Dicentra, Rainrunner, me and Zoe the pooch headed up early on sunday morning. We decided to do it from the lower trailhead. I was pleasantly surprised by Sink Lake and the shelter campsite there. It is a cute lake, very green too. We had an easy hike up, coming out of treeline-and seeing the storm blowing in towards us. We kept on going, seeing a few ice pellets dropping. We hit snow at around 4800 ft or so. Quite walkable though. The trail is well defined though, and everywhere around is mostly melted out. Zoe was having issues on the snow just below Camp Windy, so we turned around there, at maybe 5100 ft or so. Had a nice long lunch under a big alpiney tree on the trail-as we were surrounded by a whiteness of clouds. The rain started as we were packing up, and didn't stop till we got back to the TH. Still a nice day out! 2 minor blowdowns, stepable over. The trail is in fantastic condtion though. Give it another week or so and the switchbacks above treeline should be more melted out. The lower TH road is in very good shape also.

The trail is in great shape and with surprisingly little snow on it. It was almost noon before we hit the trail - due to our traditional breakfast out and some confusion as to where the trailhead was. We followed a sign off the main logging road (#27) that said Mt. Townsend Trail 1 mile. This trail head on this road (#2760) is the lower trail head and added 600 feet vertical and 1.2 miles. But it was a delightful woodland walk complete with a little lake - Sink Lake - and a shelter is very good condition - a rarity in the Olympics these days. For the upper trail head stay on route 27 a bit further and take the next left to a dead end at a large parking area with an obvious trailhead. The trail is clear and dry until about a quarter mile before Windy Camp (~4200') where the snow begins in earnest. It's 2 to 3 feet deep for the next little more than half mile, and soft although not so much that snowshoes would be necessary. Then just as one approaches the ridge top for the long traverse to the summit, the snow disappears. From there to the summit - about a mile - is almost totally snowfree (see picture). This is a great sp;ring hike. Hope you get those great wsummit views rather than our rain, wind and fog. P.S. The lower part of the trail goes through a native Rhodendron forest, but no flowers yet. They are just blooming down along route 101 in Qullcene.

Attempted the Little Quilcene trail route to Mount Townsend. We were armed with a good shovel and snow shoes, but still did not get close enough. The road is blocked by a few stubborn patches of icy snow about a mile before the trailhead. These are right by the steep drop off, so we did not attempt to cross in the Honda. I am guessing they will be gone in a few weeks if we get some rain. Otherwise it is a mile walk to the trailhead. The trail itself is clear for the first mile (to Sleepy Hollow), but from then on there is snow, three or four feet deep in places. In the warm air of the morning it was turning to slush and seemed a little dangerous. We chopped a trail across the steep parts for a hundred yards or so -- and it looked like some folks had gone through without snowshoes. But when the dog started falling down the mountain we figured it was best to turn back. I plan to try it again in a week or so.

We decided to take advantage of what might be our last chance to hike in the Olympics before the snow season. Although Mt. Townsend probably had received snow earlier, it was entirely melted from the rains of last week. We saw only one other person the whole day, which is unusual for such a popular trail. But the weather was definitely changing. It started out with the great sunshine we had been having and the fog from the sound kept rising until by the time we reached the summit, we were in a sea of clouds. Yet it was even more beautiful in the late fall on this trail than it had been earlier in the season. (This was my 3rd trip to the summit this year). Along the trail the foliage had turned brilliant shades of red and yellow. And there was a wonderfully mysterious feeling produced by the fog wrapping around different clumps of trees and then dissipating. It turned cold on the summit and windy. The view out to the east was mainly clouds, but to the west, the peaks were still sharply delineated (although many of their tops were enshrouded in fog).

Always wanted to do this popular hike because from Seattle Townsend is so easy to spot. Ferry prices higher than I remember, thanks Tim Eyman! Although road is signed, it's hard to find upper trailhead. At last sign (one with shotgun blast through arrow) go right not left - look for the helpful magic marker that says ""mt town"" and an arrow pointing right. That'll shave an extra mile off your hike. Gorgeous day. Marveled at the view - Seattle, Baker, Rainer and the slightly terrifying Bangor nuke depot below. Oh, crowded as hell, but what do you expect for what may be the last gorgeous day of the year.