This was supposed to be a snowshoe, but ended up being a hike. Snow starts around 4800 feet, which was less then a mile from the summit. Views of Stuart and the Teanaways, but none of Tahoma (Mt. Rainer). Most of the trees are burnt from past forest fires, but the trail isn't damaged. It was a little windy at the top. ^_^

Today we enjoyed a break between snowstorms and snowshoed to the summit of Hex Mountain.

Great driving conditions as Snoqualmie Pass and SR903 were plowed with only light snow and ice remaining. Parked near the fire station at 8:30am and headed up FR116. The forest road was covered in dry packed powder, had ski and snowmobile track to follow. Past the trailhead sign wind driven snow covered the ridgeline. Varying between 12" deep powder to scrubbed ice. We were glad to be on the ridge and not in avalanche terrain.

Trail navigation was straightforward, you just follow the ridge and avoid the cornices along the right side. We exited the forest and climbed the knob to the summit. Enjoyed beautiful 360 degree views of Lake Cle Elum and the Teanaways! As we ate lunch, a skier and her dog arrived. She was the only person we saw all day.

Gorgeous day to do this beautiful trail! We had a little trouble finding the trail head, as we were looking for the parking area past the fire station as the directions said to do, however we realized there are several fire stations along this road so go past the second one then you will see the FS road 116 off to the right and you can park along side the main road right before it. Here are a few clear directions so you can avoid the confusion of which way to go to find your trail: Go around the closed gate and follow about .41 miles up and KEEP RIGHT at this Y. (your map will tell you to go left but ignore this) At the next Y, just past this at .45 keep left. At the next one about .9 miles in keep right. Follow along until the next junction (right hand side road) keep left. Follow along and you will see the wooden HEX MOUNTAIN trailhead sign on the right. This is your trail. Follow it up and up until you reach a flat clearing with amazing views. This is the false summit however, enjoy the grander then keep climbing up and into the trees. (you will see the evidence of the previous wildfires in this area quite a bit). When you go as far as you can and reach a ridge, go right and follow the trail up to the summit. You will not be sorry you did, and the reward at the top is worth the sweat it took to get to it! Views galore!

So what happened to the sunny forecast we were supposed to have today??

Our first option had been Kendall Peak Lakes but Hex Mountain was plan B as we drove up towards Snoqualmie Pass and it started to SNOW.  Needless to say, we kept on driving right over to Roslyn and found ourselves some blue skies!

This was my third time to Hex Mountain and the first time parking on the road just before Newport Creek.  We took the last spot and carried snowshoes down the road .15 miles to the turn up FR 116 is.  There were a few cars here and just then a snowplow drove down the road and my friend decided to move his car up to where we were.

The snow was compact and icy and in that moment I opted to leave my snowshoes and just take microspikes rather than carry my snowshoes up the road.  Not normally an issue but a workout last week had my back complaining and I was trying to be nice to it.   TMI, I know.  Most of our group did the same with one hardy soul carrying his and we headed up at 9:45am.

Now for the maze that is the climb to Hex Mountain. Even for those who have been here before, it is super easy to take a wrong turn especially if others before you have and at each junction you are presented with prints in either direction.  Let's see if I can get this right...

1. Take a right at about .41 miles up at a Y junction.  There will definitely be tracks in both directions here (the main road seems to continue left).  There may be flagging and a power box in the ground on the right in the trees.  Depends on snow. DO NOT LOOK AT THE MAP.

2. There will quickly be another Y junction at .45 miles, keep left. 

3. Another junction at about .9 miles, keep right.  You may see a few tracks left but those are most likely folks who turned left in the beginning and recorrected. 

3. A hairpin turn to the right and then back again to the left.

4. Another "junction" (right hand side road or open area), keep left.

5. The road will turn to the left and come around to the Hex Mountain trail sign on your right at 1.8 miles.  You made it!!!

This was, also, where the burnt trees started from the fire 2 years ago, jutting up from the white snow.  Rather melancholy as it was my first time since the fire to be back, I wondered how the ridge was going to look.

From here the trail heads up towards the ridge, if there are tracks any will do.  Just keep in a NE direction.  The snow was still compact and spikes did fine, trying to avoid postholing as much as possible but it really wasn't an issue as long as I stayed on trail.

At about .2 more miles we were up on the ridge where it makes several climbs with a few level areas (about 3), get ready for that feeling of false summits!  The summit is off to the NE, just know that the ridge to its left is what you are aiming for.  We enjoyed Cle Elum Lake below and the sun shining on its shimmery waters.

The wind picked up here (normal) and we donned a layer even though we were still climbing.  This meant the snow was still firm and it wasn't until about 4,000 feet that my friend put on his snowshoes due to, and his words, "his portly nature".  The rest of us were yet to posthole but the snow has lost its icy nature and snowshoes would have made sense if carried in.

It was interesting to observe the wildfire affected trees: which ones had been spared, which had scars and which were completely dark.  It was best to be cautious on the ridge here where there must be multiple logs down across the trail, with the snow lacking depth there was postholing around their bodies.

We reached the final ridge at 3.3 miles and made our easterly turn towards the summit. Here's were snowshoes would have been nice. A few folks were making their descent as we climbed up and there were couple gentlemen having fun with radios.  My track showed 3.5 miles and 5,027 feet.

The wind had died down and the sun shone brightly giving us permission to enjoy our summit.  Clouds obscured some of the prominent players in the Enchantments but we were happy with the open views nonetheless.  

Ebony spikes rose out of the snow on the slopes and the normal cornices at the summit were not nearly as pronounced as last time and some rock was evident.  So little snow...

A mass of dark clouds was moving over the pass and Cle Elum Lake so we decided it was time to go. Our trip down was uneventful aside from the folks coming up sharing that they had gotten turned around in the forest road maze, some turning back before the summit.

GAIA below.

This hike was amazing but very challenging. The trail head is not accessible with a vehicle due to snow. I’m new to this area, but when I read the trail was 7 miles round trip, though very steep, I convinced my husband to come with me. He does not possess a love of hiking like I do, as I overlook strenuous climbs and grueling miles for my love of being outside not surrounded by the masses.  I love snowshoeing for the same reason. I convinced him to go on the 7 mile premise but adding the additional mileage to get to the trailhead....well he wasn’t happy with me.  The trail has many off shoots, so you need to know where you are going. I used an app to keep us on course. We saw a fair amount of people on the trail, some in boots, some micro spikes but most with snow shoes. The sky was brilliantly clear, with views of the many peaks ahead and Cle Elum Lake below us, almost the entire way. Just when you think it could not get any tougher you hit the last mile, which was a step breath rhythm due to the steepness, I put on my snowshoes just to give me more grip ( I did 95% of the hike using micros). The top is tiny, and was standing room only for awhile. Some people left trash and dog poo. I packed the trash out. There are 360 Degree breathtaking views and we spent an hour admiring and recovering. There is another way down so you don’t have to backtrack the entire way out, but it was not clear to me where it connected and I thought I saw a water cross, so we stayed on the same trail. My App reported my total mileage at just under 12 miles. This trip was phenomenal but my husband was exhausted almost to the point of illness. If you are not in good cardiovascular shape do not attempt this trail. I’ve been hiking 30 years and we completed Mt Townsend in the Olympics with no problem 2 weeks ago. Not kidding, Hex was tough, but so so worth it!