The road is posted no trespassing at the gate about 3 miles from 101

Bring a mountain bike. The gate is still closed, and walking the extra 2.5 miles down to your car after the hike is over would be crushing.

The beginning of the trail is a bit overgrown, and could stand a maintenance crew, but it's still easily followable, and you could always just bike further up the mountain if you wanted to start after the road crossing. Might also be worth to bring some binoculars to see Seattle, Rainier, Bremerton, etc. in the distance. The road allows for a good vantage point.

Continuing on, the brush is much less dense, and the trail isn't overgrown past the road. The midsection is flatter, but once you get to The Brothers Wilderness, it starts getting pretty hard. The ground turns silty and slippery, and you need to watch your step. It hasn't rained in a while, and the trail is very dry. There are no water sources along the entire trail. You summit several false peaks, but finally, you reach the top. The views are well worth the struggle, but bugs will be following you the whole time, so don't spend too long up top.

The descent is brutal. However bad it was ascending silt and rock, it's way worse going down. Getting back into forest cover is a welcome blessing, but the steepness is still there, and doesn't really let up until you're shortly before the road crossing again. Continue on the final 1.5 miles or so, and bike back down.

Strava said that the trail was actually about 15.2 miles round-trip, so the mileage may be wrong. 

Because of the difficulty and inconvenience of access, this hike is well-known for its solitude. Not another soul on the mountain.

Things you need: a hat, sunblock, at least 3 quarts of water (just bring a gallon to be safe)

Things you should bring: binoculars, mountain bike, bug spray

Wanted to hit this trail before the road closure swallowed the trail. Parts in the first few miles were very overgrown. I wore shorts but wished for pants. I’d venture a guess in a few years the lower part will be extremely overgrown and not easily passable. Better off taking the road and not the official trailhead. It meets at the top of a great lookout after about 2.5 miles and is marked with a cairn on top of a stump. Past that the trail is just fine. Not any water on the trail. Definitely try this hike if you are after solitude.

The road in is not great but would be manageable for most cars. Probably not the best for some cars. Glad my buddy was driving us in his spectacular Pontiac Vibe.

Note on the trailhead: If you follow the WTA map link it'll direct you correctly. There's a gate and some space to park about 2.2 miles from the Jupiter trailhead. The standard Jupiter route starts just to the right of the Mount Jupiter trailhead sign. We actually walked right past it. The logging road that goes right just before the trailhead sign is another option you can take. I found it to be a little less steep than the standard route and took that way coming down. The trail and road meet up and there are flags marking the trail, which is cut on a side slope and easy to see.

I'm not going to comment on all the logging but it has made for great views of Hood Canal, the Brothers, Rainier and all the surrounding mountains. A little over 2 miles from the gate closure gets you to the trailhead. Another 1 mile to just under 3000 feet and you get expansive views.

The rest of the hike is a bit of a slog, mostly forested and quite dry. Steep at the beginning and steep towards the summit but a lot of gradual ups and downs. I easily went through the 3 liters of water I brought and it wasn't particularly hot out. This time of the year there are lots of pretty flowers to look at.

The best part of the hike happens when you pass into the Brothers Wilderness and it starts opening up. Overall, the trail is in good condition, outside of being a bit overgrown at times. I was expecting more of a challenge towards the top, and had brought an ice axe and spikes. There are a few patches of snow. I think the first big patch of snow is probably the worst of it but is easily manageable to maneuver around. Very minor bushwhacking. Poles were helpful but I think an ice axe and spikes are overkill depending on your comfort level, especially in the next couple weeks. Pretty much a clear trail the whole way.

Great summit with lots of comfortable rocks to rest your weary bones.

