Carrie and I were in the Wenatchee area for our second-annual Dave Matthews concert at the Gorge Amphitheater near George, Washington. Last year we'd done a quick and easy hike up a small hill in a desert-like area. This time, I had found a peak near Wenatchee that I figured would allow us to see a new area and hike a real peak in a more scenic area. She was in.

Mission Peak sits near by the Mission Ridge ski area and 6000 feet above Wenatchee, Washington. The peak sports 2800 feet of prominence and is reached by an old road that was used to get to a lookout a top the peak. The lookout is gone and the road is now a trail.

After a late night of concert going Saturday, I forced an early start Sunday morning so we could get back in time to clean up and get to the concert venue for the next go around Sunday night.

We made our way to Wenatchee and followed directions to the trailhead. We used the Old Lookout Trail route. This trail follows an old road, but is mostly single track now. The trail is in a really cool forest of Douglas Fir, spruce, and white bark pine. Occasionally we would pass flowers, berry bushes, and giant mushrooms (all seen below in the photos). The weather was cloudy and cool, except to the south and west where it was clear and sunny.

The trail passes a lake around 6300' and then gains a ridge around 6700'. My wife really enjoyed the views where the trail gained the ridge. I really liked how cool the ridge looked when we came out of the trees a bit later on, as it was a series of rocky points stretching away from us and looked ominous.

We made great time as we raced up the Mission Peak. The top was actually a bit chilly with a cool wind biting at the sweat we'd accumulated on the way up. We explored a bit, but didn't waste too much time before heading back down.

Then it was back down the rough road that had us worried a bit (it turned out to be easier on the way down).

After the hike, we dropped 5000 feet back down to Wenatchee and found a nice restaurant for a beer and lunch and explored Wenatchee a bit. Then it was off to the Gorge for another night of music.

Turned out to be a great trip that fit in perfectly with our schedule!

From the southern end of Wenatchee we followed the signs to Mission Ridge Ski Area road and Squilchuck State Park. This road is paved. Just after passing the turnoff for Squilchuck State park and a turn-off for Scout-a-Vista, watch for a road that takes off to the right, just before a hair pin turn.

This road starts off as good gravel, albeit steep. Follow this road to BM 5868 shown on the Mission Peak quad map (due north of the peak). There is parking for a few vehicles on the north side of the road.

Total distance from the where you turn off pavement is 7.2 miles. The road is in good shape to the 5400 feet in elevation, where is swings from south to west. After this, you will want high clearance, as it is a bit rocky, there are mudholes, and berms in a few places. My Chevy Traverse doesn't have much clearance, and although a few spots were sketchy, we made it fine.

From BM 5896, follow the trail (shown as a road on the Mission Peak quad). This nice trail is easy to follow with good tread. It switches back to the forest, reaching a lake around midpoint. It then angles northwest a bit and hits the top of Mission Peak's ridge. From here is climbs through small trees (some burned recently) until it reaches rocky pinnacles. The trail then swings to the west side of the ridge and then you reach the summit.