The road and trail to Tongue Mountain south of Randle in the South Cascades is 100% snow-free. There are few trails anywhere with such tremendous payoff, for so little work. The road is a little rough in a couple spots, which might give a low-clearance car a problem, but it is a breeze for any four-wheel drive and is nearly perfect in much of the rest.
Unfortunately, in the last couple of days some jerks on dirt bikes plowed up the mile-long hiker-only trail to the summit. It’s unbelievable. Many, if not most, of the trails in the South Cascades are open to dirt bikes, yet they have to devastate even the few hiker-only trails, blazing around the “no bikes” barrier, tearing up the lovely trail, and even cutting switchbacks. It will take a whole season and the feet of a hundred hikers to reset the trail. And that’s only if these morons don’t return. Having said that, the trail is certainly hikeable.
Whew. That really got my goat.
Anyway, Tongue Mtn is a lofty perch, with a flat summit area to sit and enjoy the view of Mt. Adams and all the surrounding peaks. This was my second trip there, the last time over 10 years ago, and even though it was socked-in with clouds most of the time, I just love the place.
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