Evergreen Mountain Lookout — Saturday, Jul. 1, 2023

Did this hike today with my six year old, who has little legs but has been hiking with me since he was three. We got to the trailhead just before dawn, air temperature was a hair under 50 f at the trailhead and not more than 60 at the top, and there was just a tiny bit of breeze, and bugs were not a problem at all. At his pace the ascent took about an hour and twenty minutes, and I don't think I would have done it much faster by myself. There were a few small patches of snow left on the trail in the shade. We heard ptarmigans (edit: sooty grouse) well before we saw one at the summit - they sound like much larger animals. The view from the top absolutely lives up to the hype. Descent took one hour.

The road was fine in a Golf Alltrack but I'm not sure I would have wanted to do it in anything less. Kid fell fast asleep in the car on the way back down. Allow an hour from Rte 2 to the trailhead, it's not too bumpy but any quicker and you're probably going too fast for the many blind corners and slippery gravel.

Six year old adds: "My dad and I went hiking on the trail and the bugs weren't so bad. The view was great. It was a bit steep but not too steep. If you have your children tell them the story of the hare and the tortoise if you know it. We heard and then saw a ptarmigan. Let's tell them what it sounded like too, it went hmm hmm hmm hmm."