Church Mountain — Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024

Three of us hiked this on Wednesday, 8/28/24. We had hiked it in 2016 and can’t remember why we haven’t been back until now. The trail is steep but comfortable and the views are amazing. Yes, the stream crossing on the drive in could be challenging for a sedan but we saw one at the trailhead. The cable assist at the top is actually optional. We comfortably hiked around it (Class 3 scramble) on the way up but used it on the way down (yes gloves!). I’m sure 99% of hikers stop at what must really be considered East Church Mountain. The true summit is shown in a photo. On this day there was no smoke and no bugs but plenty of grasshoppers. The meadows at 3 miles are possibly the nicest I’ve seen in the PNW. And there were lots of Mountain Huckleberries (‘blueberries’).