Kelly Butte Trail #1031

My favorite kinds of hikes are long, easy walks through the woods. I like to be surrounded by trees, covered in shade, and barely breaking a sweat.

Last Saturday's hike delivered none of those things, but it was still pretty stellar.

Mindful of earlier sunsets and our late start, Matt and I chose a "short burner" of a trail and ended up at Kelly Butte. Did I laugh every time I read the name on a sign? Yes. Did I purposely mispronounce "butte" constantly during our hike? Also yes.

The reviews for this trail did not prepare me for the elevation gain; I was mostly focused on the duration and the promising difficulty level of "moderate." The review that referred to this one as the aforementioned "short burner" was the one I should have put the most stock in. 

This trail was 1.7 miles of steep, narrow, rocky switchbacks up to a fire lookout. While 1,100 feet of elevation gain over 3.5 miles doesn't seem so bad, 1,100 feet of elevation gain over 1.7 miles is pretty rough. That's what I get for failing to account for this being an out-and-back (or an up-and-down, if you will).

Anyway, the trail is an incredible workout; my legs and butt were burning and my heartrate was a steady 160 for most of the climb. I warmed up quickly despite the time of day and partially-sunny skies. The majority of the climb takes you up and over some very cool rock formations, and we were treated to some red and orange leaves along the way.

At the top, the path leveled out as we continued along the ridge to the fire lookout, which is staffed by volunteers. The sign at the lookout listed elevation at 5379 feet and it offered a 360° view of the mountain range.

We had some snacks and enjoyed the view. Despite starting our hike pretty late in the afternoon, we weren't pressed for time before sunset, so we weren't in a rush. The hike down was, of course, easier on the heartrate but harder on the knees. We regretted forgetting our hiking poles.

Honestly, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this hike. I've been avoiding ones just like it for awhile now, after getting burned out on Rainier, but this was a good reminder that mountain views are pretty spectacular and worth the effort.

Ali