With not many warm, clear days left this summer, we headed up to Mount Pilchuck to take advantage of its panoramic views. The road up to the trailhead is in great condition due to the recent maintenance, so it was an easy drive up from the Mountain Loop Highway to the trailhead. We arrived at the trailhead around 11:30 AM to a parking lot that was almost full, but we were able to find a spot on the far end of the lot.
We started up the trail, hiking on a wide path that gently climbed through the forest. The trail was somewhat damp in places and rocky and rooty in others. But the trail had great drainage and lots of stairs that helped prevent the trail from getting muddy. There was one small stream we had to cross, but there weren’t any streams running along the trail. Ferns and moss covered the forest floor and we were provided with lots of shade that kept us cool as we climbed.
Around a mile in, the trail started to get steeper. We soon reached the first clearing in the forest, providing a view of the mountains and foothills below. The trail switchbacked to the north and started to get more rocky and exposed to the sun. The forest was more sparse and we got nice views of the mountains to the north and east as we hiked. We climbed steadily, traversing around the north side of Mount Pilchuck.
Eventually, we reached a large rock field where the trail got steeper and started to switchback towards the top. The rock field stretched along the side of Mount Pilchuck, with small patches of green scattered amongst the jagged landscape. This section of trail was completely exposed to the sun, but there was a slight breeze that kept us cool as we hiked. We would occasionally find a bush that was just starting to change color as we gained elevation, but it was clear that fall colors were still a few weeks away.
When we neared the summit, the trail split before reaching the scramble to the fire lookout. We stayed right at the fork and arrived at a small outcropping that had great views of Glacier Peak and the North Cascades. We took a few pictures, then continued up to the scramble. The fire lookout was quite busy, so we had to stop halfway up the scramble to let a large group of people come down from the lookout. The scramble was short and not too difficult, and once we climbed the ladder we entered the fire lookout.
There were several signs with fascinating information about the history of the lookout, as well as maps pointing out geographical features that can be seen from each side. We took some photos from inside the lookout, then headed to the far side where there was a platform leading to some large rocks. We found a rock to sit on while we ate a snack and took photos of our surroundings. We could see Baker and Shuksan to the north and Puget Sound and some islands to the West. After our snack, we went back to the fire lookout to walk around the outside deck and admire the spectacular 360-degree views. The Cascades seemed to stretch to the east as far as the eye could see. There was a thin layer of clouds/haze that kept us from getting good views of Mount Rainier or the Olympics, but it still felt like we could see most of the Puget Sound region all at once.
When we were done taking pictures and admiring the views, we scrambled back down to the trail and headed towards the trailhead. We were careful of our footing as we descended through the rock fields, but once we got back to the forested section of trail it was a quick descent back to the car. It took us around 1 hour and 40 minutes to hike to the top and an hour and a half to hike back down. We loved getting such incredible views on this hike with moderate mileage and elevation gain!
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