Gee Point─ great views from this little-known peak!
Quick Facts:
Location: Finney Block, Skagit Valley
Land Agency: Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Roundtrip: 3.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 700 feet
Contact: Mount Baker Ranger District: Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest (360) 856-5700; www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs
Green Trails Map: Oso, WA-No. 77
Access: From Burlington head east 28 miles on SR 20 towards Concrete turning right onto the Concrete-Sauk Road. In one mile cross the Skagit River and bear left proceeding for another 8.8 miles turning right onto Finney Creek Road (FR 17). Continue 10.5 miles and then turn right onto FR 1720. Follow this road for 2.1 miles bearing right onto FR 1722. Continue 5.4 miles to road’s end where trail starts on decommissioned road.
Recommended Guidebook: Day Hiking North Cascades 2nd Edition (Mountaineers Books)
Good to Know: old-growth, Trail less Taken, historic
Start walking west on the decommissioned logging road. Various hikers over the last few years have cut back the alders and willows making what was once a brushy beginning an easy enough start. After .25 mile the trail takes off steeply right through an old cut eventually entering old growth forest and linking with what was once an extensive trail.
Now enjoy pleasant strolling through ancient fir and hemlock along a lonely ridge high above the Skagit Valley. At .7 mile, rocky Gee Point can be viewed from an opening in the forest.
Soon afterwards the trail breaks out onto a near perfectly level grassy lawn reminiscent of Mount Rainer’s famed Grand Park, only miniature. Now drop slightly off the ridge into a marshy swale where the remnants of a cabin can be seen. From here head left to avoid talus slopes with a short steep climb. Re-attain the ridge crest and work your way up the summit block on blueberry draped ledges.
You’ll need to use your hands in a few spots, and while not overly difficult or exposed, some hikers may be uncomfortable on it. For those that push on to the 4,974-foot rocky knoll that once housed a fire lookout, a spectacular panoramic view is your payoff.
Cupped in a hidden cirque directly below to the south is Gee Point Lake. Beyond, it’s Whitehorse, Three Fingers, Round Mountain, Pilchuck and Rainier. Stare out at Glacier Peak, Mount Baker, Sauk Mountain and a wall of snow and ice to the east. And the Olympics can be seen across a shimmering Puget Sound behind the little known Big and Little Deer Mountains. It’s a view seen by few—consider yourself now among them!
For more detailed information on hiking Gee Point and many nearby peaks and lakes (136 in all), consult my best selling Day Hiking North Cascades 2nd edition
