Cloudy day at Mt. Townsend! I started on the Lower TH at 10am. The road in was one of the best forest roads I've ever driven. Some dirt and gravel for the first two miles off of Penny Creek Rd, great pavement for the rest of the way (some well-marked holes and bumps though so don't get too speedy), then some gravel for only .5 mile to the parking area. Arrived at the same time as a kind trail running fellow, ran into a woman and her dog as they were headed down the summit, then passed by another solo hiker on my way down, all encounters were hours spaced out so it was solitude city on this usually busy trail! I counted 9 blowdowns, all occurring between the start of the lower TH and not too far up from the second TH. All were very small and manageable. Snow started to be a consideration after the first set of switchbacks where the trail opens up (see second picture). I used microspikes and poles with snow baskets on which made things infinitely easier as the snow was quite deep in places. Great bootpack though, the snow here was very easy to travel on. It was decently soft, not too hard or icy at all, but not so soft that it's a postholing mess. Pretty perfect! Granted it was approximately 50º-55º and not a ray of sun, so I could see the snow getting very soft and sketchy on a warm sunny day. On the last set of switchbacks leading up to the ridge, the trail was fairly easy to follow from previous tracks left behind, but you cannot really discern where the real trail is and what is not due to some misleading tracks in places so don't trust them all too much. I don't think I'd do this one without poles as it got a little dicey in this area above treeline and they saved my butt on my descent which I'll mention later. The trail was pretty solid walking on the snowpack, but if you slipped it may be a long way down at this point. Would recommend comfort and confidence dealing with fairly exposed snowfields. Don't know if I'd even recommend going this far yet on a warm sunny day without the right gear and expertise.
There is a short but steep 45º mound of snow that you have to go over just before you crest the ridge which was easy enough to scramble up, although on the way back down it I took a careless step and slid on my back down the mound and about 15 feet past it, thankfully was able to pull off a self-arrest with my trekking pole. Cautious steps on the way down!
But alas it wasn't all snow, you get a bit of respite in places, and the last push to the summit is nearly snow-free. No views at all on this cloudy May day, but I wasn't too disappointed as this was my first time here so I didn't know what I was missing out on haha. Saw lots of adorable chipmunks darting around at the summit. Tiring on the knees and toes on the way down, but overall a satisfying early season hike great for some snow practice. 10.4 miles RT, 3,491 ft elevation gain, just under 6 hours total (but I'm a slow hiker haha).
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