Silo Mountain, Big Haystack, rises south of Lyman Hill by the Skagit River. Its 2430′ prominence covers over half the height, thus placing 90th in Washington State. The peak is accessible year-round, with the most direct route from the north via service roads.
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Silo Mountain at a Glance
Access: Gilligan Creek Road
Round Trip: 13.8 miles
Elevation Range: 120′-4150′
Gear: snowshoes
Route Info: summitpost.org
GPS track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
The Preface
Hello, weekend! We enjoyed a sunny yet snowy outing last week. But the midweek snowfall meant we’d see more fresh powder in the mountains. So we stayed west of the crest and sought solitude on Silo Mountain.
Like Lyman Hill, the 14-mile round-trip in snowy conditions was tough to swallow. Though tedious, breaking trail hours on end in solitude was more enjoyable. Otherwise, we’d be on a defined path to a less popular place.
See more trip photos here.
The Road Walk to Silo Mountain
The leftover snow kept me from driving the last 500′ to the gate. But I waited to put on snowshoes at the first clearing by the logging debris. The deep powder there let us cut the first long switchback, where we first saw Mount Baker.
After returning to the road at 1100′, we stay on the roadway to the end. The second growth between switchbacks wasn’t worth the effort to shortcut. We did try cutting uphill by the 1800′ gravel pit but gave up after struggling in fresh powder.
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The Long Road Ahead
Soon, it was clear that the snow wasn’t going to firm up any time soon. So we tried again to shortcut at 2200′ and finally reached the minor ridgeline. Perhaps we should’ve gone to Big Cultus Mountain, which looked much closer.
The road on the ridge had less powder but kept our thighs and paws in overdrive. The mile between Point 3302 and Haystack Mountain’s south saddle took the longest as the snow deepened. Then we cut the first switchback through the open forest in the final mile.
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In Search of the Summit
At one point, we went into the trees and moved through shallow snow for a bit. But the dense vegetation wasn’t worth the extra effort. Contending with branches and punching into the snow wasn’t any better than the road.
We reached the base of Silo Mountain with 200′ up to the top. But the amount of snow and trees draping the steep west wasn’t feasible for entry. Instead, we took the unmarked road around the south into the forest.
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Silo Mountain Summit Plus Outro
After all that work through fresh snow, the summit offered little views. The only tiny opening faced the northeast to Twin Sisters Mountains, Mount Baker, and Mount Shuksan. We stayed briefly before leaving.
The walk-up was painfully slow. But we retraced our steps down to a tee for a faster exit back to the car.
See more trip photos here.