Middle Fork of Snoqualmie River

Saturday, December 26 2009
Cumulative Elevation gain 420 ft
Trail length: 13 miles loop

Level of difficulty: Medium
It was the day after Christmas and the sun was shining bright. I have not done much of winter hikes so far. So I talked to David for the possibility of another hike together. David has been hiking in the Puget Sound area for several years and knows details of many of the trails by heart. Even though it would not be his first time hiking the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie river, he gracefully agreed to accompany me and here we set off again.
A section of the access road to the trail head was closed after damages during snowstorms last year but was apparently re-opened earlier this year. The last 5 miles of the road is still full of potholes. The road for most parts runs along the river as we passed those ragged tops of the Russian Butte and along the way witnessed some nice sights of Mount Garfield in the distance and snow covered trees by the riverside.

The trail head is located near a bend where the middle fork meets Taylor river while changing course from a north-westerly direction to south westerly. We pressed on as David wanted to check out the bridge over the Taylor river that leads to other spectacular destinations such as Snoqualmie Lake and Nordrum Lake. The bridge was gated for vehicular traffic but seemed to be fine for foot traffic. I shall probably in the summer to visit those lakes. But for now, we returned to the trail head of the middle fork. There was just one other car at the parking lot and two elderly gentlemen were getting ready for the hike.
Immediately beyond the parking lot, we crossed the middle fork river over a nice wooden bridge. The trail runs in a South-Easterly direction upstream along the valley of the Middle Fork river. There was only a very gentle elevation gain as we advanced. One gets spectacular glimpses of the Mount Garfield across the river. The ground had traces of snow all the way and some hard packed ice at some sections. The temperature was below freezing, yet it was not too cold to impede the enjoyment of hiking. At the six mile point, the trail splits. Continuing on the trail would take you to the Snow Lake. This would be an alternate way to get to the Snow Lake. The more popular trail for Snow Lake starts near the Snoqualmie pass. We followed the other leg of the fork to cross the bridge over the Middle Fork river and came upon the trail that follows the river on the north side. This is where another trail starts for the Myrtle Lake and Hester Lake - another couple of possible future destinations for me.

A little bit farther away is the bridge over the Dingford Creek which joins the Middle Fork river. We reached the bridge and enjoyed the cascading waterfalls on either side of the bridge before turning around to sit down near the Myrtle Lake trail head. There we rested a bit while eating snack lunch. We returned by this other trail that runs on an old forest logging road on the north side of the Middle Fork river. Some sections of the road is badly damaged and would not be negotiable by most vehicles. The trail is gated at the starting point to prevent any vehicular traffic.
It was a nice workout for a hiking in a winter day in December. It was cold but not much climbing was involved, and hence there was not much of a danger of falling down or getting injured. As we have found out, this is a trail that can be hiked safely all year round.

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Hiking Mount Teneriffe - or Was It?

Sunday, December 6 2009

Level of difficulty: Hard


David and I set out for Mount Teneriffe - a twin of, so to say, Mount Si. The trail head is located about 2 miles further away from Mount Si trail head on Mt Si Road SE and has an elevation of about 960 feet The trail length to the destination Mount Teneriffe would be roughly seven miles and the elevation is about 4760 feet.


The trail started innocuously beyond the gated entrance on an old forest logging road that was covered with leaves strewn all over. David mentioned about a short cut via Kamikaze falls trail that would reduce the distance by a couple of miles. By the time we reached the fork, we found the trail being covered with powdery white stuff also known as snow dust. Unfortunately for us, the Kamikaze trail was closed for the time being. So we continued on the main trail. As we advanced, the snow layer below our feet became progressively thicker.

At about four mile we reached the fork on a saddle where a detour would be a mile of distance to Mount Si. Mount Teneriffe was still three miles away. With prevailing weather conditions of low light in a short December day, we figured we may not be able get back to the trail head before dark, were we to go all the way to Mount Teneriffe. Alternately, we could call it a day at that point or visit Mount Si. So Mount Si it was that we decided to go on to.


It was already bitterly cold up there. My camera in the mean time stopped working in the sub freezing ambiance. I substituted it with my cellphone but the results were not very encouraging. The snow pack was perhaps a foot deep. Soon we were at the foot of Haystack scramble on top of Mount Si. The weather by now took an ominous turn. The sun looked eerie in the cloudy sky. We finished our snack lunch quickly and started on our journey back to the trail head.


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John Wayne Trail - Another Segment

Sunday, September 27 2009
Cumulative Elevation gain 600 ft
Trail length: 5 miles one way

Time taken: 2hours one way
Level of difficulty: Medium

I am picking up where we left the last time around - near the Twin Falls and Olallie State Park. It is the same trail that starts near Rattlesnake Mountain and we hiked four miles of this trail to the Olallie State Park. This time around we started off at the Olallie State Park trail head. An access trail from the parking lot climbs quickly through about 100 to reach the John Wayne Trail. From there we continued eastbound.

