Scorpion Mountain via Johnson Ridge — Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

There's nothing better than playing hookie from work on a Friday to go hiking. We tried to do this hike a week ago but Beckler River Rd was a mess. Full of ice and blowdown. There was no way we could had made it up the FS roads to the trail. One week sure made a difference. All the ice and snow was gone on Beckler River Rd and the snow was patchy on FS Rd 6520 at the lower elevations. With a good 4WD vehicle we made it to the junction of 6520 & 6526 (about 3000') before calling it quits and parking the car. That meant we had to hike about 1.5 miles and 600' up the road to get to the Scorpion Mtn trailhead. Once you get to the trailhead you hike through a recent clearcut (maybe 10yrs old) for about 3/4 mi before reaching the ridge and entering the forest. This isn't the hike to do if you want spectacular views of the surrounding peaks. But, if you like hiking through old growth and enjoy the views of a ridge dropping off on both sides of you this is a great hike. We followed the ridge up to Sunrise Mtn (5056') and ate lunch in a clearing. To get to Scorpion Mtn one would drop 300' from Sunrise and then gain 500' to reach it's summit. We wanted a short hike so we headed back to the car. Stats: 7.5 miles, 2000' gain, 5 hours