Mowich Lake Snowshoe, Grindstone Trail & Tolmie Peak Lookout - Eunice Lake — Wednesday, Jun. 7, 2023

July 7th is the estimated date for the opening of the gate to Mowich Lake.    I thought I would see if I could get up to Tolmie Peak Lookout for sunrise and some solitude before the crowds hit in a month.  I also wanted to check out the snow levels around Mowich Lake.

I will break down my trip report for ease of reporting conditions.

Paul Peak TH to Tolmie Lookout TH using Grindstone Trail:  I parked at the PP TH.  The first 2 mi of Mowich Lake Rd to the Grindstone trail was snow free.  Grindstone trail is primarily snow free throughout.  Snow is present when approaching a road crossing.  There was a little mud on the trail as well.  The last portion of the trail just before jumping back up to Mowich Lk Rd has the most snow.  

There is a decent boot path throughout the Grindstone trail making it easy to follow.  Once off of the Grindstone trail and back on Mowich Lk Rd, the short distance to the Tolmie TH is snow covered.  However, I was able to walk the edge of the road for ease of travel.

Tolmie TH to Eunice Lake:  The trail is primarily snow free until just below the Eunice Lake basin.  There are a few snow patches over this 1.6 mi of trail.  Nothing difficult to cross.  I was more stunned by how dry the trail was for this time of year.  Like tinder dry.  One spark in this area and there could be a major problem.

Note:  I checked out Ipsut Pass.  That was snow free as well.

Eunice Lake Basin:  Eunice Lake is still frozen!  Major snow starts about 300 ft below the basin.  The basin snow averages from 4-8 feet.  Navigation or map is needed if you don’t know the area.  This is always a tough area to cross in soft snow.  

I only postholed once.  My entire left leg dropped through.  Never touched the ground.  Wasn’t over a creek.  Guessing it was a tree well.  Hard to tell with so much snow still around the lake.  I was able to recover easily and moved on.  There is the Eunice Lake drainage that normally has a bridge/log for crossing. It is currently under about 6 feet of snow.  If you were to fall through a false snow bridge at this point, it is not a rushing river.  You may get wet. Not super dangerous.  I would worry more about getting too close to the edge of the lake if one gets off trail.  

West end of Eunice Lake up to the lookout:  Once past the lake basin, the trail is snow free on the east facing switchbacks.  After the last switchback or the last 0.3 mi to the lookout, significant snow is present again.  Navigation is needed as I did notice a couple of snow cornices, albeit small, on the west side of the trail.

I enjoyed sunrise and solitude at the lookout before heading back down.  Glacier Peak and Mt St Helens were both visible this morning.  

Mowich Lake Campground:  I decided to swing up to the lake to check conditions.  Mowich Lake has almost completely melted out.  However, like Eunice Lake, there is significant snow around the lake making travel difficult.  The campground is still under 2-3 feet of snow.  The privies are open and stocked.

Mowich Lake CG back to Grindstone trail:  Ughhhh….  This 0.5 mi of Mowich Lk Rd is primarily snow covered for this section. No way around it.  I had to trudge through soft snow from Mowich Lk to the Grindstone trail.

All in all it was a great day.  I did not see a single individual the entire hike!!