtonians.
Be safe, hike in pairs or groups, and get out there and enjoy our nature!
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