Rock Mountain via Snowy Creek — Sunday, Jul. 2, 2017

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East

Snowy Creek Road is rough and extremely brushy, but it was passable in a two-wheel drive compact. The road is surrounded by a narrow tunnel of trees, so expect that your car will get scratched. Once the road finally opens up, the TH is easy to spot on the right. We departed the TH at 9am in a swarm of mosquitoes, and it was very buggy until we eventually climbed above the tree line. There were a few small blow downs and many muddy patches, but the trail was in good shape overall and easy to follow. One creek crossing was a bit precarious. We were uncertain about the stability of a "bridge" of small branches, so we opted to cross using rocks about 50 feet uphill from the trail. But, we used the branches on the return trip without issue. After crossing the marshy meadow, we encountered a few snow patches on the trail. These were easily passable and much appreciated by our two large dogs who were laboring on the way up the exposed, sunny slope. The wildflowers were starting to bloom on the "Sound of Music" traverse. Once we reached the ridge, we found there was still quite a bit of snow in the Rock Lake basin, but the trail to the summit of Rock Mountain was clear. Watch your dogs at the top, as we saw a marmot on the rocky ledge. The flies weren't bad, so we enjoyed lunch at the summit as well as the company of two other groups who arrived while we were taking in the gorgeous view. On the way down we saw one other group of hikers and took lots of breaks for the dogs to cool off in the snow patches and streams. Luckily, the insect activity had calmed down by midday. We were back at the car at 3:30pm. This was my second trip up Rock Mountain, and this hike doesn't disappoint on a clear day. This is one of my favorites in the area with its combination of scenery and solitude.