Mount Townsend — Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025

A surprising lack of snow considering the recent deluge, but I'm not going to complain, even if I was sort of hoping for it. Also, a surprising lack of wind at the peak, but again: no complaints on that front whatsoever. Absolute gorgeous day; always glad to get out between the storms.

Arrived at the TH at around 8:30 and was the 2nd car in the lot. No issues with the roads and traffic was surprisingly light, even with the extra hour on the clock. We set off a few minutes later, just as other hikers started to arrive, and ran into the early bird hiker on their way down not long thereafter. We made it to the peak with plenty of time to quietly enjoy it by ourselves before other folks arrived from both directions. Fog obscured most of the views over The Sound while I was up there, but the Olympic interior was stunning (as always) and there was great visibility looking north over the Strait as well. Visited both peaks before doing a bit of a ridge traverse towards the Silver Lake trail but didn't go too far before doubling back and heading down the regular trail saddle; I'm sure it would've probably been fine considering the overall lack of snow, but I figured I should play it safe with the dog in tow, so I did. Saw a few more people who were on their way up while we headed down and the lot was full at the bottom.