Kelly Butte — Saturday, Jul. 30, 2016

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

Number of Mountain Goats seen: 3 Number of switchbacks: Endless Number of views: Beyond endless Wow. Basically the only word I could say when we reached the lookout. The views from here are absolutely incredible. As others have stated, follow the WTA directions and NOT what Google Maps shows. We followed the reports and had no issues finding the trail. The road up was, well, fun? It's one car wide in a lot of places, but thankfully we didn't have to try and squeeze two cars by at any of those points. The lot is very small, but we didn't have an issue parking when we got there just after 1pm. After a short walk up an old road, the switchbacks start. And they go up, and up, and up. And just when you think there can possibly not be any more switchbacks, there are more. I lost count and it felt endless. They are very short, and steep. The entire trail is very narrow as well, and making way for someone isn't always easy. Once you get to the meadows, you're almost there! Wildflowers are past their prime, but still look nice in the fields. The lookout itself it great. There was a forest service volunteer there overnight to fix a shutter, and he (along with his girlfriend/wife?) were really nice to talk to. We walked around for a bit, ate some lunch, stared at the endless views in every direction, and sadly headed back down. Ran into a couple groups heading up, and saw the goats hanging out on the rocks around the area. This trail was so awesome, and we definitely plan to get out there again to do an overnight. On a clear day I can only imagine how amazing sunrise and sunset must be.