Took advantage of the first sunny and smoke free day in while to do a 3-fer. We drove up FR4315 about 2.5 miles (approx 3300' elevation) to a closed gate. It's possible that this lower gate was closed because of recent snowfall and rangers thought the road would be icy. In any case, it added an extra 4.5 miles or so to get to the Jolly Mountain turnoff.
We went to Jolly first, backtracked and hiked up to the Louvre, then stayed high on the ridge and hit Skookum Peak on the way back. There wasn't any real accumulation of snow on the trails--just thin cover on the ground higher up and in a few areas that are in shade. Up on the false summit of the Louvre, there was maybe half an inch of snow that had accumulated here and there--if it's icy, the scramble over to the true summit (the rock horn) could be a bit treacherous. We decided to put on helmets just to be on the safe side. Be aware that getting over to the rock horn does involve a little spicy exposure.
The views of Mt. Stuart, Esmeraldas, etc are awesome and worth the extra mileage. But maybe that lower gate will be open again.
Total mileage for the day was about 19 miles. We went at a mellow pace and had leisurely breaks on Jolly and the Louvre, so wound up hiking back in the dark; however, total elevation gain is only about 5000' and other than the scramble up to the Louvre, it's a relatively gentle elevation grade for much of the hike.
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