This section of the trail passes over a few engineering marvels from the 19th century that bridges deep ravines with tall trestles to accommodate rail traffic on top. A few bikers merrily paddled by - but much less in numbers compared to last time around. The new aspect is the rock climbers on on rock precipice honing their climbing skills.

From this trail we got a nice view of the Bandera Mountain that I hiked a couple of weeks back with a multi-colored meadow looking like a nice carpet on its southern slope. At one point the wind blowing from East to West really picked up in strength - funneled into a narrower passage by the mountains on both sides. Funnily for the rest of trail we experienced alternated blasts of perceptibly warm and cold air from time to time.


We stopped just a little bit short of the trail head for McClellan Butte and returned after resting a little bit while having some snacks. All the way through we noticed the signs of Fall from the trees turning colors. Felt like the colors would peak in a couple of week or so. Apart from the turning colors, an interesting arboreal feature we noticed is a tree stump that seems like a sitting posture. Check it out on this picture.


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Bandera Mountain and Mason Lake

Saturday, September 12 2009
Cumulative Elevation gain 3000 ft
Trail length: 3.8 miles one way

Time taken: 2hours 20 minutes on way up
Level of difficulty: Difficult

Nice sunny day. A forest road off of exit 42 of I-90 over 3 .3 miles leads to the Ira Spring trail head. The trail starts off on an old time logging road for the first mile with gentle slope and travels eastward parallel to the highway below. Two sections of the trail were damaged by past winter storms but are passable now. Several peaks starting with McClellan Butte can be seen from this section of the trail.

Soon after, the logging road ends and the trail turns north and a steeper climb begins. By now with enough gain in elevation, Mount Rainier starts to come into view in the distance. A little while later, the forest clears up gradually. The most difficult part of the trail starts at the fork where the left trail leads to Mason Lake and the right to the Bandera Mountain. At this point, I had excellent views of the meadows up towards the Bandera mountains, the mildly serpentine interstate 90 below, and Mount Rainier far away looming above the nearer mountain ranges to the south. But alas! My camera battery had to die right there:(. It was one of those moments where the camera functionality of my cellphone proved so handy! So I used my phone to capture whatever images I could for the rest of this trip.

I continued on the Bandera trail. Oh boy - is that a trail or a staircase? It is a 45 degree assent from this point for next half mile before getting to a comparatively milder yet rocky segment. The elderly gentleman whom I met on my way commented that I had the whole mountain to myself beyond there. He was right - but where did all those people from 10 or15 odd cars parked at the trail head go? You guessed it right - on to the Mason Lake trail:). Well, I did meet two young couples during my descent from Bandera. One of the couples was actually carrying a month or so old baby!

The top of the Bandera Mountain provides all round views of mountain peaks and ranges. All these views are well worth the efforts to climb the very steep trail to get there. It was very windy up there. I stopped at the top, ate my lunch, and soaked in the views, some of them into my cellphone as well.

While returning, even though it was not originally a part of the plan, yet I decided to go sideways to the Mason Lake as well. It was another half mile from the fork in the trail and after rising over a small distance, it generally goes downwards from there on. Most of the hiker traffic was headed this way, including a few father-son teams getting out there for overnight camping. There are some nice spots by the lake suitable for camping activity even though lighting a fire is prohibited due to dangers of starting forest fires. The trail actually continues beyond the lake to several other hiking destinations in this Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. One that I have marked for a future trip is the Mount Defiance of which I had a pretty view of as can bee seen in this photograph. I rested for a few minutes watching several people getting a dip in the crystal clear but cold lake water before starting my return journey.


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Melakwa Lake

Sunday, August 30 2009
Cumulative Elevation gain 2200 ft
Trail length: 4.5 miles one way

Time taken: 2hours 20 minutes on way up and 2 hours 5 minutes on way back.
Level of difficulty: Difficult

It was an overcast morning to start with. Most of the clouds/fogs were hanging low. Judging by the small number of cars parked at the small parking area near the trail head at about 9:30 AM, we thought it was not going to be as crowded as mentioned in many of the reviews of this very popular trail. The trail itself was almost deserted as we were on our way up.

The trail runs by the side of the Danny Creek and passes north under the very high viaduct of the westbound I-90 highway. It is fascinating to be crossing such a heavily used thoroughfare unnoticed by any of the highway traffic.

A large part of the popularity of this trail is associated with the "Slippery Slabs" of the Danny Creek about a mile away from the trail head. There is a cascade of three small waterfalls each having a fairly flat rock bed at the bottom. The water is shallow and could be very relaxing in the very hot summer days of July this year, when the water was aplenty. It is a great attraction specially for the kids. By now, in late August, the water flowing on the flat rock beds has significantly diminished in quantity.

