Mount Pilchuck — Monday, Jul. 31, 2017

I was inspired by the trip reports I read about spending the night in the lookout and decided to check it out for myself. The short version: if you can make the trip, do it. The sunset was beautiful, the views impressive, and the experience was a lot of fun. 

Some details for the overnight: Don't plan on having the place to yourself. On a Monday night, there were 7 of us that shared the space. Everybody was nice and had a good time chatting while we were together. If you're heading up on the weekend, I'd suggest getting there pretty early to secure your spot. The floor inside can fit 6 comfortably and probably 8 uncomfortably. Luckily for us, two people brought hammocks and strung them up from the ceiling, which made much more effective use of the space. Otherwise it would've been really cramped. If the floor is your plan, a sleeping bag and pad should be all you need. It cooled off pretty quickly after the sun went down and was windy the following morning, so be sure to bring extra layers. The bugs on the trail were annoying, but I didn't find them to be too terrible at the top. There are some mice and ground squirrels that live under and around the lookout, so just make sure you secure all your food/packs before you go to sleep, otherwise you may get some unexpected visitors. A couple people brought camping stoves, which I thought was excessive, until they heated up their coffee in the morning which made me extremely jealous. It would've been a great way to start the day. I left the lookout at 6:30am and enjoyed the walk down in the shade before the heat of the day took hold.

+1 for all previous trip reports for the road/trail conditions. My Saturn sedan didn't have any problem negotiating the road to the TH, just take it slow. I also had no problem following the trail once I got going. There are a couple spots that might be confusing, but take a moment, look around, and the right way becomes fairly obvious. The rocky nature of this trail has you looking down a lot watching your footing, so don't forget to stop and look up every once in awhile, great views all along this trail!