Spent a couple of day exploring Kachess Ridge, French Cabin Mountain, and Thorp Mountain Lookout. Lots of variety of wildflowers out, along with magnificent views along the way on the ridge walk from the headwaters of Silver Creek at French Tongue, all the way over to Thorp Mountain Lookout. Also there were a lot of wildflowers up on the higher slopes of French Cabin Mountain

A couple of notes:

-Excellent water source at the creek crossing at the Silver Creek Tie and Kachess Ridge trail. Fill up with water here, as there is no more water sources all the way to Thorp Lookout. The water crossing here was pretty deep.

-There are a couple of snow patches just north of French Tongue where the trail drops down to where the Kachess Ridge trail meets up with the French Cabin Creek Trail There is also a super steep large patch of snow with some bad runout just below Hard Knox on the way to Thorp Lookout. I had to kick in steps to cross this section

-The trail from French Tongue all the way to Thorp Lookout involves numerous ups and downs. These can be tiring on a hot day. I'm glad I had lots of water, as I drank most of it

Didn't see anyone either day, except on Thorp Lookout, as there was a pair of hikers at the lookout as I arrived on Saturday afternoon, and then a few other hikers heading on up the final steep section to the lookout, as I was heading down.

Fantastic couple of days! Good to escape the heat, as it wasn't so bad up at elevation

Used this backdoor route to hike up to the Thorp Mountain lookout, less than 5 mi roundtrip.

Road Conditions. Rd 4308 had some potholes, but looked fine for any vehicle. The 2 miles on Rd 4308 were rough and slow, but the worst section appeared to have been patched up a bit, and is now passable for any vehicle with decent clearance and AWD. No signage at the trailhead, just a pullout with plenty of space.

Trail Conditions. The Knox Creek trail was a bit overgrown, but still easy to follow. Should have left the folding saw at home and brought some shears instead... No issues with the Kachess Ridge or Thorp Mountain trails.

Crowds. Saw no one on the Knox Creek and Kachess Ridge trails, but a dozen or so parties on the Thorp Mountain trail, including at the (locked) lookout.

all snow above 3600ft. boot trail in the snow pretty much disappears after the northern most trail junction to kachess beacon. 

We went on 9/2 and the weather was pretty nice. We wanted to do a sunset hike, but didn't anticipate how bad the road was. We had to park a good 2.5 KM from the trailhead because the road was so bad.

You really need a high clearance vehicle to get through that last leg. Some pictures are attached.

Incidentally, this was our first time on the trail and we completely went past the trailhead. We were following Google Maps which shows a white arch that goes past the mark where the trailhead is. This is because we were expecting the trailhead to be clearly marked as with other trails, but it wasn't. I think there's a small wooden plaque but it's very hidden and we didn't see it on the way up or on the way down, so we completely missed the trail.

At the trailhead you're supposed to do some switchbacks which is where the trail really starts but we didn't spot it, so it must be very overgrown.

I finally went on CalTopo and there the trail is marked. A bit of a bummer but we still had a nice time.

Well, a 90 degree day is not the best choice for this hike. But I started at 5pm so it was pleasant by the time I reached the lookout at light's golden hour. This trail is a challenge to get to and to hike. But its solitude is just what I was looking for.

Trail: short but steep. I found the first 1.2 miles up the mountainside to reach the ridge to be the most difficult. Steep, slippery with dirt and scree, and eroded in places. The shrubbery is overgrown into the trail, but not so much that you can't see the trail at your feet. Once the ridge is gained, a flat forested section allows you to catch your breath. Then the final 0.3 miles to the lookout gets steep again but with better foot holds. A great leg and cardio workout. Trekking poles would have been very helpful, but I forgot them back in the car.

Lookout: was locked. There may have been a hornet or yellowjackets nest near the lookout as I was harrassed by them throughout my time at the peak. Fortunately, no stings.

Views: wildfire haze obscured distant and intermediate views. But what could be seen was beautiful. Eastern views were a bit clearer. Mt Stuart and its range shone through the haze. Kachess Lake was barely visible. Mt Rainier not visible except in vague outline.

Wildlife: none except for some small ground squirrels, and two very large vultures (I think) just off the road.

Road: Google Maps routed me correctly and matched WTAs description. USFS 4308 (French Cabin Cr Road) is fine for all car types. USFS 4308-120 (Knox Creek Road) to the trailhead is unpleasant and for high clearance only. Rocky, rutty, branches thrashing, and a few areas of unavoidable gulley on one side of the road. Fortunately, it's only 2 miles. More specifically, mile 0 - 1 on Knox Creek Rd has some bad areas but it's a little more doable. Miles 1.0 - 1.5 is the worst. Then the last 0.5 miles to the trailhead is rough but smooths out slightly. In a Subaru Forester, I was able to make it within 0.7 miles of the trailhead before I called it quits, pulled over to a perfect car-sized pullout, parked, and walked the rest of the way to the trailhead. Making things more challenging, there are very few pull outs or areas that you can park during those 2 miles. So if you are sweating it in your car, I'd recommend pulling off somewhere between miles 1 - 1.3 on Knox Creek Rd.

Stats: 6.1 miles total (with the extra road walk). 1.5 hours up, 1.4 hours down.