Evergreen Mountain Lookout Trip Report

On August 23rd, Kendra Wanzenried and Joanie Pryor headed out from Monroe to the Evergreen Mountain Lookout trailhead. The day was anticipated to be warm/hot so we were glad to start early and that we would begin at a fairly high elevation. It took us about an hour and 35 to 40 minutes to reach the trailhead on a road that is very well maintained and presented no problems. The hike up and back including a leisurely lunch at the lookout took 4 hours.

There are several features about this trail that make it worth the endeavor:

• The elevation gain is swift and short!!! Less than 1.5 miles to the lookout. Although steep most of the way, panoramas come into view at just the right spots to stop, rest, and enjoy.

• At this time of year, there are blueberries galore to enjoy and we did.

• The trail winds in and out of shady spots for which we were grateful as the day was quite warm.

• The views from the lookout are comparable to few experienced in 50 years of hiking in the Cascades. We enjoyed Glacier, Monte Cristo, Rainier, Sloan Peak, Pugh, and many others whose identities we did not know. I don’t remember if we saw Baker – perhaps not as it was pretty hazy from the fires in the Olympics.

This is definitely a hike well worth doing for blueberries, views, and a good workout.