Thought I could squeak by without snowshoes but I thought wrong! We turned around at 2.7 miles/5400 ft due to thigh high post holing. It didn't seem worth the continued struggle as things were getting increasingly socked in. I think this was kind of a poor choice for a shoulder season hike - it's steep and rocky in a way that's difficult when wet, and kind of awkward to navigate with snow. Not great for full winter either due to avalanche danger. I will return in a different season!

The road to the trailhead, while very very short, was a little rough. Some cars could potentially struggle to get to the trailhead parking. When we arrived there was a minivan parked on the side of highway 2 likely because they were not able to get to the trailhead.

The trail was in good condition. Only a couple of very small blowdowns.  The prior trip report mentioned that the trail was overgrown in places, this is no longer the case.  We counted over one hundred switchbacks!  I didn't feel any exposure on the way up, but on the way down there were a couple of sections that gave me a little pause. There are sections where the trail is pretty sandy, rocky, and narrow and the consequence for tripping would be quite the tumble!

The fail foliage was beautiful on this hike! It is quiet breathtaking as you finish the last of the switchbacks and come to a viewpoint of Rock Mountain, Rock Lake and the surrounding ridges. The views from the summit were spectacular as well, we could see Glacier, Baker, Sloan, Kyes, White Chuck, Stuart and many more. 

Thought we would try our hand at a trip up Rock Mountain even though there are no trip reports from this season. We quickly found out this was for good reason.

We arrived at around 8 am to a fully empty parking lot that remained empty for the entire day. Our goal was to beat the worst of the heat, which was definitely helpful as during the descent, the exposure of the switchbacks was very severe.

The switchbacks are definitely very steep which is manageable except for a few sections with very loose dirt that makes it slightly slick. The trail itself is quite overgrown on the lower half — it’s very clear not many people have hiked it recently.
We made it near the summit, but not quite all the way due to the snowfields. Though melting quickly, it’s probably best to try this one in early July. On our way down, some of the snowfields made it difficult to find the trail and we did a lot of backtracking. We also had microspikes which are definitely necessary at this point in time. The mosquitoes were also extremely bad in the snow covered areas, as the rapid melt contributed to a lot of standing water.  

The views were beautiful regardless! Having done this hike a couple years ago later in the season, it’s definitely gorgeous at the summit! Just give it a few weeks :)

Arrived to an empty parking lot just after 6. There are some giant potholes right at the entrance but then you just park. The trail looks like you could drive up the first part past the sign but quickly becomes too steep for most vehicles so don't.

Rock Mountain felt like a great summit for the shoulder season as most of the steeps are early on in the hike and therefore below the snow line. We were the only hikers on the trail today I'm guessing for the forecast. Luckily, this trail is largely protected from westerly winds as much of it is in the lee of the spur headed up to Rock Lake. In several places we could see tree tops blowing over but the wind was perfectly calm on the trail. This made the hike relatively pleasant despite the inclement weather riding in to close down fall. The rain turned to snow at about 5000 ft. There are a few downed trees across the trail in the switchback section down lower but otherwise this was less challenging than many other peaks in the area. The trail was well defined all the way to the summit even with an inch or so of fresh snow.

My GPS had 9.2 miles from the trail sign with 4200' of elevation and just over 6 hours round trip.

Compared to some of the other trails accessible off of Hwy 2 east of Stevens Pass, this is perhaps the only one anyone can access without a high clearance vehicle, as the trailhead is right off of the highway. Except for a trail sign that exists at the trailhead, I did not see any other signs until far up the trail. Therefore you must pay attention to the trail description because there are a few confusing junctions early in the hike. Once you reach the trail above the power lines the confusion ends. Some have pointed out that this is not a very popular trail and as a result is not well maintained. This is perhaps all true, but I really had little issue with the trail as it zigzags up the ridge. After about two hours of hiking the climb eases up a little and spectacular views begin to open up. The trail continues to climb, but in a slightly less steep way. After about three or four hours of hiking you will reach the junction with the Nason Ridge Trail. Go left and head up the mountain. The day I was there the summit was shrouded in clouds and there was freezing rain, so I did not stay long on the summit before heading back down. The entire hike - up and down - took me about eight to nine hours to do. Only saw three other hikers that day.