We drove in on Road 2516 which has some downed trees that someone has cleared a vehicle-wide path through. The road is not in terrible shape but it has a lot of dips and bumps. We had to park and walk the last 0.4 miles to the trailhead because of impassible snow on the road. I'd guess another week, maybe two, before that snow is melted enough to make the road passable.
Instead of hiking south to the Strawberry Mountain lookout site, we hiked north up through the forest where there were some lingering snow patches and lots of avalanche lilies. Once out into the open meadows we saw paintbrush, penstemon, lupine, wild strawberry, phlox, and other wildflowers. Views included Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St. Helens. We could even see distant Mt. Jefferson! We hiked just over two miles from the trailhead then turned back.
Comments