Jefferson Ridge Lookout by The Brothers perches over Hamma Hamma River. The southwest ridge extends to Mount Pershing and Mount Ellinor above Lake Cushman. Meanwhile, the Hood Canal in Puget Sound is near the east.
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Jefferson Ridge Lookout at a Glance
Access: Road 2421
Round Trip: 7 miles
Elevation Range: 840′-3850′
Essential Gear: microspikes
Route Info: Joanne Najdzin
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Playlist: Ethereal
Return to the Olympic Mountains by Hood Canal
It was the final decent weather day of the week, so we resorted to the Olympic Mountains. The yellow lab and I were once in this part of the forest, climbing The Brothers across the valley. Then, last October, the black pup and I were up by Gray Wolf Ridge.
After crossing the Hamma Hamma River, we drove through several dips on Road 2421. It was decent before the dozen fallen aspens appeared past mile one. The trees from the landslide were too heavy to pull alone. So, we walked under a mile to the general starting point.
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Traversing East Ridge to Jefferson Ridge Lookout
Taking the logging road above the inversion, we soon reached the ridge trail at 1600′. The fork took a sharp turn, which we could’ve easily missed without looking for it. Through the clearcut on the crest, pink flagging and blue painted arrows pointed the way.
There was a brief debris section back in the trees before we went onto the road. A quick walk around the bend brought us to the trail sign to continue. Snow appeared at 2600′ by the overlook, where I put on microspikes while checking the clouds below the east.
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Viewing the Olympic Mountains on Top
Leaving snowshoes in the car was a bad idea as it was pure slush by mid-morning. The trail faded into the snow soon after re-entering the trees past the upper roadway at 2800′. Then, it was slow going over the old burn in the clearing, followed by the ridge traverse.
Jefferson Ridge Lookout was woodsy, with spotty west and south views. After viewing The Brothers, we exited the ridge in our postholing tracks and lost one microspike en route. Soon, we shortcutted through logging debris to the road, which shaved off half a mile.
See more trip photos here.