WE DID IT AND IT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!
[I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS HIKE UNLESS YOU KNOW THE TRAIL SUPER WELL AND HAVE DECENT DIRECTIONAL SKILLS]
High Rock is in our backyard, the split off of Skate Creek is about 45 minutes from our home so that is our go-to short hike for after school or work or whatever. It is also how we know that summer is coming!!! Anyway, enough about us, you care about the trails!
I tagged Cora, Teeley, Bertha May and Granite, and Allen Mountain because the ROAD conditions effect them. My mom and I were actually pretty surprised at how far we got up the road considering the snow pack. As we hiked up toward the trail head, we realized we hiked about 2.1 miles from our car (parked before the snow) up to the TH. I do not recommend driving in the snow, even if you have four wheel drive like me, because that stuff will suck you in and it instantly gets about three feet deep. It is not fun to be stuck in the snow without service, trust me lol.
Once at the TH, we had half our sandwiches because we like to eat and figured we would need to refuel to use our brains properly. The rocks at the TH were clear of snow and made a nice seat, but someone left a clear tarp thing I guess you could sit on. Too big for us to pack out, will grab it and plan a big clean up party when road snow melts.
When we actually started hiking, the first 0.5 mi of the trail was actually basically snow free! You could tell you were on the trail at least! Up to 0.75 mi where the bench sits is pretty obvious. After that it gets a little, or lot, trickier. The trails starts getting covered in snow and I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS HIKE UNLESS YOU KNOW THE TRAIL SUPER WELL AND HAVE DECENT DIRECTIONAL SKILLS. Maybe it will be better now that we have properly broken trail and made a decent boot path to follow, but I really really don't recommend going unless you have good navigational skills/sense of direction AND have done the trail multiple times before.
From here, we were planning on following the real trail, which dips down left of the ridgeline, but this just felt wrong because I knew there was a winter route that followed the ridgeline. So if you go, after the bench there is an even split of bootprints that go high and left and another set that go low and to the right. GO LOW AND TO THE RIGHT. It does look sketchier, and it is kind of sketchy, but man that is the worst part of the trail and if you have made it this far, I definitely recommend you keep going if you make it past.
I am afraid that a lot of this will start melting out soon, making it unsafe, so if you can find a way around this section and still find our bootprints on the other side, just be safe. Once past here, everything will feel wrong if you are used to the summer trail, but oh it is so right at the end. Follow our bootprints on the ridgeline and you will get some killer views without even summitting. I don't know if this trail is accessible in the summer, I'm sure it is, but I fell in love with it. Seeing Adams, Hood, and St. Helens when you are catching your breath is much better than being in the trees!
This route avoids the giant scree field (avalanche purposes I am sure) and lets you come up the right side of the lookout.
All mountains were out in full glory, it truly was the best day.
If you do bring your pups, be aware that there is glass between the lookout and the mountain from stupid ass kids. The bottom of the lookout has also been broken into. Really would love to schedule a clean up party once the road melts out.
On the way down, you will see bootprints across the snowfield to the right, lower than the ridgeline - go down this way. It meets up a bit before the junction where we went the wrong direction at, and is a bit more gradual. There are our footprints, then there are some idiots footprints who got way too close to tree wells and fell in a couple times. They also glissaded quite a bit, which we chose not to do. Anyway, if you found your way up, the way down isn't too bad.
Do watch out for cougars though, we definitely came across some scat, footprints, and what sounded like kittens calling. I wouldn't recommend going solo unless you take your pups with you, and in that case, make sure they are close.
We saw a group of two people and a family of four. The family of four just snowshoed the road to the TH (they had two little girls, badasses in training!), and the couple followed us but turned back at the sketchy part of the trail, which is a shame because that was the only bad part, and the views made up for it.
Once again, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS HIKE UNLESS YOU KNOW THE TRAIL SUPER WELL AND HAVE DECENT DIRECTIONAL SKILLS.
But enjoy, SUMMER IS COMING!!!
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