Townsend Mountain: Wild Sky Wilderness

An overview of the hike (mild scramble/bushwhack in places) to the summit of Townsend Mountain in the Wild Sky Wilderness of Washington State. The hike starts at the Barclay Lake Trailhead, following the trail to the lake. Once at the east end off Barclay Lake, you will see a sign for the drop toilet that is just left (north) of the trail. Begin working up the path of least resistance just to the right (east) of the toilet area and look for flagging ribbons, and later cairns, along the route. There were quite a few blow-downs to navigate in the first quarter mile or so. After that, the trail was much more open.

Follow the trail to north-northeast up the hillside from Barclay Lake, crossing through a saddle before you reach Stone Lake. Continue left (northwest) from Stone Lake across a beautiful subalpine meadow area to reach Eagle Lake. Upon reaching Eagle Lake, work right around the northeast edge of the lake and choose your line north up to the Townsend Mountain ridge line. This section will involve hiking steeper snow in the colder months or working through some slide alder and steeper rock sections in the warmer months. Depending on how much brush you want to deal with, and how direct of a line you wish to take, I believe you can find a line that is anything from a simple scree hike to class 3+ scrambling. The line I chose to take was mostly class 2 or easier, with maybe a few class 3 sections.

Once atop the ridge, follow the ridge line east, staying mostly on the ridge or just to the south. There are two main peak pyramids at the top. The summit of Townsend Mountain seems to be marked as the first (westernmost) that you arrive at but the second, east, summit appears to be the true summit. This little castle of rock is easy to scramble up in just a few class 2 moves and offers a beautiful spot to relax and survey the beauty that is all around you.