I meant to climb Thorp Mountain via Lenox Creek but ended up on this trail by mistake. In addition, I missed the trailhead and walked a hour up the forest road before pulling out the route desciption and realizing I not only missed the trailhead, the trailhead I missed wasn't even for the hike I intended to do. I backtracked down the road practically all the way to the parking lot. Having done a 2-mile 1500+ ft. ""warmup"" I then headed up the Thorp Creek trail. The trail soon hits snow up to 3 ft. If not knee-deep snow, then you're walking in ankle-deep running water. It can be followed up to the junction with the Thorp Lake spur. From there it's completely buried. Without a topo I just climbed straight up to a col hoping to get some idea from there which one of the look-alike humps was Thorp Mountain. I could not quite figure it out and had to settle for the view from there through the trees. I confirmed the correct route up Thorp on a topo when I got home, and feel that it's too steep to be climbed in the current snow conditions. Try again in 4-6 weeks.

My doggie companions enjoyed their outing to Thorp Mtn. So did I. Due to time constraints, we just did an up and back on this trail # 1316. There are numerous ways to the top of Thorp Mtn. Yesterday turned blustery, but was good hiking weather generally speaking. The trail is basically in good shape, but there is a giant blow down that landed right in the trail about 1/2 way up or so that would certainly turn around stock. Near the top, there is quite a bit of snow in the trees, but it is easy to negotiate. Thorp Lake is melted out, but that is where the snow patches pretty much started. The lower section of the hike had kinnikinnick, lupine, columbine and paintbrush in bloom, once we got into the forest, trillium started and continued all the way to the top and coralroot was poking up. Midway to top was carpeted in spring beauties, some glacier lilies and in the bog areas, clumps of marsh marigolds. There was another clumpy white flower that I can't remember the name of that was out in the rocky areas. Our musical accompaniment was an olive sided flycatcher - ""quick 3 beers"". This is a nice trail with a variety of trees and some big ones here and there.

We took advantage of the new Loop Hikes Washington book to find a day loop hike fairly near Seattle. We ended up with Hike 53, Thorp Mountain. We included the side trips to Thorp Lake and Thorp Mountain lookout along with the loop. It was a bright, very warm, sunny day, and the flies were enjoying the sunshine as much as we were! The trail was in good shape. Thorp Lake was a beautiful gem, and we were really glad we made the quick side trip, especially when we spotted a Hermit Thrush near the lake. The scramble up to Thorp Mountain lookout wasn't bad, and the view of Rainier was spectacular! There is very little water between the junction of Thorp Creek trail and Little Jo lake, so stock up! The section of Red Mountain Trail that is included in this loop says ""Hard to Follow"" and it surely was. The trail is supposed to go right up and over the top of a 5357-foot outcrop, but we ended up flanking it on the south. We stumbled on a dozen elk, including three calves, in one of the small valleys along this section. Little Jo Lake was pretty low and not very appealing. There is water again heading out on Little Jo Lake trail, which you'll need because the trail gets quite dry and dusty before you're done. There were ripe and delicious huckleberries on the way in and on the way out from this loop. A great day overall!!

I hiked the Little Joe-Thorp Creek Loop described by Spring and Manning on a beautiful, clear day. The weather was hot, but most of the steep climb up to Little Joe Lake was shaded by second growth. Wood violets, vanilla leaf, and a few late trilliums were blooming here. I saw nary a soul til I got to the lake, and then only two people. Little Joe is a small, pretty mid-elevation lake with a greenish hue. It is shallow and has a thriving insect population, but they didn't disturb me during lunch. The Red Mountain trail joins the Little Joe Lake Trail on the east side, continuing around the lake and heading west toward No Name Ridge. A beautiful meadow graces the north end of Little Joe. Glacier lillies abounded among yellow monkeyflower and other damp-loving flowers. It is easy to lose the trail here. The high meadows between Little Joe and No-Name Ridge had spectacular spreads of phlox. The best wildflowers were near the pass between No-Name and Kachess Ridges. The Red Mountain trail is in very poor condition, with lots of blowdown and several places where the tread disappears suddenly. In one place it led right through a small pond behind a log dam. I was disheartened to see that the valley between No-Name and Kachess has been heavily logged, right up to the pass, which has been stripped of vegetation and boulders to make way for the end of a logging road. Once over the pass the trail quickly left the logged area, climbing through forest up Kachess Ridge to join the better-maintained Kachess Ridge Trail, also with blowdown. This follows the east side of the ridge in shade, and there was quite a bit of snow on the trail, soft enough for good tread. I took the side trip up to the picturesque Thorp Mountain Lookout and it was the highlight of the trip. The way is very steep, but flowers were at their peak and the views from the lookout are first rate. Mount Rainier towers above Kachess Lake. The top of Adams can be seen as well. In the opposite direction looms the Mt. Stuart batholith and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Thorp Lake may also be seen below. I saw the first people since Little Joe Lake, over 4 miles away. I stopped by Thorp Lake on the way down, but found it less appealing than the view from the lookout. It is low enough to be surrounded by brush, and close enough to the road to be crowded with campers. The Thorp Creek Trail runs mostly through second growth. The tread is badly damaged for most of the way, but nice stands of columbine and valerian help to compensate. One large stump along the trail has been carved into a throne. This loop is strenuous and not recommended for children, but the solitude, views, and flowers make it worth the effort.

The trail starts on an easy grade and then gets moderately steep as it climbs to the summit of Thorp Mountain, where there are excellent views. There is a manned lookout on top. There are many very brushy areas. Penstemon, pearly everlasting, thistle, cow parsnip, columbine, early salmonberry fruit, dewberry, daisy and paintbrush were seen. Deer and squirrel about. Bugs were biting. Sky mostly clear with moderate to warm temperatures. The connector trail from the junction with the Thorp Lake Trail to its junction with the Kachess Ridge Trail is labelled Thorp Mountain #1315.2 from below and Thorp Creek #1316 from above.