Barlow Point

 The paved portion of the Mountain Loop Highway runs east out of Granite Falls, following the course of the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River until it reaches Barlow Pass. There, at the summit of Barlow Pass, the pavement ends and the road descends to the drainage of the Sauk River flowing north.

Peak rising east as seen from the top of Barlow Point

At the summit there is a trail to Barlow Point that advertised great panoramic views of both the Stillaguamish and Sauk watersheds far below. I thought I'd give it whirl since it was only 1.2 miles and the map showed a straight dotted line from trailhead to the vista point.

This trail was not flat, but it was climb over rocks and tree roots from the get go and it seemed much further than the 1.2 mile one way trip; I had to wonder if the distance was measures as the crow flies and did not account for the numerous switchbacks needed to gain the elevation to the top of the ridge. 

It was all uphill, all the way. One foot in front of the other. It took this old man 1 1/4 hours to climb the 1 1/4 miles. It was kind of a beating, but once I started, I wanted to finish and not be defeated by the mountain's contours rising above me. It was 4 PM when I started, I knew I had about 5 hours of daylight left, but...  This climb was tougher than I expected.

The trail was heavily forested all the way.

Hiking up the trail, my heavy legs estimated 118 switchback traversed before I got to the top, and I though maybe I'd gained 1200 feet in elevation. I counted the switchbacks on the way down - there are only 39. And checking the map at the trailhead, the elevation gain was 800 feet.

Made it to the top of Barlow Point.
Stillaguamish River watershed behind me to the west.

Shadowed peaks to the west at 5:30 PM

Cheery colors await me on the rocky top of Barlow Point.

My ascent was hard on the lungs. My descent was hard on the knees. My heart was happy to have made it to the top of Barlow Point and happy to have made the solo trek back down the side of the mountain.

I pointed my 4Runner downhill toward Granite Falls and pulled into the Thai House Restaurant, ordered Kee Mao, a chicken dish with pad Thai noodles, basil, ginger and peppers plus a pot of hot jasmine tea. A good day.