Mt. Walker
Date Hiked: August 3rd, 2025
Trail Hiked: Mount Walker Loop
Distance Hiked: 8.1 miles
Elevation Gain: 2126 ft.
Duration: 3h 14m
With the previous day's hike traversing a hidden gem in the Seattle Metro, this conversely took me to the Olympic National Forest in the other direction from base. Cougar was a return trip, Walker was a first-timer, not just for the mountain itself, but being the first time I'd ever hiked anywhere near there. Cougar was bright and sunny, this fog was "the owls are not what they seem." Cougar is now a graveyard of memories I wish I could Eternal Sunshine from my overactive brain, Walker is... a sign of the potential further hikes I could've done if my focus had been otherwise. Life is weird.
Mt. Walker is certainly not the hardest hike in the area. Even on a foggy day, I could see other mountains that were probably a tougher climb, but given that my first real mountain summit was a week prior, I felt it might be a good idea to start with ones in the two or three thousand foot range and maybe work up to the Rainiers and Bakers of the world? Weird thought, I don't know, maybe I'm onto something.
With the heavy layers of fog covering the canopy, the dew on the greens and ferns felt particularly flavored to the Pacific Northwest, which would be obvious had this summer I spent there not been overwhelmingly sunny and dry. The ascent is immediate but not ridiculous, and I only saw two or three other people the whole time, at least before I got to the top. It's probably not fair to Mt. Walker to judge it against the majesty of Mt. Si, but again, not much from which to draw at this point, in that Mt. Walker was a reasonably hard climb but not the more arduous sections of incline that Si challenged me with.
I am certain that the views from Walker's top are considerable. When I reached it, not only did I see climbers and other tourists taking in the Pyramidhead-esque surroundings (benefits of there being a way to drive to the top), but there were also a lot of signs and placards explaining to me what all these gorgeous icons in the landscape were and how awesome it was to be there. Akin to my (first) trip to Great River Bluffs State Park bragging about the breathtaking views, I'm sure they're fantastic... if I could've actually seen them.
One option to return back was to go the way I came, and the other was allegedly a loop, and I suppose technically it was. However, rather than a trail, AllTrails decided the road was the fun way to go down, and while it started slowly revealing more layers of the surrounding Olympic National Forest, I didn't enjoy dodging those who took the motorized way to the top. Not that I have anything against trail tourists, but... okay maybe I do just a little bit, particularly against their vehicles being near me.
It is what it is, and foggy Mt. Walker's good.
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