Thorp Mountain Lookout via Thorp Creek, No Name Ridge - Thorp Mountain & Little Joe Lake — Wednesday, Jul. 26, 2023

I had beautiful weather for this mid-week hike.  I arrived at the TH about 930am and there were three or four cars there ahead of me.  This TH does not have a lot so parking is just along the road.   I did a clockwise loop from the Thorp Creek Trailhead, ascending to Thorp Lake and then Thorp Mt. Lookout and descending via No Name Ridge, Red Mountain Trail and Little Joe Lake Trail.  I clocked this loop at 10.9 miles with 3300 feet of climbing, including a detour to Thorp Lake.  The trail to Thorp Lake and Thorp Mt. is in good shape, with some brushy sections, and is easy to follow.   The first 1.5 miles of trail is almost flat, before becoming quite steep (15+%) as it climbs the next mile up to the junction for Thorp Lake.   Thorp Lake is about a 1/4 mile detour off the route and worth a stop.  There are a number of large campsites and good spots to take a break.   From the Thorp Lake junction the trail climbs steeply to Thorp Mt Lookout, gaining over 1000 ft in just over a mile.   The views from the top are great, especially towards Lemah Mt. to the NE and towards Mt. Rainer, visible just before the summit.   On the way down, I picked up the trail along No Name Ridge; this trail is is good shape.   I then turned right onto the Red Mountain Trail and it was slow going on a primitive trackl the rest of the way back to the trailhead (5+ miles).  Both the Red Mountain Trail and the Little Joe Lake Trail are primitive and unmaintained.   There is little/no signage and the trail is indistinct in places so you need to stay on top of your navigation.  The trail is narrow with steep, slippery scree sections and many blowdowns to climb over.  On the plus side, there were no one else on this section, so plenty of solitude.   Overall, this hike is more strenuous than you'd think based on the mileage and amount of climbing; this is due to several steep sections (15-20% grade) and all the distance on primitive trails.