Granite Mountain Hike

10 October 2012

Enlarge to see the lookout just to the left of C.J.'s head

C.J. and I should have done this hike years ago while we were relatively hale and healthy. It's a bit more than four miles to the summit fire lookout and about 3800 vertical feet to gain, making the hike about equivalent to Mt. Si. The advantages to hiking Granite Mountain are that the summit is 1000 feet higher and much of the trail is in the open.Also the mountain is farther into the Cascade Range and there is a good view in all directions.

C.J. on the traverse toward the summit

Knowing that we would take a slow pace, we got a relatively early start - on the trail close to 0900. The trailhead parking lot had a half-dozen vehicles so we could expect some company on this trip - fewer hikers than Si but more than Bare Mtn. We had snowshoed up to the Pratt Lake trail jct and on up a few switchbacks to a viewpoint on one of the slides a couple of winters ago - maybe 1 1/2 miles. This time we continued across the slides (the first crossing showed a lot of avalanche damage) and up the switchbacks above until we broke out into the open. The fall color had been getting better as we climbed and it continued to improve as we ended the long eastward trending switchback and started up the ridge toward the distant summit.

 At around 4600 ft we crossed a basin with several dry ponds, granite slabs, and full of colorful huckleberry bushes.

G at the basin, dry this year

We stuck with the official trail climbing to the north of the ridge leading to the summit. At around 5200 ft we crossed a meadow that reminded me of the scenery in Rocky Mountain NP, and began the final climb up the north side of the summit to the fire tower at 5629 ft. We were glad to make it there just at our time-to-turn-around, 1300. We took time for a lunch break and some more photos before starting back down. Surprisingly, my knees did not give me much pain, but C.J. had problems with the neuroma on the sole of her left foot and the arthritis in her hip. We still managed to be out of the woods before 1730 but were slightly astonished to meet folks heading up the trail even as the light began to take on the hues of late afternoon.