The plan had been to get up early and summit Mt. Pilchuck near dawn, but we slept again. It might have been the most restful night that I’ve spent on the ground. After some time at the river near the campground we headed to granite falls through hwy 530 and a myriad of country back roads.
Mt. Pilchuck is a very picturesque mountain, and from the north it reminded me a lot of Mt. Hood, only much smaller and less snow covered. It was steep, but not nearly as much as Snowking Mountain. On the way up to the summit we saw three dachshunds making the ascent with their owners. I was impressed that the little dogs could climb such a mountain. We climbed at a very fast and steady pace until about halfway up the mountain I smelled fresh blueberrys. Our progress was significantly slower after that.
Once we reached the summit we had to scramble up a few boulders to climb the ladder to the lookout tower. The view was impressive, but again would have been much better without the clouds and smog. The only nearby mountains we could see well were three fingers and Glacier Peak. On a clearer day we could have seen many other peaks, including Rainer, Baker and the Olympic mountains. Pilchuck was definitely a mountain that I enjoyed climbing and would not mind returning to. There were some rocks that looked like they would have been fun to climb, and a very picturesque and secluded lake that would be fun to camp at.
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