Hiked to Kelly Butte on 7/30/16. Started a little bit after noon and took our time climbing as I was with my mother. There was a good incline but it was very manageable, even for her! We made it to the summit a little after 1:30pm and there was a volunteer manning the lookout! He showed us inside and gave us a quick run down on how to use the Osborne Fire Finder (yes, there was a working fire finder in there! very cool!). We sat on the other side of the lookout and had great views of the surrounding area and especially of Mt. Rainier! Totally worth it on a clear day! On the way back down we saw some mountain goats and their babies! very cool! make sure to take some binoculars just to get a closer look at them! TOP TIP: On the way down there is a lot of small loose bits of skree on the trail, so take your time heading down. Its easy to slip and lose your footing. My mom and I had a blast on this hike! Do it on a clear day to take full advantage of the views, but remember to take your time and have fun!

Number of Mountain Goats seen: 3 Number of switchbacks: Endless Number of views: Beyond endless Wow. Basically the only word I could say when we reached the lookout. The views from here are absolutely incredible. As others have stated, follow the WTA directions and NOT what Google Maps shows. We followed the reports and had no issues finding the trail. The road up was, well, fun? It's one car wide in a lot of places, but thankfully we didn't have to try and squeeze two cars by at any of those points. The lot is very small, but we didn't have an issue parking when we got there just after 1pm. After a short walk up an old road, the switchbacks start. And they go up, and up, and up. And just when you think there can possibly not be any more switchbacks, there are more. I lost count and it felt endless. They are very short, and steep. The entire trail is very narrow as well, and making way for someone isn't always easy. Once you get to the meadows, you're almost there! Wildflowers are past their prime, but still look nice in the fields. The lookout itself it great. There was a forest service volunteer there overnight to fix a shutter, and he (along with his girlfriend/wife?) were really nice to talk to. We walked around for a bit, ate some lunch, stared at the endless views in every direction, and sadly headed back down. Ran into a couple groups heading up, and saw the goats hanging out on the rocks around the area. This trail was so awesome, and we definitely plan to get out there again to do an overnight. On a clear day I can only imagine how amazing sunrise and sunset must be.

I had heard of this hike previously but never considered checking it out until this week because I always thought it looked a little uneventful...boy was I wrong! On a clear sunny day, this hike is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It starts on some switchbacks with a full view of Mt. Rainer, then enters a meadow of tall grass and wildflowers, ending at a fire lookout on top of the mountain with 360 views. I have already encouraged numerous friends to check it out. Don't pass this one up!

Unlike the Heybrook Tower I visited a few weeks ago, this one was open when I got there so I got to peek inside, look at the fire finder, and sign the guest book! The trickiest part about this hike is just getting your car to the trailhead. You have to take a few unmarked forest roads, though the WTA directions are spot on, so follow those and not Google Maps because the latter definitely tries to make you drive through some roads you’re not supposed to be on so that you’ll come across a path blocked by some very confused and concerned campers as you suddenly careen out of the trees. Oops. The last 15ish miles are on washboard roads, some pocked with intense potholes, but my Mazda 6 made it through. I was also overtaken at one point by an impatient Prius, and if he can Tokyo Drift around the forest roads without issue, I think any vehicle can make the drive. The trailhead doesn’t say “Kelly Butte,” but it is an obvious trailhead complete with a small parking area and information hutch, so you won’t miss it. The first third is a super easy amble through the forest on an old, wide logging trail. The hardest part is the middle third, where you climb up many, many switchbacks to get up the face of the mountain towards the lookout. But the entire climb is so beautiful, full of mountain views, butterflies, wildflowers, chatty dark-eyed Juncos, agile hummingbirds, and the occasional nervous garter snake that it goes by very quickly. There are lots of flies and bees too, but they generally leave you alone. No bite-y insects, thank goodness. It gets narrow and steep in some places, but even with my fear of heights, I got through it without panicking. Well, without panicking TOO much, anyway. Once you get off the switchbacks, you’ll climb the last third of the trail steadily up and through some meadows until you get to the lookout. The trail gets pretty narrow here so the vegetation brushes against your legs, but just think of them as your adoring fans reaching out to touch you as you graze past. It was cloudy and chilly the day I went, but I stuck around long enough for some of the clouds to break up. Mount Rainier even made an appearance as I climbed back down! On a clear day, the view must be amazing because Rainier is HUGE. An adorable father and son pair had stayed the weekend in the lookout and were more than happy to share the space with visitors when I got there, and I met another father and son pair lunching outside, where we talked about fishing, achy backs, and Oregon vs Idaho potatoes. Hikers are good people. From car back to car, including the long chunk of time I spent at the lookout, I completed the hike (at a very leisurely pace) in a little over 4 hours.

I decided to take my sister for a hike, so picked this one because it's not difficult (she's just getting back into hiking). Our sister adventure was entertaining just trying to find the trailhead! Oh boy. I wish we had been smart enough to bring boxed wine or something. First of all, the confusion started when someone made it look like the road was closed by dragging the big "road closed" sign across it (this was where you take a left on 7030). Apparently the campers scattered all over thought it would be funny to close the road. I got out and threw that big sign open! I can't even explain our silly mistakes after that point. Somehow we ended up on probably 1,000 forest service roads. We saw a lot of interesting things! Oh, and let's not forget the camper who told us where the "trailhead" was and where to park. Very funny! We were miles away. Lucky we decided that wasn't right. I guess he needed some comic relief. We definitely delivered. We did finally end up at the trailhead (at one fork there is a sign that reads "Kelly Butte" with a nice arrow. Go that way.) Then you go..well, just follow the wta directions (and don't have your sibling navigate!). This is a great trail! You start out on a bit of a boring logging road, but then you follow the "trail" sign up the fun part of the trail! Not a huge amount of wildflowers, but some were still blooming. We had some clearing on the way up, but then it became very foggy and cloudy. It was still fun! We even saw a mountain goat on the rocks off the trail-unfortunately my "real" camera decided to die right then. There was a dad and his young son at the lookout-they spent the night watching for fires! Very nice people, and graciously welcomed us inside. We never did see Mount Rainier or any views from the lookout. We ate lunch up there and hoped the sky would clear. It cleared a little for about a minute! It was still a fun day with my sister! I can only imagine the views up there.