Union Peak and Jove Peak

Peak List Peak Map Idaho 12ers Idaho 11ers White Cloud Peaks Idaho Favorites

All Trip Reports Backpacking Short Hikes Walk-Ups Scrambling Snow Climbing Snowshoeing

Boise Mountains Boulder Mountains Danskin Mountains Lemhi Range Lick Creek Range Lost River Range Owyhee Mountains Pioneer Mountains Salmon River Mountains Sawtooths Smoky Mountains West Mountains White Clouds Other Idaho Outside of Idaho

Idaho Photo Links My Favorite Photos

White Clouds Links Guidebooks

Union Peak and Jove Peak

An adventurous three peak afternoon in Washington State
July 22, 2017
Union Peak (5,696') - Jove Peak (6,007') - North Jove Peak (5,975')

Related Links:

Trailhead Location
GPS Tracks
Union Peak: SP, PB, LOJ, Map
Jove Peak: SP, PB, LOJ, Map
North Jove Peak: LOJ, Map

Union Peak and Jove Peak are located in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness of northcentral Washington, near Stevens Pass. The trailhead is just over two hours from Seattle, but the peaks don’t see a whole lot of traffic, and the majority of visits seem to be in winter. It is possible to access the peaks from Union Gap, but the bushwhacking is a little easier on the approach from Nason Saddle.

I made the drive from Seattle on a Saturday afternoon, went past the packed parking lot at Smithbrook Trailhead, and then parked by a nice campsite just north of the main road at Nason Saddle. After making a couple PBJ’s, I hit the trail at around 4:30.

The hike started on a faint trail that quickly faded into the brush as I headed up the ridge. The trail would appear and fade from time to time, but I just stuck to the top of the gentle ridge, with just a few rocky spots to navigate. It was a nice afternoon, and I was enjoying exploring a new area.

It took me a little over an hour to reach the summit of Union Peak. The views were nice, but arguably not as nice as during the ridgeling approach. I was hoping to stop for a quick snack break, but the mosquitos were annoying so I continued on my way toward Jove Peak. On my way from Union to Jove, the brush got a little thicker, and so did the mosquitos. I also saw a couple of pretty good sized piles of bear scat. At that point, I decided some wilderness singing was in order so as not to surprise any bears. My main song selection was “Wasting Away Again in Mosquitoville”.

I arrived on the summit of Jove Peak at 6:30pm, and enjoyed some great views in the evening light. But the bugs were getting fierce at this point, so an extended break was not an option. I’d been planning to continue north to “North Jove Peak” (Peak 5975’), but my pace was slow due to the bushwhacking and it was starting to get a little late. With a good view of the route, it looked doable, so I texted my plan to my wife, and continued onward.

Heading north from Jove Peak, there were some denser brushy spots and more bear scat, which was a little unnerving. The bugs were getting worse too. But I forged onward and reached my third summit of the evening by 7:00pm. The summit of North Jove Peak had some great views, and felt pretty remote.

Now all that was left was to retrace my path back to the car. During the hike back, I was surrounded by a cloud of mosquitos almost the entire time. I breathed in several into my throat along the way. There was just no way to avoid them. Even my lousy bear singing didn’t drive the bugs away. As the sun began sinking behind the mountains to the west, I was on the home stretch back to the car, and only had to bushwhack with my headlamp on for about the last 20 minutes.

In spite of the bugs, this was a fun adventure in a new area. Round trip was about 7 miles, and 3600’ gain in 5 hours of hiking. I was plenty tired and ready for a good night of sleep in the back of the rental car before hiking up Mount McCausland the next morning.