With Love and Luck: Mt. Pilchuck

Saturday, December 10th my brother Cody and I headed out of Seattle around 7:30 am to conquer Mt. Pilchuck in Mt.Baker Snoqualmie National Forest. The drive there was a little foggy but we had our fingers crossed that the air would clear so we could see the incredible view from the hike. We were unable to drive to the trailhead due to snow and ice conditions so we had to park and walk. The walk was approximately 30 minutes to the trail head. The skies ahead looked nice and clear. This hike was unlike others I had been on. A nice open, clear view throughout the forest with the sun trying to peak through. The climb was steady until about 2 hours into the hike. The snow cover increased but was packed down pretty well so it made it easy to walk along without snow shoes. As we continued to climb up the visibility became less and less and the snow began to fall. The vertical climb seemed to become steeper and steeper as we neared the lookout tower. Finally, we reached the top as the snow started to fall heavier. Inside the tower we took a break to eat our sandwich and rest up. After about 20 minutes we opened the door up to start on down and the snow was falling faster and the fog a little heavier. Unfortunately, we had no views of the surrounding mountains or forest. The hike back down took about a third of the time it took to get back up. Sliding down from trail to trail made the trek so much more enjoyable. We ran into about 4 other groups heading to the top around 1 pm. We were unsure why they were heading up so late in the day especially since the visibility was so bad. After approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes and 5,340 ft we made it back to the trial head safely. Enjoy the photos below..

Our view from the trailhead.