Trip Report
Day Hike - Mount Washington (Snoqualmie)
Steady, rocky grade with hardpacked snow starting about 2/3 of the way up. Lovely views from several spots along the way.
Cheryl Talbert
- Fri, Jan 22, 2021
- Day Hike - Mount Washington (Snoqualmie)
- Mount Washington (Snoqualmie)
- Day Hiking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Steady grade, mostly a streambed the whole way with boulders the size of softballs to canteloupes. About 2.5 miles up, hard packed snow and ice starts and microspikes are strongly advised from here on up.
Large parking area with well maintained pit toilet building. Very few cars were there at 8AM on a Friday morning.
The trail leaves right from the south side of the parking lot next to some hazard tape, and climbs steeply to the John Wayne trail (gravel road). Take this road for about a quarter mile or even less, to an obvious trail cutting off to the left (stick marking the spot with a black glove!). Then follow the obvious trail all the way to the top. Hard packed snow and ice begins about 1.5 miles from the top, and microspikes are strongly advised from here all the way up. The summit is small so get your photos and head down a little bit to a broad flat area with views of Rainier to have your lunch. Watch your food because the gray jays are aggressive here!
It took our group about 2.5 hours to get to the summit and we were back down by 1:10. Great group, great walk with sparking snow and peek a boo views including Baker and Glacier Peak and a long look across the Middle fork Snoqualmie. Sadly Rainier was hiding in the clouds.