Flower Alert! Spectacular display on the entire trail from the time you break out of the forest all the way to the summit. They are just coming to their peak so it should be a good show for a while. We identified over 70 different species, many of them in great abundance. NOTE: small black bear seen on Road 27 just before turnoff to lower Mt. T trailhead.

The directions to the trailhead in Spring/Manning are quite clear, except for the fact that I don't remember them saying anything about a ""lower"" trailhead. Needless to say, if you park at the lower trailhead, you will walk and extra 2.4 miles and gain another 600 ft, just to get the the end of the road. Stay on the mostly paved road until you see the sign clearly marked for Mt. Towsend Trail. Drive to the end for the upper trailhead. On this cloudy and rainy weekend, however, this extra section of the trail was the best part. It passes a small lake and a shelter at a tiny creek, all the while through lush, apparently unprotected old growth forest. The trail is in excellent shape, wide and clean, no snow except for some last minute patches, rain was constant and cold, however, and no views today. R/T 10.4 miles, 6.5 hours for short legs (from lower trailhead). Parking enforcement was not evidenced today, despite the presence of rangers (new permits in the box upon descent). A picture in the Quilcene Ranger Station shows depression area loggers in front of a clearcut, it has the caption ""Behold! The New Forest"". Unfortunately that was an accurate description for much of the ONF around the area. Got some fresh oysters on the way out at a seafood market on Hiway 101, excellent!

Mt. Townsend from Last Water Camp was clear to the top. The Fog was thicker at the bottom, with occasional breaks at the top. Not much for distant views. The flowers were very pleasant. It took an hour and a half to the top.

FYI: The road to the Little Quilcene trail is open and in good shape. It is only 3.5 miles to the summit of Mt. Townsend via the Little Quilcene Trail.

Trail is in great shape - thanks to whoever has done the work to make this one of the best-maintained trails I've seen in a while. Now if you can only do something about the steep grade of the climb up... Picked the best weekend of the year so far to climb up Mt. Townsend. It was cloudy on Saturday, with perfect weather forcast for the rest of the weekend. The cloud cover on the ascent provided great air conditioning as we climbed the 3200 feet up into the sky. We stopped at Windy Lake to refill our water bottles and the water bag. The additional weight made the rest of the climb up to the summit ever so enjoyable. Had I known that there were still a few snow patches up top, I would have melted snow instead of carried the water up the last stretch. The complaining was for naught, however, as the last wisps of clouds evaporated as we reached the summit. We found a sheltered campsite along the ridge and settled in for a beautiful evening. The sunset, night, and next day were cloudless, relatively warm, and spectacular. The view from the Pacific Ocean, along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, across to Vancouver Island and Victoria, across the San Juans to Bellingham, south past Everett, Seattle, Tacoma, and down to Olympia, with Baker, Glacier Peak, Rainier, Adams and St. Helens behind was spectacular. At night it was fascinating to see how much electricity we all consume - between the city lights and the quarter moon, the stars were virtually hidden. All in all, a perfect trip and one highly recommended for those who love to hike above the timber and into the sky.