Worthy Peak by Roesiger Mountain sits west of Mount Pilchuck. Mountain Loop Highway is just four miles to the north. Meanwhile, the Pilchuck River at the south foothills hails from near Git Out Ridge, where we recently visited.
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Worthy Peak at a Glance
Access: Scherrer Road Trailhead
Round Trip: 14 miles
Elevation Range: 540′-2375′
Essential Gear: none
Route Info: Rich P
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Playlist: Spooky
Strolling by Pilchuck River Near Lake Roesiger
The gated road started across from a small community by Menzel Lake. The path stayed relatively flat alongside the Pilchuck River for nearly four miles. During this, it turned into a trail at mile 2.5 past a berm. It then returned to the road in one mile, viewing Bald Mountain.
The landscape expanded through the second-growth forest below Worthy Peak. Once Mount Pilchuck entered the picture, it was the main focal point for the second half of the trip. We soon passed the upper gate above Hanson Lake with debris piles off to the side.
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Another Day Among the Logging Roads
Meanwhile, the southeast vistas behind us were more open from the upper roadway. I took out the PeakFinder app and identified several familiar peaks. Among them was Zekes Peak, where we were a week ago. Sitting right beside it was Mount Stickney.
The last unexciting switchbacks took us between the two summits. The west views shortly appeared as we walked south toward the radio tower. From there, we could see out to Puget Sound and even a Smelling Mountain across the valley above two small lakes.
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Viewing Southern Plains from Worthy Peak
Logging had made a narrow strip through the stop, which included the high point. The impressive view of today’s main attraction, Mount Pilchuck, continued at the clearing. However, the radio tower had an open view in all directions except the north.
We made a pitstop on the north peak lower by 24 feet. But it was likely much lower because of logging. In turn, it offered glimpses of Whitehorse Mountain and Three Fingers. We later dove into the trees by the river and headed back west to finish the walk.
See more trip photos here.