Arrived at the Little Quilcene River trailhead at 2pm with the plan to summit Mount Townsend for an overnight. There were 6 cars total when I parked on a Saturday afternoon, proving the "less-crowded Townsend route" rumors to be true. The road in is long and windy and took about 40 minutes from 101. It's a beautiful drive! I made a few stops along the way to soak up the views of Bon Jon pass and mark potential dispersed campgrounds on the way. Normal amount of potholes - not great but nothing crazy.
The trail does in fact go up right away. The grading isn't too horrible, but you'll be working for that first mile. The flat portion after this is actually more of a rolling up and down, but it's still a nice break. Enjoy it, because the steep incline comes back after a half mile or so. It continues steadily to the summit, with views peeping shortly after making the left turn on to the Townsend trail. It's hard to miss - a well-labeled fork with the options to summit or turn right to head to Tubal Cain trailhead.
The north summit was quiet. Just a few of us enjoying the views and saying hello. I set up my tent up top, and ultimately there were 3 tents on the mountain total. Wind was present the entire time, which kept it bug-free all evening night and morning. Bugs were present in the forest on the hike up, but they were fine compared to my experiences in the cascades this time of year.
Incredibly beautiful sunset and sunrise up there. I will go back again to experience the show. Views of Rainier, St. Helens, Seattle, the cascades, baker, puget sound, whidbey island, etc. It is truly a great vantage point up there.
There were remnants of firepits all over at the top. No one was dumb enough to do this while I was up there, and I am sure no one on WTA is partaking in that. But, I think it is on us to call-out and educate in these situations. Would hate to lose this place to an accident!!
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