Mount Townsend — Monday, Jul. 7, 2025

I had forgotten that most of the Forest Service road leading to the Upper parking lot is paved. [there's a gravel section just after the gravel pit at the bottom and about a half-mile of gravel just before the Upper parking lot]. It's always an unexpected treat. And, I've learned that "when in doubt, stay on the paved road" as there are several gravel spur roads that lead off it along the route. Also, contrary to the WTA driving directions, there are clear signs designating which way to go to the "Lower" or "Upper" parking lots at the critical intersection (on the paved road)! We started hiking at around 9:15 a.m. and got the next to last parking spot. I'm guessing the lot can accommodate around 15 vehicles. By the time we returned after our hike, many cars were parked on the road that approaches the parking lot. The hike immediately starts climbing and there really isn't much of a let up. It took us just over two hours to reach the top but we're in our 70's and we stopped frequently to drink water, take pictures and enjoy the view. The wild flowers are spectacular in the meadows and the rhody's are still blooming in the forest. For those with dogs, we crossed only one trickle of a stream (on the bottom half of the climb), so it is drying out rapidly. I suggest bringing a set of small binoculars for the top but even with the naked eye we could make out the downtown Seattle skyscrapers (despite obvious smoke to the south from a fire near Lake Cushman). There were occasionally bugs but they 1) never bit and 2) we didn't use any repellent. So, today at least they were not a problem. We saw very few hikers on our way up to the summit. There were only six of us at the top, but on the way down (we left shortly before noon), we passed a ton of hikers heading up the mountain. It took about an hour and one-half for the descent. As always, a beautiful hike.