I went up to Tongue Mountain using the High Bridge Trail #193 route just to give me a couple of extra miles and make for a bit of a longer hike. Not much to see on #193, even the bridge was gone. The first half of that trail is fairly tame, but the second half is steeper and heavily rutted from previous motorcycle use. With the bridge out, it's supposed to be closed to bikes, but those ruts are a good 2-3 feet deep in places and extremely narrow. I was tripping over my own feet.

At the intersection of Tongue Mountain Trail #194, I met a group of 3 motorcycles and we passed and re-passed each other 4 or 5 times until I got to the hiker-only junction trail leading to the summit. All of the trails are well-signed and finding the way to the top was no problem. This trail also was not too steep until the turn towards the summit.

As I approached the summit I ran into a group of mountain bikers at the saddle between the two main peaks of Tongue mountain. To the right was the lower peak with nearly 360° views from Rainier to Adams to St. Helens. Awesome! To the left was a pretty tame scramble that led to the higher peak with a solitary campsite and an outcropping of trees that blocked any views. There was a bit of snow there, but nothing major.

Overall I think it was about 7 miles and it took me about 4 hours, including lunch at the top. I didn't see any other hikers, but did see the five or six mountain bikers and around eight trail bikes. But it was a gorgeous sunny day and the views at the top were totally worth it.

We did this hike after finishing Juniper ridge trail. Both start at the same trail head.

A note re the road to the trail head - the last stretch of road (4 miles) has sudden holes and ruts. Managed to get to the trail head with a Camry but it was a little stretching the limits for a sedan. We gutted out numerous times.

The ascent took 45 mins. Once at the top of the trail, you can turn right and walk 2-3 minutes on a steep trail to get on top of a rocky area with great views of Adams and St Helens.

You can also turn left for somewhat steep scramble to the true peak. The scramble isn't too bad, just go slowly, no real exposure. At the top you get additional views to the west, but I would say, it's not mandatory.

The descent took half an hour.

The trail is a bit over grown in places, but nothing too bad.

Not sure I would drive here just for this trail, but as a combined day with Juniper ridge, it was very nice

Tongue was a bonus. We came to the Dark Divide area to hike Juniper and Sunrise. Those peaks just happen to share the trail head with Tongue so we piggy-backed this hike on the night before.

It was drizzly and 5 PM when we arrived. Despite being cocktail hour I coerced my partner into “a quick run up Tongue”. The trail is in great shape and offers no real challenges until the end. Flowers kept us entertained and, although there is motorcycle usage on this trail it wasn’t bad. After a mile or so a right-hand turn takes you up towards the former fire lookout.

The side trail has remnants of a 100 year old sheep corral, although it is nothing more than old boards now. The switch-backing trail to the summit is moderately overgrown. After a half mile or so a saddle is reached. The wind was blowing a bit and the drizzle was drenching things. My partner decided to remain at the saddle while I scrambled to the fog-shrouded summit.

There were no views to be had. I looked around briefly for any remnants of the fire lookout but found none. It would be a lovely spot for a bivy and a campfire.

Round trip took us <2 hours. We identified ~3 dozen different wild flowers.

The final road to the trailhead (2904) is a little rough, but passable with a front wheel sedan like I have as long as you go slow and watch for large rocks and branches. Only hiked from the Tongue Mountain trail up the hiker trail to the top. The hiker trail is a little overgrown with beargrass, so you'll want to watch for bees as you walk along (only saw honey bees and bumblebees). No major obstacles besides overgrowth. There are some soft rock spots at the top so you'll want to watch where you step.

Beautiful views of the mountains and of Cispus River, well worth the quick/steep hike!

Went on a Tuesday and we were the only people on the trail. The first half is shared with bikers (and has deep ruts) so weekends probably wouldn't be as pleasant. Great view of Mt. Rainier and Cispus River (3000 ft. below) from Tongue Mountain. Still a few wildflowers blooming. Drive past the trailhead to a clearcut from 2016 for a view of Mt. Adams and Tongue Mountain.