Twice now I’ve attempted to climb Mt. Wow from the access on the West Side Road. The start of the trail is marked by an “X” on a tree, with a pull out for a car or two. The first time was in November 2019 the day after the West Side Road was closed/gated at its entrance. The second time was with a buddy in September of 2020. On the the November trip I encountered some navigation problems above Lake Allen, losing my Whippet in dense steep brush as I was trying to weave between horizontal slide alder branches. By the time I gained the upper slopes there was a layer of snow on slippery steep grass, so I decided to turn back. Here’s the blog on that one, look for “Wow Failure”. On the second trip with my buddy we got a late start due to weather in the morning and it became obvious that were we to continue to the Wow summit, we would be trying to find this sketchy trail in the dark.

Actually the trail is fairly clear until nearing Lake Allen and progressing laterally through the forest. The crux of finding the trail lies in where it descends on a ridge line. I found using the Strava track, plus marking critical points on GPS greatly aided in getting back to the trail.

Although this is a path, it is very steep and rugged….and sometimes vague. At one point it gains 2000’ in one mile. Don’t attempt this if you don’t have off trail skills. On my two attempts up here I never actually went to Lake Allen, instead contouring higher to the meadow that eventually leads to Mt. Wow.