Nice, gradual climb through the forest with several open meadows along the way. Still a few lupine and Indian paintbrush hanging on. This would likely be a good wildflower trail in peak season. Light drizzle kept the bugs down, though mosquitos could be rough near the lakes. A few muddy spots, but overall the trail is in great shape.
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Great easy hike with amazing views. Way too many people though. Go early.
★
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I ran to Spiral Butte via Sand Ridge trail today. The Spiral Butte trail itself is not heavily used and not recently maintained. It is steep in spots and sometimes disappears among the brush and/or fallen trees, but with a bit of focus, it’s not hard to follow. I tried to do this as a “lollipop” by running up the first trail that goes to the butte and return down the the second one. I never did find the second trail at the top so I ran it as an out-and-back for a total of 12.5 miles and 2,828 feet of gain. Nice runnable trail for much of the length. Not many views, Eve the view from the top is not spectacular. If you wander far enough on the edges of the cliff you can see the side of Mt Rainier. Below is Dig Lake and all of it’s green water with a vie in the near distance of Leech Lake and White Pass ski area.
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Absolutely beautiful fall trail experience, starting from the Ironstone trailhead and turned around in wildcat creek. Looked a bit for an area to bushwhack to Ironstone peak, but didn’t see any welcoming animal trails or openings, so we turned around and made our way back to trailhead. Along the route we saw a bugling elk that thundered down the mountain when it heard us, tons of birds, chipmunks and possibly a fox (medium dog size animal with a bushy tail side)? Unfortunately, my phone died about 3 miles from our completion, so some miles and elevation are missed for the entire route which ended up being 13 miles. And of course, how could I forget to mention ending the day with the 360 views from the ridge line of the cascades, Mt Adams and Mt Rainier! I would love to come back and do a longer loop!
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Fall colors are here but summer is holding on tight. Naches Peak Loop is an easy loop with great views and the colors are popping right now. Dewey Lake is chilly but the warm weather made it feel refreshing.
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4 stars for having porcini in a dry year. North-facing slopes above 5k ft. Great views too!
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The approach to Mt. Tumac was very soggy and damp from snow runoff which still exists in late July in the Valley. Some of the snow patches even covered large portions of the trail at times and we had to scramble and interpret other ways around that became technical. Trekking poles helped with this. The ascent was steep and the view of Rainier was completely covered at all times by a tree like, even at the peak, pretty annoying. Plenty of mosquitos along the way so bring your sunscreen and even a bug net for your face it got so bad.
★
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Easy but long loop, nice forest and meadows. Few views. Porcini in meadows, hedgehogs, bear’s head, and blue chanties in woods.
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Good mountain porcini loop. Trail disappears between Carlton Ridge and Jug Lake. Peekaboo volcano views up high.
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Cell phone reception for about 2.5 miles in. Trails were clear and good. Very hot
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Easy and consistent grade. Mostly Shaded hike. Lakes are beautiful. Mosquitoes brutal. Repellent worked for a littlw while..... Still snow near and around lakes.
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Hike this to see the view. However, we were surrounded by fog and clouds today. Also had a little bit of snow and rain today.
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This is an adventurous 8 mile hike to an interesting lake that has marsh elements along a lot of its shoreline. The ascent for the trek only amounts to about 1700 feet of elevation gain and the lake is beautiful. You are sure to see some fish jumping. The trail is in fair condition although there are quite a few downed trees along it. There are also some very dusty sections but this can be expected on many Washington trails this time of year. The main concern for most hikers would be the river crossing at the .75 mile mark. We found it best to remove our shoes and socks so we could walk barefoot across the approximately 50 feet of river that ranged from a few inches to a foot deep. I used trekking poles but still nearly slipped on the return trip. The road to this trailhead is in very bad shape in a few areas. Although 4 wheel drive isn’t necessarily required, there are some areas where clearance could be an issue. We were is a Land Rover LR4 and took it pretty slowly at around 10 mph in some areas. Our clearance gave us no problems with the road but a lower vehicle might have issues. We did see a 2019 Subaru Outback at the trailhead but the driver was surprised he made it. He said he went very slowly and carefully. A smaller Toyota behind us ended up turning back part way up.
★
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★
This is an adventurous 8 mile hike to an interesting lake that has marsh elements along a lot of its shoreline. The ascent for the trek only amounts to about 1700 feet of elevation gain and the lake is beautiful. You are sure to see some fish jumping. The trail is in fair condition although there are quite a few downed trees along it. There are also some very dusty sections but this can be expected on many Washington trails this time of year. The main concern for most hikers would be the river crossing at the .75 mile mark. We found it best to remove our shoes and socks so we could walk barefoot across the approximately 50 feet of river that ranged from a few inches to a foot deep. I used trekking poles but still nearly slipped on the return trip. The road to this trailhead is in very bad shape in a few areas. Although 4 wheel drive isn’t necessarily required, there are some areas where clearance could be an issue. We were is a Land Rover LR4 and took it pretty slowly at around 10 mph in some areas. Our clearance gave us no problems with the road but a lower vehicle might have issues. We did see a 2019 Subaru Outback at the trailhead but the driver was surprised he made it. He said he went very slowly and carefully. A smaller Toyota behind us ended up turning back part way up.
★
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★
3.8 mile loop from Tipsoo lake to Pacific Crest trail then hwy 410, back to Tipsoo lake. Beautifull views. Very crowded on the trail and vehicle parking. midweek or weekend.
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For a fall hike this was fairly easy with only 1000 feet of elevation. Cramer lake is only a field of weeds but continue on past the lake to the right to Otter lake and you won’t be disappointed. About 8 miles round trip.
★
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