As a change of pace, we opted to try Change peak. The short road from the freeway to the trailhead has some significant potholes, but these were easily avoided. We arrived around 8:30 am and easily snagged a spot in the parking lot. The bathroom is open and stocked with TP.
There are trail closure signs at the trailhead but these don’t apply to the Mount Washington trial. The left turnoff that goes up to Mount Washington is located just before the landslide closure, thankfully.
The Mount Washington trail was in good shape with no snow coverage up to the junction. We took a left onto the Great Wall climbers trail at 2900 feet. From this point on the trail is unmaintained, and there were a few downed trees and branches to step over. It was a bit scrambly and exposed with a drop off to one side. There were patches of snow starting at 3550 feet. Once we hit the forest service road at 3800, the route is snow covered. However, the snow was only ankle deep and I didn’t even take out my gaiters.
After walking down the service road for some time, we spotted another unmaintained trail to the right. It is a hairpin turn and easy to miss. From here to the summit of Change Peak, the unmaintained trail was clear of snow. It is steep in parts and crosses a boulder field, but the amount of scrambling required was pretty minimal. From the summit we were treated to views of the nearby peaks and Mount Rainier. We took a break for lunch and then headed back to the trailhead.
Distance: 10 miles and change, elevation gain: 3200 feet, time: 5 hours 45 minutes
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