We took advantage of the beautiful weather this Sunday to hike Ellinor, one of our favorite Washington hikes. Road conditions kept us from reaching the actual trailhead but we were able to park just one mile from it and hike from the lower trailhead. Some off road jeeps were able to get to the lower trailhead but in our 4wd vehicle we were still unable to get further than a mile out. Once we hit the trailhead, the lower section, with a mix of dirt and snow, didn’t require micro spikes until about a mile in.
We ditched our snow shoes at the upper trailhead junction and didn’t need them for any part of the trail. Once we started on the section at the second upper trailhead, route finding skills were helpful since many people had made their own trails to avoid the previously utilized switchbacks. The trail became more defined after the junction of the summer and winter trails, shortly after which we approached the initial gully.
As we approached the initial gully, we were met with heavy, wet, mashed potato-like snow conditions. The snow pack was stable but challenging to get through. As we got further up, we relied more heavily on our ice axes and were happy to have microspikes.
The ascent from the bottom of the gully to where we stopped took us about an hour in total and we finished out at the false summit and got beautiful views of Rainier, Adams and St. Helens. On our way down, there were a few glissade shoots that you could slide down, but be cautious of hikers coming up. Three of the four of us were inexperienced with ice axes but were still able to complete this strenuous hike. Winter gear (poles, microspikes, axes) is definitely recommended but it is very manageable for moderately experienced hikers.
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