It was an easy drive to the trailhead coming from Granite Falls, paved the whole way, with a large parking lot (shared with Mt. Dickerman hikers). There were maybe only half a dozen cars present when I arrived at around 9a, and the pit toilet was open/available, still stocked with toilet paper. The trail was very peaceful with some fall foliage making an appearance, though not at peak. I went all the way to the meadows and didn't run into anyone until I was returning to the trailhead. Crossing the creek, there are a couple pink ties on branches that helped point out the correct path, the trail was a little overgrown getting near the meadows, and there was one small detour around a blowdown in the latter portion of the trail, but overall it wasn't too hard for me to follow.

It was a beautiful hike on a sometimes steep and rocky trail. The forecast rain never came. AllTrails had predicted very poor air quality, but the air was clear. Fall colors are beginning to show, but the peak of color is yet to come. Three of us turned around at the falls for a 6.6 mile hike, with 1,545 feet of elevation gain. The other three continued up the steep part for another hour and a half, not quite reaching the meadow.

Only a few parking spots left when we arrived at 10am on this Sunday, with the majority heading for Mt. Dickerman. We encountered about 6 other parties the whole day.

Fall colors are starting with Mountain Ash being the star of the show in the valley. Blueberries are abundant starting about 1/2 mile below the meadow. Big, juicy, and easy to pick since most of the leaves have fallen off the bushes. I was surprised and happy to see no evidence of late-season angry yellow jackets along the way. 

The elevation starts in earnest after crossing Perry Creek, which is an easy, mostly dry crossing. The viewpoint before the meadow was worth the short side trail as was walking the steep trail up to Peak 5396. We spent a long time enjoying the views. Unfortunately, smoke obscured many surrounding peaks and then cleared considerably after we headed down!

We stopped often to eat berries and took several breaks. Returned to find we were one of just 3 cars left in the parking lot around 6:20 pm. Another great day in the mountains!

Bears, berries and fall color made this quite a memorable hike!

Parking lot was 3/4 full when I arrived, and started on trail at 9:30am. Trail is pretty mellow and smooth cruising for the first couple miles until transitioning to the rocky open leafy slopes. It’s a wide range of fall color right now. Much of the undergrowth is past prime. Vine maples, alder and ash are at prime. And, many of the large deciduous trees haven’t started turning yet.

The creek above the falls was easily crossed with mostly dry rockhopping. From there, the steeper forested section to the ridge was mainly clear with only a couple logs to step over.

Just before the ridge at 5k’ I took the Stillaguamish climber’s trail west. The junction is pretty obvious if you’re looking for it and has a couple branches laid across on the ground. From here to the peak the path is mainly easy to follow most of the way. It gets faint in some areas, and has some fun route finding problems to solve. But, overall, a pretty clean trail for a climber’s path.

The way begins descending through a short section of forest before opening up into a beautiful landscape of wide open colorfully carpeted huckleberry and blueberry slopes. TONS of berries, all perfectly ripe. Needless to say, travel here was slow but delicious. I had a feeling I was going to see some bears, and I did. 3 on the way out, and 3 on the return. All were fairly close to the trail, but easy to spot from a distance. They were all in berry-mode and not really concerned about me, and it was super cool watching them in their element.

The 3rd bear was pretty much on trail near the final ridge crest before getting to the Stilly summit block. The bear eventually moved on but just farther down the trail and in the direction I needed to go. Not wanting to ‘chase’ a bear, I hiked slowly making noise most of the way.

Once cresting the last ridge before the summit climb, the trail gets faint and crosses a very exposed notch. There are some narrow ledges just past the notch covered with scree that look kinda sketchy at first, but aren’t too bad if you’re comfortable with class 2/3 exposure. The bear had no trouble in this section, moving fast with no hesitation. Pretty impressive.

Just past the ledges, I picked a route up the last 150 feet or so to the summit. It’s still fairly exposed all the way up over scree-covered rocks, mainly class 2 with a couple class 3 moves at the top.

Finally topped out at 1:15pm. And, the summit views wayyy exceeded my expectations. For only a 5700’ peak, it felt much loftier with amazing 360 views of all the Mountain Loop peaks (and beyond) in every direction. Views of the entire upper ridge traverse were spectacular, and I found it to be a great perch for bear-watching.

Enjoyed the summit for an hour and a half before heading down. Before descending I scoped out the ridge route one last time and could see 2 bears at different areas near the trail in the direction I was headed. Definitely added a little spice & excitement to the trek back!

Along the way, I made sure the bears would hear me before they saw me, and most of the ridge traverse was uneventful until coming to the final meadow. There, a large black bear was staring at me, about 50 yards away, just off trail up slope. I stopped immediately, making noise, waving my arms, etc. Undeterred by my commotion, the bear proceeded to sit down in the blueberries, facing me directly, looking pretty unamused. Wasn’t expecting this, and got me kinda unnerved really. But, after about 5 minutes of this, the bear got up and sauntered into the trees. Whew.

The rest of the way back felt fairly benign compared to all the excitement on the ridge. It was good to get through the rocky sections of trail down low and back to the flats, finishing up just after 6pm. What a worthy peak, and an experience I won’t soon forget! 14.3 miles / 4,573’ gain

Oh, you work for this one, but it is so, so great. Starting from the beginning...

To Perry Creek Falls:

Rocky trail, can be slippery at times. Great shape!

To the Meadows:

Cross the stream, and look for a flag indicating the correct path. The log looks inviting, but take the flagged trail instead. This next chunk is mostly in forest on nice trail. There are occasional roots and slippery parts, but overall, this is tame compared to what's to come. A few trees down that you will have to climb over. It gets steeper towards the end. And you know you are almost to the meadows when the blueberries and fall colors start to appear! Berries are ripe below the meadows, but nearing the end. The meadows are just so, so gorgeous. Take some time just to soak it all in and just to exist. Tarn is dry.

To Mt. Forgotten summit:

There are two parts here that I found the hardest. The first one is the sheer drop right after the meadows. Whew! I kinda just scooted down on my butt at times and other times tried to use my poles. I held on to plants, roots, trees, dirt, you name it, for dear life. My hands were filthy afterwards! It's loose dirt, so slippery, and not many rocks to provide traction. Anyway, I eventually made it. Some pink ribbon helped in the parts immediately after the descent, but the trail is pretty easy to determine overall. I got off trail once as I traversed, but I quickly re-found it. For an unmaintained trail, it was pretty good! I still highly recommend you download an offline map, because I did use it a few times.

I finally reached the also-dry tarn right below the gully leading to the summit. This is also a beautiful area to explore. The gully sucked, plain and simple. It was okay to go up, but coming down was very difficult. Better hope you roll a Nat 20 in acrobatics (if you know, you know), because you're gonna need it. (I'll come back to this soon.) Anyway, after the gully, the trail is still steep, but much better. And before you know it, you are at the summit block! I started early and had it all to myself. Absolutely beautiful views in all directions. I lucked out, because the haze hadn't returned yet. I think my favorite part though might have been the view way back to the meadows...they looks so teeny and far away!

After some snacks, I picked my way down. The gully, once again, I mostly went down on my butt, I tried to find a few scrambly-bits, but it was once again, mostly just loose, slippery dirt. It was slow-going, and poles were not helpful here. Once back on the trail, I cruised back to the meadows, passing several groups in the process. Remember you have to gain back that elevation you dropped. Going up wasn't nearly as bad as going down.

The return all the way back to the trailhead was uneventful. Happy to have my poles, because it's a lot of downhill. I love this hike, and can't wait to come back!!! Hopefully earlier next season, because I bet the meadows are glorious in July!