Page Type:
|
Mountain/Rock |
|---|---|
Lat/Lon:
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46.74163°N / 122.17587°W |
County:
|
Pierce |
Activities:
|
Hiking |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
|
Elevation:
|
2608 ft / 795 m |
|
Overview
Towertop is a small mountain located between Mineral and Elbe, Washington. Despite being such a low mountain it is noted for having over 1000 foot prominence and that towers over Mineral Lake. The peak is itself over private forest land and when the forest is being harvest the peak is closed off for public use. Such of the case back in 2013 the last I headed out to do Towertop. In recent times all the threaten signs have taken down and it is now okay to head back to do Towertop.
Towertop itself is only popular with prominence peakbaggers but there are some great benefit to going up this road walk to the summit. First it is a nice 5 mile 1200 foot elevation roundtrip that is easy for beginners to get to the summit of. This is a roadwalk and even at the where the trail is starting to fill in the this is very easy to get to the top. The second reason to do this peak is that there are views on the way and on the summit. Now regrettably some of the best views are if you take the wrong way on the trail but even on the correct trail there are views on the way up to the summit. The views on the summit though are rapidly growing in so if you are looking at mountain beyond 2020 then take that into account.
Getting There
VIA THE TOWERTOP ROAD: Go south from Elbe on Highway 7 for a mile. Make a left onto the Mineral Cutoff Road and take the road over a pass where you will see a road on your left. There is gate located at the and a good pullout spot to park your car.
Route
This is road walk up to the summit. There are a couple things to remember. The cell towers are not the true summit and really pay attention to the route map listed here. There is one road that is the false road up that can be easily mistaken for the road to the true summit. The best way to know if you are on the correct road is if you come across a stunning view of Mineral Lake. If this is the case you are on the wrong road.
Red Tape
If there is no logging than there is no red tape for this peak. However if there is active logging then this mountain is closed to all hikers. .
When to Climb
This mountain can be climbed at anytime of the season. It is a roadwalk all the way. This may make a nice snowshow during the low elevation snowy winter. .
Camping
No camping allowed on this mountain.
External Links
Eric Willhite's Towertop Page. Trees have grown a lot since then