Great weekend of various weather conditions. Only two other cars in the parking lot when we started up Mount Townsend trail on the morning of the 4th. Unfortunately it was very foggy the entire hike, so no views but beautiful nonetheless. We arrived at a very eery looking Silver lake in the early afternoon and shortly found a great campsite above the lake that had room for probably 10 tents! There were other campsites, but still some snow in the way of tent platforms. In the three days we were there we could almost watch the small patches of snow melt away to uncover wildflowers ready to bloom. The rest of the trip consisted of more fog, a little rain, and a couple hours of warm sunshine. We scrambled up to a ridge where views were amazing. This is a great alternative to Mt. Townsend on warm summer days when the trail is swarming with hikers. We planned on climbing up Townsend on our way out, but the fog was again thick and views would have been minimal. No bugs, snow on trail, but a few blow downs that were easy to get past. This is an awesome backpack if you're trying to get away from the snow

Great weekend of various weather conditions. Only two other cars in the parking lot when we started up Mount Townsend trail on the morning of the 4th. Unfortunately it was very foggy the entire hike, so no views but beautiful nonetheless. We arrived at a very eery looking Crystal lake in the early afternoon and shortly found a great campsite above the lake that had room for probably 10 tents! There were other campsites, but still some snow in the way of tent platforms. In the three days we were there we could almost watch the small patches of snow melt away to uncover wildflowers ready to bloom. The rest of the trip consisted of more fog, a little rain, and a couple hours of warm sunshine. We scrambled up to a ridge where views were amazing. This is a great alternative to Mt. Townsend on warm summer days when the trail is swarming with hikers. We planned on climbing up Townsend on our way out, but the fog was again thick and views would have been minimal. No bugs, snow on trail, but a few blow downs that were easy to get past. This is an awesome backpack if you're trying to get away from the snow

Well, David and I made it to the upper Mt. Townsend trailhead (#839) in his Mini Cooper, which has a clearance of about five inches, providing a testamonial that Forest Service road 27 and even 190 are in good shape. Since we were hiking on weekdays, we only saw about twenty day hikers, and no one besides us was camped on top. This option soon will be more difficult when the last few snow drifts melt. After setting up on top, I took a side trip (#842) down to the Silver Creek Canyon, but didn’t make it to Silver Lake because all the flowers were conspiring to distract me. Bursts of spreading phlox were everywhere, but lots of others were out in force: rhododendron, foxglove, glacier lily, strawberry, penstemon, yellow violet, lupine, columbine, red paintbrush, yellow monkeyflower, chocolate lily, thistle, anemone, owl clover, silky phacelia, and purple mountain saxifrage. Even the dandelions were cheerful and bright. I thought I had a long list until I ran into a photographer, Allen Robinson, who’s almost finished photoing the mountain’s 210 flower species. Although the days were hazy, the air cleared a bit in the evening, as we enjoyed our iced daiquiris and the setting sun. Dusk crept up the Silver Creek, Copper Creek and Dungeness canyons; Constance, the Needles, and the Greywolf range turned pink; and lights began to glow across Hood Canal, in Port Angeles, and North to Victoria. After dinner, I rambled locally up and down the ridge till midnight, so as to ensure a welcoming committee for each star’s arrival. After breakfast, we took another spin along the ridge before heading down. It was muggy, but everyone we met seemed happy and content, as though they were traveling the paths to heaven.

Another hot day in the lowlands, but there wasn't much relief to be found on this trail. We reached the upper trailhead around 9am, when the temperature was already 75F. Quite a few cars in the parking lot. The start of the hike was through lovely, relatively cool forest, although the rhododendron show looks to be over for the year (we did seen plenty blooming on the side of the road up, however). As we climbed higher and the vegetation opened up, the heat started to bite. But the trail is in excellent shape, with only a couple of inconsequential patches of snow near Camp Windy. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but a haze over the lowlands meant views of the Cascades were not very clear. There was quite a crowd around noon at the top, but with lots of room up there, there was plenty of space for everyone to enjoy the 360 degree views. The cool breeze at the top was about the only relief from the heat all day - by the time we returned to the parking lot, the temperature had reached 89F in the shade.

Bill and I hiked to Mt. Townsend on this very hot summer day. We started from the upper trailhead which was packed. The wildflowers are starting to bloom but the rhodies have not bloomed yet. The only snow we encountered was at Camp Windy otherwise the trail is snow free. There was one large blowdown which was passable and several other minor small ones. We had a nice breeze at the top but in spite of this, there were some very annoying small biting flies. They got their share blood from me! The views are awesome at the top. This is one of our favorite hikes and we do it nearly every year. Jane Habegger, Olympia