Miles: 8 miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: 4049ft/6808ft
Map: Green Trails Wenatchee Lake No 177, my GAIA
My favorite places to stop post hike with friends are: Grilla Bites, Route 2 Taproom and Grazing Place, Good Brewing Company, River House Cafe, Espresso Chalet, Gustav’s, Yodelin’s Broth Company, South, Dan’s Food Market, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
My hike:
10/12/2018
This was a lovely fall hike and I enjoyed having the trail mostly to myself. Maybe it was the more than 90 switchbacks and 4000 feet of gain?
The trail took up right from the highway on a service road under power lines (no one’s favorite) and I was distracted by the autumn colors on display. After a third of a mile the road made a sharp left and continued steeply up and out to my first viewpoint of the valley and my car below. Not exciting…
A little more than half mile up the trail left the service road and began its zigzag trek up the skirt of Nason Ridge, snaking back and forth on exposed switchbacks that no sane person would want to do in the heat of the day. The benefit is that as I climbed my vision up and down the Stevens Pass green belt was unencumbered by trees and I could see the mountains off in the distance like Arrowhead and the Chiwaukums. I knew this section had about 2,300 feet of gain in about 2 miles so I paced myself.
I stopped at several viewpoints to catch my breath and snap a few pictures of the deciduous foliage throwing an end-of-the-season party around me. The trees did increase around 4,000 feet and the shade was welcome. I could tell I was on the east side of the pass with the ponderosas and their distinctive puzzle like bark.
At roughly 5,000 feet and 2.1 miles the trail finally straightened out and set a tack for the junction with the Nason Ridge Trail a mile away by following the contour of a forested rib from Rock Mountain. With only a few course corrections, the trail had me up on top and wandering through fiery meadows and bleached granite with views of the Nason Ridge Trail off in the distance and wondering which of the peaks in front of me was my destination.
Once at the junction, I chose left and continued on with a peak looming ahead. With 800 feet more to gain, I soon realized that what I was striving for was surely a false summit and checking the map confirmed Rock Mountain would be somewhere further up beyond my line of sight.
I snuck a glance at Rock Lake and a remnant of last winter in the basin below before ascending to the saddle and junction with the Snow Creek Trail that offers an easier hike in. Once here, the ridge trail laid out before me and it was an easy (but rocky) walk up to the old lookout site and views of the two neighboring peaks, Mount Howard and Mount Mastiff.
The views went on and on and I could see back at several other places I have visited this summer such as Labyrinth Mountain and my adopted section of the Pacific Crest Trail. The usual suspects where out, too: Glacier Peak, Sloan, Pugh, Columbia, Three Fingers to name a few. Those grueling switchbacks were definitely worth it and I can see myself repeating this hike!
Directions: From Monroe, WA, drive HWY 2 towards Stevens Pass. Continue over the pass and just after you pass over Nason Creek and theWSDOT maintenance sheds on the left, keep your eye out for the brown trail sign for Rock Mountain on the left just after MP 73. From Leavenworth, the traihead is 27 miles. Turn onto the short but rutted service road and the trailhead is about 75 feet ahead. There is room for about 4 cars. No privy or trail pass needed to park.
Editor’s note: I wrote more about this hike for a hike guide description on Washington Trails Association, you can find it here!
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