Mileage: 10 miles RT to the lake, plus the summit of Mt. Sawyer adds another mile makes the total 11.
Elevation Gain/Highest: 1200ft/5495ft
Map: Green Trails Skykomish 175 and Stevens Pass 176
My favorite places to stop post hike with friends are: Grilla Bites, Route 2 Taproom and Grazing Place, Good Brewing Company, River House Cafe, Espresso Chalet, Gustav’s, Yodelin’s Broth Company, South, Dan’s Food Market, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty Please.
Hike Details:
Up the Foss River Road, Tonga Ridge to Mt. Sawyer and Fisher Lake makes for a scenic wilderness day hike or quiet overnight backpacking trip. Or for those with more fortitude, one can continue on to Deception Lakes and the Pacific Crest Trail.
My trip reports:
11/22/2019
The early bird sometimes gets the sunny summit to herself! It has been a few years since I have been to Tonga and Sawyer, this turned out to be the perfect day to return.
The excitement started when I was about 5 miles up FR 6830 when a significant downed log presented itself across the trail. Further inspection told me I would not need to pull out my saw, the log was mostly shattered and splintered. It took a little while to move the bigger pieces off the road enough for a car to pass and pick up the smaller stuff that simply fell apart in my hands. Thank goodness for work gloves.
On to the trailhead! I was hiking from the empty parking lot by about 8:40. I forget how small it is, not much more than the end of the road itself. The day was already clear and sun streamed through the tight clusters of trees on the ridge.
I soon hit the wilderness boundary at .6 miles in and ventured briefly up to the viewpoint marked on the map at .86 miles. Not much there now, the trees obscure anything worth seeing. This is close to where patches of snow began, mostly in the trees. The trail itself was bare in most places but ice crystals jetted up through the soil.
Just shy of 2 miles, the snow blanketed the meadow below Sawyer but not by much. There were plenty of boot prints to follow.
At 2.16 and an hour in, just before breaking out of the trees, I looked up to see an actual sign marking the turn up to the left for the mountain. Last time I was here it was marked by little more than a cairn and a doggie bag used for flagging. The trail was more defined and unlike my last trip, hard to miss.
The trail swept wide around the mountain, exposed to the sun. Daniel and Hinman, along with Summit Chief and Bald Eagle Peak, were on the horizon to my right. In a third of a mile it cut to the north and zigzagged up the southern flank. Most of the snow here was in hollow of the trail.
The final push on the northern side was in the shadows and the trail was covered in snow. Glacier and Fernow stood proudly, while Baker tucked back on the left. I love the view back down the HWY 2 corridor, Baring and Index standing guard on either side as you gaze out to the Puget Sound and Olympics beyond.
Most of the large boulders at the summit were exposed and I found a sunny perch in front of Mount Daniel for a snack. I had the summit to myself for about 30 minutes before intuitively heading back down as 3 sets of hikers were coming up.
9/4/2015
This was a quick overnighter to test my fall backpacking set up. The fall colors covered the hills and the trail was on fire with aged huckleberry bushes. I climbed Mt. Sawyer first. The steep boot path up to the summit can be hard to find; there may be a cairn. When you start to see the top of the mountain on your left, you will go through a small meadow area (which will have a lot of its own boot paths) and then back out onto the ridge. The turn is right about there.
I then headed over to Fisher Lake to camp. The trail to Fisher Lake was a little tricky so it is important to pay attention at Sawyer Pass. I followed the description at WTA:
“Just to the right of the Deception Creek sign, find the sign forbidding campfires above 4000 feet. Take the far right trail a short ways, then at a fork, take the left trail. At the following fork, take the right trail. From the first fork, just remember right, left, right. The trail takes you a short way through trees and huckleberry bushes, then heads uphill. You know you are on the right trail when you see a steep, rooty, eroded but obvious trail heading uphill.”
This trail takes you up and down through mud, roots and meadows until you come down to the large lake. There are a few campsites here, or you can go around the lake to the left to a small secluded campsite at the outlet for the lake. There is a large tree across the trail to crawl over first!
Directions: Take Hwy 2 to just past the Skykomish Ranger station and turn right on Foss River Road (FR 68). In 2.6 miles cross under the railroad trestle and go over a small bridge. In another mile is a Y intersection, take the left onto FR 6830. Follow FR 6830 for 7 miles, then take a right onto road 310 and follow to the trailhead at 1.3 miles. There is a backcountry toilet.
Click here for more hikes on HWY 2.
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