Mount Washington was our first attempt at summiting a peak in the Cascades. It also proved to be our first successful summit! On the seventh of July, 2012 we summited Mount Washington (4,420 feet). This hike was extremely private, we only passed three or four other groups. This may have had something to do with our very early start. We were done hiking the 8.5 miles with more than 3,000 feet in elevation gain by 1:00 p.m. The Mount Washington hike featured on the WTA website has you stop 2 miles in at a viewpoint. We continued to the summit to add on four extra miles total and an additional 1620 feet in elevation gain.
A great viewpoint but we hoped it would be better at the summit!
Taking a break in the shade on the way up to the summit!
View of the I90 corridor at a viewpoint
Snoqualmie River and Dam below
Beautiful views for our first clear day in the Cascades!
I would say the additional mileage and elevation gain are definitely worth it if you’re up to it!
We summited our first peak!
It was a hot and bug filled day but totally worth it!
This was the first really clear day we’d gone on a hike on the western side of the Cascades and we were wowed at the summit by our first ever view of Mount Rainier. We had been living in WA for almost a month and had still yet to see it due to the clouds. The view was astonishing for us.
What’s that giant mountain doing there?
After living in Seattle for more than a month we finally get our first views of Mount Rainier!
To know that that mountain had been lurking just out of sight is somewhat disconcerting. While the views were phenomenal the mosquitos were equally potent and we didn’t linger at the top for long.
Quick water break at the summit before heading back down and away from the mosquitos.
We hoofed it down pretty quickly and rewarded ourselves for our first summit with a trip to McDonalds for some McFlurries!
