And although I'm known for hiking the exact same trails over and over again, we opted to take a different route this time. We approached from the south. While the trailhead was barely marked on the northeast approach, it was completely unmarked on the south side. It was easy to find, though, because it shares an access point with Thorp Lake and Lookout and that was somewhere I'd been before.

Short road walk to a very old trail sign. Like the previous week's trail on the other side of the mountain, straight up. At least it was short. And while not well maintained, easy to follow. This side felt more like the kind of trail I'm used to. Lots of greenery, some water, even a lake! I'm not sure who Little Joe was, but the lake was very pretty. It's also where the trail was hidden in blowdown and avalanche debris. Tink led us through and back onto the trail heading... up.

It'd been plenty warm the previous week, but as we climbed we got into a little bit of snow. Not enough to slow us down, but it justified putting on gloves at least. It also gave Tink and the boy new energy. Me? Not so much. They were kind and waited for me. Once again, there was a split in the trail, but this time we couldn't find it. Meh. No big loss. It rejoined just a little higher.

The big fun was once we gained the ridge. We picked our way toward where I'd been stymied the previous week. The last high point on the ridge was tagged, but then... argh! We still couldn't figure out how to link up to the rest of the trail. Double stymy! BAH!

We retreated the way we had come. Red Mountain will remain incomplete for me, but with such a small section not visited it seems very unlikely I'll return.

📍On the lands of the Yakama people.