Trip Report
Day Hike - Cougar Mountain: Jim Whittaker Wilderness Peak Trailhead
We enjoyed an uncrowded, rain-free hike amidst lush green Spring blooms!
Nancy Lloyd
- Sun, Apr 12, 2026
- Day Hike - Cougar Mountain: Jim Whittaker Wilderness Peak Trailhead
- Cougar Mountain: Jim Whittaker Wilderness Peak Trailhead
- Day Hiking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Trails were in good condition. Just a couple of short slick stretches on the Wilderness Peak trail required careful foot placement. A few large down trees were recently cut up and cleared, thank you to whoever handled that tough job!
Arrived at 8:45 to an unexpected almost full parking lot. There was room for one or two more vehicles that we were able to grab. The portapotty was stocked and relatively clean. We did a counter-clockwise loop by ascending the Wilderness Cliffs Trail, aka Nawang Gombu Trail - named after Jim Whittaker's Sherpa on the first American ascent of Mt. Everest in 1963. Jim passed away only 5 days earlier, so it was heartwarming that someone had placed commemorative Himalayan prayer flags on the Wilderness Peak summit.
After a break and snacks, we retraced our steps back to the last junction. From there we decided as a group to extend our hike about a mile. We longed for a view, so we visited Long View Peak. We back-tracked from there and descended via the main Wilderness Peak Trail. Our total mileage was slightly over 5 miles rt and 1,200' gain. Along the way we saw many beautiful white Trillium flowers. Trillium are some of the first wildflowers to pop up in Spring, and they thrive in moist, wooded environments and mountainous regions - much like Jim Whittaker and ourselves.
