To Mount Si Again

Date of Hiking: Saturday, August 23, 2008
Distance: 4+ miles one way
Time taken: 5 hrs to the top of the haystack and back to the trail head



The main reason I am back again within a few weeks from my last trip to Mt.Si is to complete what was left incomplete the last time. I did not make it all the way to the top of the "Haystack Rock Scramble" that time. Contrary to my earlier assertion, I was there alone again for lack of anyone to accompany me - yet driven by an unsurmountable desire to scale the top of the mountain. The other reason is to check out an alternate route.

This time around, I started from the trail head for the Little Si. The Little Si is another hiking destination, a much easier option, more about which will be the subject of another post.

The direction at the fork where the link trail for the Big Si starts is either not officially marked or the mark is removed as a result of vandalism. But behind the plate that shows the route to Little Si, a fellow hiker must have scratched an arrow towards the other trail marking it as the route to Big Si.

Beyond this point, the unrelenting ascending trail climbs a steep hill face of about 60 to 70 degrees starting with long segments of switch-backs. However, at about the two-third point, the trail abandons the the steep hill face and embraces the a ridge line, where the switch-backs give way to a twisting trail that continues to ascend incessantly. This link trail is very less frequented compared to the main trail. I encounters only a three of people on my way up and three other on the return trip - a good option if you are looking for some solitude. But expect to get stung by a bee or two as had happened to me and a fellow hiker whom I met on my way back.

Beyond the top of the Big Si lies another the peak named the Haystack Rock Scramble. The most exciting part of this trip for me was the climbing up the haystack rock scramble on all four. And as you might expect, the view from up there is breathtaking and worth all the hard work getting to the top of the Big Si itself. Please checkout the slide show of a few pictures which were taken with my small Olympus camera.