Directions: I-5 North to Exit 208, drive East towards Darrington, WA on Highway 530. Once in Darrington, you'll turn right onto the Mountain Loop Highway (odometer zero). At about 9.5 miles, the road turns to gravel. At 13.2 miles, you'll see FR 2095 on the left. Turn here. At 14.7 miles, there'll be a switchback with the trailhead on upper side to the right. Park below the switchback. You're there! Note: since the bridge is out on the Mountain Loop Highway, you'll have to go up to Darrington rather than approach from the South through Granite Falls.
Trail Notes: I did this hike last October and having seen that is only mentioned in passing on this site, I thought I'd post a review. I'd recommend getting an early start on this one as it will likely eat up most of your day and there are some great views at the top which you'll likely spend some time admiring. Also, this is a day hike and there aren't many places to pitch a tent. Bring plenty of water if its a hot day as you'll be exposed to the sun.
There was a notice at the trailhead requesting any reports of mountain goat sightings, but sadly we did not see any. You'll begin with a leisurely pace amongst some alders and mixed growth for the first mile or so until you encounter the first switchback and the incline increases. Here the forest is thick and evergreen. You won't get a glimpse of your destination until about two miles where you'll run into Lake Metan which is somewhat murky and not exactly inviting. This may be a possible camp location, but I cannot recall how flat the ground was here. Looking up you'll see the ridge through the trees. This makes a good place to take a quick rest and a light snack since the trail will get steeper from here on out.
Up until this point, the trail has been traveling in a South-Easterly direction but once past the lake you'll find yourself hiking North East towards Stujack Pass. At nearly four miles, you'll exit the forest and find yourself amongst boulders facing a long open climb up to Stujack Pass, the large V up above. We rested here sitting on top of one of the boulders in preparation for the steep climb. From this vantage point, it is not clear where the trail leads but it will switchback slowly up the slope. Watch your step on the rocks and keep an eye out for varmits, we saw a few darting in an out of view underneath the rocks. When we climbed this in the fall, the colors were amazing on this hillside as everything was changing color. Stujack Pass was our lunch spot, which I estimate somewhere around 5,500ft but am not certain. Here you'll get a good look at Glacier Peak in one direction and will also be able to look back the way you came then farther towards Monte Cristo and even the faint Olympic Mts which are behind a layer of smog. Below the other side of Stujack was a small patch of snow, and as we worked our way upward there was a glacier to the left as well.
As my hiking book noted, Stujack is probably a good turn around point for the less ambitious or those lacking experience. Either way, rest up and enjoy the view. If you decide to continue, take your time and watch what you're doing. Narrow ledges give way to a knife-back ridge which you must traverse to continue. Being slightly afraid of heights, I found this quite exhilarating but could imagine problems for people less adventurous. Thankfully, my hiking partner was quite experienced and had some good pointers. I probably wouldn't go this far alone as the drop on either side of the ridge would surely kill if not break something important...lesson: hike in pairs or at least let someone know where you're going. Once passed the long narrow stretch of the ridge you'll see what's left of a winch system used to haul supplies up to the top. You may miss this at first as we did since the route we took was lower on the North side of the ridge, but there are several places where you can take the high road and see the framework. Now, you'll be faced with some scrambling which quickly turns into what I'd call climbing. Despite the desire to reach the top and being so close, I was uncomfortable going much farther on this day as it was too technical and I was in over my head. Overall, this was a fantastic hike which I would definitely return to in the future and perhaps even complete. The views are very rewarding, the trail is in good condition, there aren't many hikers on this trail, and you get a good variety of terrain...all of which makes for a great day.
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