It has been four years since I was last at Mount Jupiter.  I love this trail as a late spring trip that gets you up high on a ridge with good views, gorgeous rhododendrons and quality tread.  The road to the trailhead has been locked for several years.  Last spring, the Forest Service told me the logging company wasn’t allowing anyone in there, even on foot.  But this Saturday, I walked the extra hour in and out on the logging road to the trailhead.   Few people go there now and the WTA trip reports have petered out.  This is really sad.  Other than new damage that the logging company has inflicted on one section of trail, the trail is in excellent condition.  No downed trees, no wash-outs, no muddy spots and the brush, where it exists, is only calf-high salal.  It’s just a wonderful trail.  Not only are there pink rhododendrons along most of the seven miles of trail, but there are beautiful clumps of white beargrass, lupines and other wildflowers in bloom.  The trail passes through two clearcuts.  The first, fifteen to twenty years old, starts at the trailhead.  Young trees are growing back in with rhododendrons in between, but it’s still open enough for expansive views along the way to the ridge.  The clearcut not offensive but pleasant to walk through.  Unfortunately, the second clearcut has been hugely expanded since my last visit four years ago.  What is worse is that it is now slashed by an incredibly ugly new logging road.  In so doing, the logging company bulldozed the logging debris right over the trail where it passes through the clearcut.  A little of this can be seen in my photo.  This logging road leaves so much destruction for so little gain.  The soil in this area is low in nutrients and very acidic.  The trees grow slowly and are very small.  Hardly any trees are 18” in diameter and the majority are less than a foot.  Places like this are being stripped because bigger trees are in short supply.  In spite of the fact that high quality timber reserves have been depleted, we scarcely ever hear about alternatives to wood for home construction.  If we want more forest spared from logging, we need to consider alternatives to wood.  Plaster straw bale construction, cob, rammed earth, pumice;  they are all durable, low-cost, fire-proof, sustainable, energy efficient alternatives; yet we don’t hear them discussed even when the media reports the skyrocketing costs of lumber.  There is major construction industry opposition and are many municipal zoning law hurdles to a sustainable housing industry.  Why is it when we hear a commitment to convert from gasoline to electric-powered vehicles, alternatives to lumber in the housing industry are not a topic for discussion?  Why are we allowing so much logging when it isn’t necessary?

The older part of this second, vast clearcut which I went through the last time I was here, is actually not that ugly.  Because the stumps are so small, they don’t overpower the scene and the beautiful flowers and views across the Duckabush valley redeem that clearing.  The skeletons of the large rhododendrons that died back when suddenly exposed to full sun are still there, but new, sun-tolerant sprouts are loaded with blossoms.   But the road and the huge size of this more recent stripping of the landscape is another matter.

Saturday’s weather was beautiful and sunny until late in the afternoon.  I didn’t quite make it to the top of Mount Jupiter, turning back at a steep snowfield at 5300’, four hundred feet below the summit.  I tried to climb around it, but the wind started picking up and I abandoned the effort.  I’ve been at this snowfield before.  In a couple of weeks, it should be easy to navigate.  Until that snowfield, the trail is almost snow free.  The next few weeks are the best time to do this hike.  Since the summit of Jupiter is now a nineteen mile roundtrip from the gate, many people will probably prefer to do this trip as a backpack.  Because this is a ridge, once all the snow melts, there’s no water.  The rhododendrons are scattered over more than two thousand feet of elevation, there will be some blooming higher up after the lower ones are finished.  One fact about rhododendrons is that they cannot put flowers on a shoot that bloomed the previous season.  Shrubs that bloomed spectacularly last season may have only old brown seed capsules at their branch tips this year, and vice versa.  Sometimes it’s clear that for certain sections, you’ve arrived at the wrong year and there are few blooms.  Other places are nice and pink, or will be, when they are ready. 

Finding the trailhead is a little confusing.  Some turns are signed, but some are not.  Stay on the main road at all junctions.  After the road climbs up through power lines, there is another junction, signed J1100 and J1000.  Go left on J1100.  The orange gate is shortly beyond.  From there, the trees are painted with orange mileage numbers at half mile intervals.  The gate is shortly beyond “3”, the trailhead is beyond “5 ½”.  Stay on the main road.  When you hit an old clearcut on the right side of the road after the 5 ½ marker, you will encounter a switchback that turns sharply to the right, going uphill.  Skip that turn and go straight ahead on the grassy road.  The trailhead is about 100 feet beyond the junction.