Distance: 9.0 mi.
Elevation Gain: 3700 ft.
Going into spring the snowpack had been above normal but spring had been particularly sunny and dry. This meant a lot of snow up high yet, but south facing slopes were melting out well. Being in the Olympic rain shadow I thought Mt. Townsend would be a good candidate for a more ‘summer-like’ hike in May. I had hiked it before so I was hoping to tack on Welch Peaks as well, a short side trip south along the main ridge.
I convinced Josh and Melinda to join me and to hop on the first Edmonds-Kingston ferry of the day and cruised up the long but pretty nice forest service road in their Tesla, arriving at the trailhead around 8am. The beginning of the trial is uneventful, with a steady uphill gradient and a few switchbacks until traversing consistently westward before more switchbacks into the upper basin. The trail was snow free until these switchbacks at about 4600′. It was on and off snow, depending on the amount of sun exposure, the whole way to the trail split at about 5400′. From here we too the Silver Lake Trail to the southwest to gain the north ridge of Welch Peaks.
Once on the ridge we enjoyed a mostly snow free climbers trail which was easy to follow. We encountered a few brief scrambly bits but I would consider the trek to the summit to be class 3-, with just a few brief areas where hands were needed. I enjoyed this route and we definitely enjoyed this summit (arrived just before 10:30) to ourselves on a bluebird day. We lounged around for a while, snacked, and took a lot of pictures before deciding to head back down the ridge.
After making it back to the trail at the pass, we decided to head directly up to Mt. Townsend for a little extra exercise. It was easy going until reaching the trail again at about 5850′. From here it was easy going up the trail that was mostly melted out on south facing slopes except for a few flatter areas near the top. The views were again amazing but this time we had some other mountain enthusiasts to chat with. We arrived at the top at about 12:15 and were headed back down by 12:40.
The hike back down was uneventful besides a little more slipping and sliding down the snow. We were back at the car just after 2 after another great day out in the mountains.
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Recommended brew:
Gear Used:
- Aluminum ice axe (not used)
- Day pack
- Gaiters
- Glacier glasses
- GPS
- Helmet
- Trail runners
- Trekking poles
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