Photos from this trip can be found here.
NOTE: Lookout Mountain northeast of Oyster Dome.
Mostly, if not all, road walk to the top. A snowshoe trip would probably have made the ascent much less monotonous. Weather on this side of the mountains got progressively better by mid morning, and then sunny the rest of the day.
Pup and I arrived at the gated entrance with a dozen or so cars parked in the lot. On the way in before the first stream crossing, a gal and her golden Retriever were coming back from their hike. We were curious as to how the two SUVs that drove past us earlier got past the gate. Perhaps the drivers were local residents with key access.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
To relieve boredom from road walk and to avoid any more vehicle encounters, pup and I left the road at mile two and scrambled up the north-northeast ridge toward the radio tower summit. After hopping over many down trees at the beginning, we unexpectedly stumbled upon what appeared to be a technical bike trail and started hiking instead.
Parts of the trail shot straight up steep hills completed with ramps, now that’s some technical riding! At times trail wound through the forest away from the ridge, but generally headed in the direction we wanted. Eventually the trail came out onto the road at 2,600′ right below the summit tower.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Views were minimal, but we got a glimpse of the Puget Sound islands. Behind us to the west, top of Mount Baker squeezed itself through a tiny opening in the thick forest. With not much else to see, we left and headed to the other close-by radio facility down the road.
The lower radio facility would most likely be the happening place during high season, talk about panoramic views! From Straight of Georgia down to Skagit Bay, many of the Puget Sound islands were visible albeit under a blanket of haze. Chukanut Mountain, including Oyster Dome, stretched out before us on the other side of Lake Samish.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
With plenty of time left in the day, I decided to pay the south peak a visit. So after lunch we hiked down the road to the saddle between the main and the south summits. Luckily, another technical bike trail at the saddle followed the north ridge up to the south summit. That saved us from having to hike at least a couple more miles around to the south side to the top.
After getting up two steep sections we were finally on the south peak. Other than towers and the trees, there was absolutely nothing of interest to see. We paced back and forth looking for possible openings through trees for views, but none to be had. We finally got back down onto the road and hiked it all the way back to the parking lot.
Photos from this trip can be found here.
Approach: Lookout Mountain Preserve Trailhead
Gear: none