Today’s hike was not very photogenic but it was a good workout – 9.7 miles with about 3 miles of steep elevation gain and a challenging section with mud and bushy overgrowth – and a fun time.
We have visitors from out of town and when I got back I was tasked with dogsitting (my niece’s dog likes to do things like get into garbage) so here I am.
Track below:
Simple conditioning hike on Tiger this morning. I hit the trail at 6am – I wanted to get ahead of the forecasted rain and thunderstorms. Not sure how many hikes I will get in next week, we have friendly visitors from out-of-state staying with us for a few days. Jan’s sister Deb, who, with her husband Rick, moved from Chicago, where they have lived their entire lives, to Geneva, IL. What a change!
And their daughter (our niece) Jaclyn, who is moving from Alaska to Idaho and stopping at our place en route. Should be fun.
So we will see how it goes.
In the meantime, there are new signs on Tiger. What used to be an unnamed connector trail from the E. Sunset Way parking lot up to the Puget Power Trail now has a name:
For sure, this is a nice way to start the day.
My goal today was to do something new. I wound up parking at the Middle Fork Trailhead, taking the connector trail past Garfield Ledges and up the Snoqualmie Lake Trail. I just wanted to see where it led.
At about .5 mile up the trail there was a fork and a sign. Left was the Quartz Creek Trail, which I vaguely recalled seeing on a topo map so I figured, what the heck, and I hung a left.
This is a former logging road (see below for evidence of logging I found) and it does go on. And up, but not terribly steeply. The trail is more like a road for maybe a mile, and then it turns into more of a trail. It reminds me of the Granite Creek Trail, not an amazing coincidence since that trail is only a few miles down the road. And it shares with that trail numerous un-bridged small stream crossings.
I turned around at a fork where, I now see, one path leads to a lake (and, per a few trip reports, very nasty stream crossings) and the other way to Cockerel Point, which looks like a tough one. You can also get to Rooster Mountain, another difficult outing.
7.3 miles, 2,200 feet of elevation gain, the place is gorgeous. Photos and track below.
I just did Stan’s Overlook today, the Tuesday hike on Mount Washington was pretty big and I plan to get out tomorrow somewhere so I went small. The track is below, I add it only because I did a little loop around the Snoqualmie Point Overlook, which would be nice for out-of-towners. Great view, a little walk.
I did Mount Si last week and I did Mount Washington today. Although there is still a little snow on the Mount Washington trail (see below) it is not that much of a problem. I was able to summit with no problem.
Actually, I would have had a problem had I started earlier (I left the car to go up the trail at 7:25 am) because it is getting into the 80’s today. I saw 2 people on the way up, a young couple who were power-hiking up the trail, but on the way down I saw perhaps a dozen people. The last few were sweating and panting. I hope they brought plenty of water.
This trail gets worse every year. It is rockier and rockier, really tough on your feet. I pity anyone doing this trail for the first time who is not wearing thick-soled boots.
Anyway, about 8.5 miles, 3,2500 feet of elevation gain, a bit less than 5 hours car-to-car. That includes a nice break at the top to enjoy the views and get my pulse down a few notches.
Track and a few views below.
Track
I went up Zig Zag today and got a bit closer to Truck Summit. I turned around at about 3500 feet – not because of too much snow – I just wanted to see what the trail was like these days. There was snow from about 3200 feet to 3400 feet but when I made the turn south the snow disappeared. I could see it was deep a ways up the trail towards the truck. I figure another 3 or 4 weeks should see the trail clear. I will remember that.
As always, Zig Zag is very steep and rugged but not that bad – going up, at least. I took the long way down and it was just good fun. Plenty of views. I had to put trash bags over my shoes to get across Mine Creek but it worked out just fine.
A bit more than 9 miles on a beautiful May day. Summer is almost here!
I did a proper hike today, 8 miles, 3150 feet of elevation gain. For the first time I went up the “new” Mount Si trail. I have gotten to the top of Si several times but in the past, always from the Old Trail or via Mount Teneriffe trail.
I have avoided the main trail because it has a reputation of being massively crowded. So I started early on a week day and I only encountered a few people on the way up. On the way down – over and over and over I had to step aside (the trail is mostly pretty narrow) to let the uphillers go by.
So I guess this will be one and done for me. I did it and that’s good enough. The other routes are fine with me.
Track is below.
My hike today was completely unplanned. I wanted to get out of the house because a contractor is here banging and sawing. But where to go on a very rainy day?
I first thought of the mall so I put a water bottle and a book in my Rick Steves day bag and headed out. As I drove the rain seemed to lessen and I always want to at least take a long walk and it dawned on me that I could go back to Garfield Ledges, which is totally under a forest canopy, even without my full pack and the gear it contains.
So I drove thru Duvall, Carnation, Snoqualmie and North Bend (past the little diner where agent what’s-his-name had pie and coffee on ‘Twin Peaks’) to I-90, exit 34, and then 12 miles down the Middle Fork Road to the Garfield Ledges trail head. Not much traffic today, no long line of illegally parked cars near Mailbox Peak.
This time, instead of parking at the Middle Fork trail head and taking the connector trail I parked right at the Garfield Ledges trail head so I could gauge how long the hike takes. Jan’s sister and her daughter Jackie are coming to visit in a couple of weeks, and I thought we might do a little outing there. Jan and her sister Deb could visit (perhaps sip some wine) at one of the picnic tables near the trail head, overlooking the river, while Jackie and her dog Flynn and I could zip up the trail for a quick workout. Anyway, it took me 45 minutes car-to-car and I wasn’t trying to hurry.
So the plan just might work, if Deb and Jackie want to do something like that.
I got pretty wet but I didn’t melt.
I wanted to check out the Garfield Ledges hike. I thought it might be a good one for Derek, Jill and the kids and I was right. I will recommend it to Derek.
This one is out a bit past the trailhead for Stegosaurus Butte, way down the Middle Fork road. I parked in the lot for the Pratt River Trail and did the little connector trail to get to the Ledges trail head. It added a bit to the hike, which was still, car-to-car, only 3 miles.
The main trail is about a mile up and maybe 700 feet of elevation gain. So, not exactly flat but not really steep. The trail is in great shape. I assume WTA has done work on this recently.
The view at the ledges is great (see below). But I will not be back in this area on a weekend if I can help it. Not only are there many cars on FR56, about half of them going way too fast around the curves, but the cars in the general vicinity of Mailbox Peak are out of control. The lots were both full so hundreds of people parked their cars along the side of the road, in plain view of the numerous ‘Park Only in Designated Areas’ signs. People: if you want to hike and the lot is full, your plan failed and go somewhere else. You don’t just park illegally, and dangerously (it is a narrow 2-lane road as it is and when people park on the side, two cars passing are a dicy proposition).
Anyway, nice hike, good discovery, won’t be back there on a weekend any time soon.
Here is the track:
I did my typical Cedar Butte/Olallie hike. I went by Christmas Lake on the way back, as well as Rattlesnake Lake. 6.5 miles, lots of fun and a decent workout.
I plan to get out tomorrow, not sure where.
