58696384896898676493

58696384896898676493 t1_jdg3a9m wrote

A lot of quality of comments here, hopefully you've read them all. It really should come down to what your plans and expectations are.

In a rush, take I-90. Relaxing, take 2. But if you take 2, be prepared for either impatient drivers on your ass, or being stuck behind a semi. So only take 2 if you can fucking relax.

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58696384896898676493 t1_jd48uq4 wrote

You just need a Northwest Forest Pass and have it displayed in your vehicle. I'm not sure how these passes work for out of state people visiting, so I'd look into that. The other pass you'll want to look into getting is the Discover Pass, which is required for state owned parks and recreation areas.

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58696384896898676493 t1_jd47cuf wrote

You have a very solid list, not much to say. One thing to be aware of, that Lake Colchuck hike is going to be very busy. I would get there before sunrise. I'm not even joking, there were like 100 cars when I went last summer, and I got there just after sunrise. The parking lot was full and there was like a mile of cars parked along the forest road. I don't think during the entire hike I was alone, it was a fucking mob of people. That said, the hike was lovely and the payoff at the top is worth it. But get there early!

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58696384896898676493 t1_ixe2065 wrote

I believe that road is open until the National Park boundary, then it's gated off for the winter. I've been up there in the winter and eventually you hit snow deep enough that there's only footprints onward. I meet some guy up there a few years ago and we agreed to pull each other out if we got stuck, we made it like a quarter mile before we both just turned around. It's still fun and worth it, but you're not getting to Mowich Lake unless you do it on foot.

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