Fling Mountain by Cottlers Rock perches above the Tilton River near Morton, Washington. A lookout on the peak’s south side views Mount Saint Helens. Moreover, the 23.5-mile-long Riffe Lake on the Cowlitz River flows at its foothills.
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Fling Mountain at a Glance
Access: Short Road
Round Trip: 4.7 miles
Elevation Range: 2000′-2880′
Gear: none
Route Info: Scott Rice
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Playlist: Alex Kehm
The Lower Roadway
With Riffe Lake’s view behind us, we walked uphill from the locked gate. After passing the first road fork, we turned left at the next one over massive twigs. Then we zigzagged through the tall, thin thickets ahead over an old roadbed.
Soon, the massive brush took over the next road fork at the top of Highland Creek. I did not want to contend with wet shrubs, so we returned to the clearing by the twigs. Then we took Scott’s route uphill while hugging north of the clearcut.
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The Final Stretch
Though views improved higher up, it drizzled as clouds slowly moved upward. After 500′ of an easy scramble, we reached the upper roadway covered in snow. Then we passed the next fork to the tower and turned right at the one after.
It rained harder while we went through two more places of thickets on the old roads. We continued almost to the end of the open roadway by a tiny viewpoint. Then we picked a spot before the road dipped and dove into the second growth.
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Fling Mountain Summit Plus Exit
We found lots of debris en route and postholed some before reaching the treed summit. The small clearing with a log pile suggested the high point, but a spot to the west felt higher. After taking a few photos, we retraced our steps to the road.
As we dropped altitude, the mists dispersed to reveal south views, including Cottlers Rock from last week. Clouds mainly stayed to the north, with very little to see in that direction. Soon, we plunged straight south through pine straw onto the lower road.
See more trip photos here.