A beautiful fall day to hike the shorter route from Knox Creek trail, 4.5 miles with elevation gain of approx 1650' to lookout. We had to leave one car parked 1 mile short of very small parking area due to worsening road conditions, but our other higher clearance SUV did fine so we carpooled from there.
Elevation gain starts quickly through a series of switchbacks up mountainside of beautiful fall foliage ducking into stands of evergreens at time. Trail pretty narrow and surface treacherous at times with erosion on the downhill side. Poles are recommended and I hardly ever use them. At intersection, about 1.8 miles up, follow Kachess Ridge trail for final push to the top. This was a hard 2.4 miles with elevation gain but so worth it. 360 degrees of mountains greet you at the top and with clear day, we could see all the way to Mt. Adams to the south.
Comments