The Westside Road has a few bumps and minor potholes, but any car can safely travel it.
I biked the first 3.8 miles up to Round Pass. Slow-going in places because of the steady climb and the loose gravel.
From there, I locked up my bike at the handy bike rack and hit the trail on foot. The trail is in great shape and pretty easy to Lake George. The way grows more challenging from there, with the last .4 miles (starting at the junction with the Goat Lake trail) the toughest. But it's never that steep.
I saw precious few people (maybe ten) all day and had the summit to myself. Weather was warm but lovely. Wildfire smoke created a haze on the horizon, but Mount Rainier was perfectly visible, as were other nearby landmarks. Flying bugs were swarming the stairs up to the lookout, but they weren’t aggressive, just ubiquitous.
In the past, I’ve hiked to Gobblers Knob via Goat Lake, but the road to Goat Lake’s trail has been washed out for a few years now, so this is a nice alternative. Very similar in many respects once you get to the Lake George trailhead.
During the bike ride back down to the car, I hardly pedaled and mostly rode the brakes. Spooked a doe and her fawn, plus an unusually large garter snake (it was sunning itself on the road before slithering off).
All in all, a perfect day.
Comments
Liked your report and photos. Recently hatched flies were swarming the summit of Plummer Peak, too, but no where else. Birds ate good that day.
Posted by:
rkjenner on Sep 07, 2024 03:46 PM
Interesting! It must be that time of year for the hatchlings. Just peeked at your Plummer Peak trip report. I know where I'm going next! :)
Posted by:
Matt Kite on Sep 07, 2024 04:46 PM
I too miss the Goat Lake approach to Gobbler’s Knob. The same washout also took out the short but sweaty Goat Creek approach to Mt Wow. Did you get a chance to try that one?
Posted by:
rkjenner on Sep 07, 2024 09:25 PM
I never did. Hopefully the road will be reopened in the next year or two.
Posted by:
Matt Kite on Sep 08, 2024 08:35 AM