Last Saturday I headed up to the Green Mountain trail with the 40+ Meetup. This mountain definitely lives up to its name. It is green!
Here’s the stats per the WTA website:
Green Mountain Trailhead
8.5 miles round trip, 3,300 feet elevation gain, highest point 6,500 feet.
Location: Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Darrington Ranger District. No pass required.
For directions and trip reports visit: wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/green-mountain
The road to green mountain was recently rebuilt in 2014 after being destroyed by slides and flooding. It is partially paved, but the last 6 mile section is a rough dirt road up to the trailhead. We had two sedans that made it fine, but it was a bit long and rough.
The trail leads to a historic fire lookout, which has a great 360 degree (if not cloudy). Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day for us…but the clouds did keep us cool. Had it been sunny it would have been very hot.
On a clear day you will want to bring plenty of water as this trail does not have much tree cover after the first forested section. The fog and mist we had not only kept us cool, but provided some interesting perspective through the wooded portion of the trail.
The flowers along the trail were abundant. In parts it felt as if you almost needed a weed whacker, it was so beautiful. Near the top there were a ton of blueberry (or huckleberry – not sure which) bushes. The berries were not ripe yet, maybe mid-August.
The trail itself was a nice soft trail, easy hiking except for the climb. There were a couple of slippery spots where the trail was a little muddy. The middle section by the two ponds was quite buggy. Don’t forget your bug spray. After the 2 ponds the trail gains 1300 feet to the lookout. As I said before the trail is very exposed. On a sunny day bring a lot of sunscreen, water and a good sun hat. You will want a jacket or another layer for the top, as it can be cool when it is breezy – and when you are sweaty from you workout.
Here are some pictures from the mid-section of the trail. This is where the majority of the flowers were. It was cloudy on our way up, but we got lucky that the clouds cleared on our way back. I took so many pictures on this trip!
Once you pass this area you go over a saddle and down into an area with the ponds…don’t forget you will have one more uphill on the way back, ugh.
The final section of the trail is the big climb to the top. Keep your eyes and ears open for marmots, we could hear them whistling all the way up. We also came across a family of Quail.
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