We hiked this for a sunset hike. I’ve hiked to Pinnacle Saddle a few times - spring and fall- but this time we took the trail to the right after reaching the saddle. There is a bit of a slushy snow patch, then a scramble up some boulders with a tight squeeze through some dead trees. From the top you can see Mt St Helens, Mt Adams, and of course Mt Rainier. The mosquitoes were bad while we sat for awhile at the peak. We started down before the sun completely set so we could get through the steep parts before dark….and we did need our flashlights when we hit the trees. It was completely dark by the time we got back to the car.
We saw a couple of mountain goats on our way down. Some guy was going after it for pictures and ended up chasing it off…errr. We hiked this with a six year old, but had to be very careful with him on the scramble. He enjoyed glissading down a section of the snow.
I didn’t see the sign for the Stevens Canyon turnoff going up - I wonder if it was taken down for the recent road construction- so we went through the Paradise parking lot, and did a loop around to get to the parking at Reflection Lake where the trailhead is. Look for the Paradise River sign on a road to the right if you want to avoid what we did.
Overall, a nice hike with some great views, not too long, with a good payoff at the top.
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