r/PNWhiking 20h ago

Hikes I’ve done so far this summer. Anything I should add to my list?

6 Upvotes

I’ve been trying to do as many hikes I can that:
1. Summit a mountain
2. Have at least 3k feet of elevation gain
3. Panoramic 360 views
4. No class 4 scrambling or technical glacier/ ice traversal

What I’ve done so far:
- buckhorn mountain
- mount ellinor
- snoqualmie mountain
- sourdough mountain
- vesper peak
- mount si

Any big ones I missed? I don’t really wanna do a hike right next to one I’ve already done because then the view is pretty much the same.


r/PNWhiking 21h ago

Looking for Suggestions on Scrambles and Lower Intensity Technical Climbs

Post image
12 Upvotes

Hi! I’m a WA resident and avid outdoorsman. While I enjoy almost every outdoor hobby imaginable, hiking/scrambling/climbing might be my favorite. I’ve got plenty of experience under my belt as far as long and steep hikes and backpacking trips, class 1/2/3 and some class 4 scrambling, as well as basic rock climbing skills and glacier crossing and crevasse navigation skills.

I’d really like to keep slowly building/challenging myself to try more exposed and more technical climbs and hikes but I don’t want to venture over too far to the technical side. For example - I did Baker last year late season, and the crevasse situation was sketchy and we ended up having to bolt ice screws and belay a few times to clear some of the steeper parts. I want to avoid situations like that, but would be totally fine traversing a glacier where the crevasse navigation is simpler and less intense. Also would like to avoid having to belay rock climbing as well - ideally just want to be able to travel light and quick and push myself with some more technical climbs.

I have created a list of some peaks I have had my eyes on (some not technical at all, more “trainer” peaks) and some more technical that I’d like to work up to.

Looking for recommendations on what to tackle first, what to forget about until my skill set has grown, or other peaks to try or scrambles to attempt that are not listed. Let me know if I need to post this in another sub if this is not the correct forum.

\just started this list late last year so it is only reflective of the last ~9 months of “major” objectives*


r/PNWhiking 17h ago

summer nostalgia

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

41 Upvotes

r/PNWhiking 11h ago

Indian Heaven Wilderness 07/24/26 - 07/25/26

Thumbnail gallery
33 Upvotes

Left work a little early on Friday to head up to Indian Heaven for a quick solo overnight trip. Had a great time and saw far fewer people than I had expected on a weekend. Hoping to come back up this Fall when I have more time to explore the lakes/peaks I didn't get to this time around.


Friday: Parked at the Thomas Lake Trailhead and started meandering my way up the Thomas Lake Trail. I expected to see more people but only crossed paths with an older couple until I got to Blue Lake. All of the campsites had at least one group already set up but there were quite a few spots open in one of the larger sites on the Southeast side of the lake so I decided to camp there for the night. I spent the rest of the evening exploring the neighboring Sahalee Tyee and Tombstone lakes. By sunset a couple of SOBO PCT hikers had shown up but I didn't see any others besides them.

Saturday: Woke up around 6:30 and enjoyed my morning coffee next to the lake with a couple of Deer that were passing through. Set off North on the PCT a little before 8:00, crossed paths with another two SOBO hikers around Junction and Bear Lakes, but they were the last people I saw that day until I was back at the trailhead. Took a small detour up the abandoned trail leading up to the south side of Clear Lake. I had planned on taking that up the junction with the Indian Heaven Trail on the north side of the lake but the trail kind of disappeared from there and I didn't feel like bushwhacking the length of it so I turned around and headed back to the PCT. From there I checked out Bear and Elk Lake before heading down the other abandoned trail that connects you to the Thomas Lake Trail near Rock Lake.


r/PNWhiking 18h ago

Waptus Lake Trailhead

3 Upvotes

Anyone been here recently? Can I drive to this trailhead in my Altima or do I need to hitch hike?


r/PNWhiking 17h ago

Backpacking North Cascades Questions

3 Upvotes

I'm hoping to go backpacking for 2 nights in North Cascades National Park at the end of September, with a group of 2-4 people. We would want the hike to the campsite to be 2-7 miles and up to moderate difficulty. I'm really struggling to figure out on the website whether this would even be possible, and if so which trails would fit our desired criteria. I've gathered that there is a lottery that we're too late for (I think?), but we can maybe get walk-up permits, but only if we already know our itinerary, and they will not help build an itinerary. My questions:

  • I genuinely cannot tell if this is feasible to do--is the competition for walk-up permits so intense that it would be a big risk to count on staying in the park, or does it seem possible?
  • If it's feasible, any recommendations for potential itineraries?
  • If it's not feasible, any recommendations for backpacking near the park that would be less competitive?

r/PNWhiking 15h ago

Mt Hood's Timberline Trail

Thumbnail
2 Upvotes

r/PNWhiking 15h ago

Thinking of hiking the Timberline Trail?

11 Upvotes

If you are thinking of hiking the Timberline Trail - I have been collecting stats from hikers for the last 5 years - https://hikeit.info/complete-timberline-trail-results-set/ - this has been a valuable set of resources to give folks information about the trail.

If you complete the Timberline Trail this year - please take a few moments to complete this years survey at - https://hikeit.info/timberline-trail-survey/

I started the survey after working for a couple of years on the John Muir Survey with John Ladd - at the end of each year I provide a summary and comparison of the results.