Ascent of Mount Walker on 2015-07-09| Date: | Thursday, July 9, 2015 | | Ascent Type: |  Successful Summit Attained | | Peak: | Mount Walker | | Location: | USA-Washington | | Elevation: | 2804 ft / 854 m | Ascent Trip Report
This is one of those trails that I thought I might never get around to hiking, since it's a long drive out to Quilcene for a relatively short (2 miles each way) hike, plus there's a road to the top which makes the effort unnecessary. Glad I finally did it anyway!
I was staying in the bustling metropolis of Quilcene, WA for work and decided that the weather was just too nice to not get out for a hike (besides, there really isn't anything else to do in Quilcene, which is neither bustling nor a metropolis). Even though I've been to the summit of Mount Walker several times via the Forest Service road, I figured that doing this trail would provide some worthwhile exercise in the limited amount of time that I had available.
The trail starts across from a small parking area just a quarter of a mile beyond the gate at Hwy. 101 (gate closed seasonally), and climbs steadily upward right from the get-go. The entire trail is within lush second growth forest, and there are no views to be had until reaching the viewpoint at the top. That's ok, however-- the forest itself is quite beautiful and peaceful. After leaving the road at the bottom of the mountain it is not seen again until/unless traversing between the North and South viewpoints at the top, and I didn't encounter any other hikers on the trail at all on this gorgeous Thursday afternoon. There were a few folks who had driven up there who were quite surprised to see a very sweaty, out-of-breath hiker emerge from the forest, though!
This trail is in excellent shape: no obstacles, washouts, or other impediments at all. I did have some difficulty keeping my footing on the the loose surface gravel while descending (fell on my butt a couple of times, and nearly did so many more!). Better footwear (I was wearing worn-out Keen sandals, 'cause that's all I had with me) and trekking poles would have helped significantly in this regard. Fantastic views from both North and South viewpoints at the top, and the entire trip took me about 2.5 hours (a little more than 1 hour up, a little less than one hour down, and about half an hour at the top, including time at each viewpoint). Great day :-) |
| Summary Total Data | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail | | Weather: | Pleasant, Calm, Clear |
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