Da Klagwats- or more commonly known as Mt. Pugh is one heck of an awesome hike! Gaining 5,300ft in 5.5 miles and features an epic knife-edge and a good scramble at the top! The views are quite simply put: astounding!
The trail starts out in a forest and continues up at a decent rate until you hit “Lake” Metan which resembled more of a storm water pond. The water was kinda gross looking. A little further up the trail and you leave the forest behind and start the real climb up to Stujack Pass. Stujack Pass didn’t actually yield better scenery on the other side- I am not sure if this was due to the fact that the views on the West side of the mountain are that much better… or that it just isn’t that good of a view.
This is where people tend to figure out if they have a fear of heights- the knife edge starts soon after the pass.
As you continue up this trail- the views keep on getting better and better! (As do the dropoffs!)
This hike has a lot of character and that is why I liked it so much- it is definitely one of the hardest hikes I have done and it was worth the effort exerted to see all of the beauty out there. After the knife edge- you see the glacier which rest atop the Straight Creek Fault.
We continued up the scramble only to find a garter snake in the path! I got quite the surprise when I was face to face with it. How did he make it all the way up here?!
After a little while longer, we made it to the top!
The view was dominated by quite a few amazing peaks- the most impressive being Glacier Peak.
We were also greeted by hundreds of flying bugs that looked a bit like ants- they seemed to enjoy crawling on us but I was not bitten by any so they were more of a nuisance.
I signed the summit log, ate a few snacks, and took a few more pictures before heading down.
I had brought 3L of water with me and ran through that right before hitting the stream crossings again so I took a little break and drank some- it was tasty and looked more clear than the lake!
Overall I highly do and do not recommend this hike- don’t attempt it if you don’t have the skills and the strength required for it. But if you do- then it is an amazing hike with a lot of variation and it will make your muscles sore! It took us 7-8 hours to hike the whole thing (including breaks) but it can definitely take a bit longer! Read the trip reports and be careful!
