First Mother Mountain–Mowich Lake, 4 summits is a 9-mile out-and-back near Upper Fairfax, WA. The route passes Mowich Lake and Knapsack Pass before reaching First Mother Mountain at the turnaround, 4.5 miles in. It climbs 3,239 ft, with sections as steep as 47% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 97/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
Getting there
Directions
First Mother Mountain–Mowich Lake, 4 summits
9 mi · ▲ 3,239 ft · 4 hr 37 min
Elevation 4,701–6,524 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: Wonderland Trailhead · 46.93295, -121.86349
Weather Aug 3: Mostly clear, high 59°F / low 40° · precip 1% · wind 7 mph · sunrise 5:50 AM · sunset 8:38 PM
Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Wonderland Trail, heading S.
- 50 ftPass Mowich Lake.
- 0.2 miBear left onto Spray Park Trail, heading S.
- 2.6 miSharp left, heading N.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading W.
- 0.4 miSharp left, heading E.
- 0.6 miPass Knapsack Pass.
- 250 ftContinue straight onto Knapsack Pass Trail, heading NW.
- 50 ftBear right onto First Mother Mountain Trail, heading NW.
- 0.3 miReach First Mother Mountain, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.3 miBear left onto Knapsack Pass Trail, heading S.
- 0.7 miSharp right, heading SE.
- 0.4 miTurn left, heading SW.
- 0.4 miSharp right onto Spray Park Trail, heading SE.
- 2.6 miBear right onto Wonderland Trail, heading NE.
- 0.1 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
Weather
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 3.1 mi in (~118 min). Leave by 6:21 PM for the 8:38 PM sunset. Back at your car by 10:20 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Toilets at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from Wonderland Trailhead Trailhead
- Eagle Cliff Viewpoint & Mowich Lake via Spray Park Trail 2.8 mi · ▲ 565 ft
- Spray Falls–Spray Falls Viewpoint, 3 viewpoints 3.8 mi · ▲ 679 ft
- Eunice Lake–Mowich Lake, 4 lakes 4.7 mi · ▲ 976 ft
- Tolmie Peak–Eunice Lake, 5 lakes 6.3 mi · ▲ 1,616 ft
- Hessong Rock & Mowich Lake via Spray Park Trail 6.7 mi · ▲ 2,319 ft
- Flett Glacier–Echo Rock, 4 glaciers 10.6 mi · ▲ 3,477 ft
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