Mt. Pilchuck is a 5400' peak about a little more than an hour from Seattle. Allegedly it used to have a ski area on it (though from the looks of it, I'd have trouble figuring out just where!). It's in the same area as Heather Lake and Lake 22, both of which I've hiked in the past year, and it has the added benefit of having a fire tower at the top of it. I decided that this Sunday would be a great time to go, and I recruited my friend Todd to join me.
Given the close proximity to Seattle, the trailhead was crowded even though it was a post-Labor Day hike. What surprised me the most is the diversity of people. Normally on the trail, you encounter people that look like they belong on the trail: mostly guys, mostly 20-40, always white. Of the people we passed, though, I'd guess only about 20% qualified as "normal trail people". The rest were teenagers, girlie-girls (you could tell by their baby blue Nike running sneakers or Capri pants), and we even saw the rarest of rare -- a grandmother and her teenage grandson. It's not that it was an easy hike either, since the vertical gain was over 2000' in about 5.5 miles round-trip.
The thing that sets Pilchuck apart from the rest of the hikes in the area was the firetower at the top, and of course, the views that said tower affords. Despite the fog on the south face, we were able to see 360 degrees: Rainier, the Olympics, the Seattle skyline, Baker/Shuksun, Glacier Peak, and all the less famous Cascade peaks. What a view! An added treat were the wild blueberries that lined the upper part of the trail, very similar to the ones we found on Mt. Baker a year ago at this time. Note to self: hiking in September = good blueberries!
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