Immediately beyond "Slippery Slabs", we crossed the creek and picked up a wrong trail where we came across two snakes in the bushes, rapidly moving away from our pathway. Soon after, we found the main trail and continued.

The trail is well maintained, yet very rocky for the most parts. That results in watching every step on the trail to avoid tripping over and getting injured. We had little chance to enjoy the beautiful scenarios of the mountain sides, waterfalls and high peaks without stopping to do so. Because of this reason, I did not enjoy hiking this trail as much as its surrounding beauty warrants.

We passed rock-slides, meadows and strands of trees to finally cross the Hemlock pass at 4 miles. The clouds and fogs were gone now at this altitude and the sun shined brightly. From here the the trail climbs down to the lake in another half a mile. The lake is serene sight - surrounded by steep mountain walls. I went a couple hundred yards further to the Upper Melakwa Lake beyond which the valley ends.

Only on our way back did we meet the crowds we were supposed to meet. That included many large and small groups of young and old alike - mostly on the higher reaches of the trail, and whole families with kids on the slippery slabs. We crossed yet some more hikers still heading towards the slabs. By this time, the parking lot overflowed with cars parked over more than a quarter mile away from the trail head.
One of the hikers mentioned seeing a black bear. I was not surprised given the abundance of blue berries around!

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Iron Horse State Park - John Wayne Trail

Sunday, August 16th, 2009
Cumulative Elevation gain about 300 ft
Trail length covered : 4.5 miles one way

Time taken: 1hr 30 minutes s on way up and 1 hr 40 on way down.
Level of difficulty: Easy

This is a trail on an old railroad grade that used to stretch from Seattle to Chicago. The railway tracks are not there any more and the grade was converted into a gravel pathway in the 1980s. The section between Cedar Falls Close to North Bend on the West side of the Snoqualmie Pass and Vantage near Columbia River to the East of the Pass has since been maintained by the Washington State Parks and named it as John Wayne Trail. The surroundings of the trail is named the Iron Horse Park. It is nice family hiking trail with gentle slope and minimal physical efforts involved.

I and my friend accessed the trail at its starting point located about 3 miles south of exit 32 of the I-90 interstate highway. Its a gently sloping trail with the mountain wall on the south and excellent views on the other. The Rattlesnake Mountain and the Rattlesnake Ledge are visible from near the start of the trail. There is also a nice view of the Little Si and the Big Si together. This view provides a very good idea about the efforts and difficulty associated with the hiking the Big Si compared to that with the Little Si. There were quite a number of bicyclists on the trail. There was even one man riding a battery powered two-wheeler vehicle. Is a motorized vehicle allowed on this trail? I am not sure. However, we soon saw him coming back, but not riding his motorbike but pushing it!

As we walked, the trail moved closer to the Highway. At some point we passed the Twin Falls State Park on our left. At about 4.5 miles, pretty close to the Olallie State Park, we turned around. If we went on for another 16 miles, we would be walking into the 2-miles long Snoqualmie Tunnel. Well, I plan to return to this trail some other day to hike through that tunnel!

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More information on John Wayne Trail

Kendall Katwalk

Saturday, August 1st, 2009
Cumulative Elevation gain 2700 ft
Trail length: 5.5 miles one way

Time taken: 2hr 45 minutes s on way up and 2 hr 30 on way down.

Level of difficulty: Difficult

From 20090801 Hiking Kendall Katwalk

Kendall Katwalk is a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail that extends from Mexico all the way to Canada. The access point to the trail is located at the Snoqualmie Pass on the I-90 Interstate Highway. It is undoubtedly the most scenic trail I have hiked so far in the short history of my hiking undertakings. The experience was definitely heightened by the company of my friend Rajib.

The aspect that struck me during the trip was that there were more back-packers on this trail than folks coming for a day-hike. We met several parties who were either going on for or returning from an overnight backpacking trip. Most camped by side of lakes further to the north of the Katwalk. One pair was actually hiking for the seventh day since they started at the Stevens Pass on US Highway 2.

The Katwalk itself is a short segment of the ridge line between the Kendall Mountain and the Red Mountain, a mountain literally red-colored in its appearance. The ridge walls fall sharply on either side of the trail which is about 5 feet wide at that segment. About a mile before reaching the Katwalk, the trail emerges from the forests and the steep wall on the West side of the Kendall Mountain as well as a skyline of the mountain tops on the west side starts coming into view. We also captured a nice glimpse of the Mount Rainier.

From 20090801 Hiking Kendall Katwalk

It would be a turning point however, for those who have vertigo - so steep are the slopes. The trail here is narrow and can be dangerous in presence of snow. We encountered now snow though. At the Katwalk, the views are available on both East and West directions.

From 20090801 Hiking Kendall Katwalk

A mile or so beyond the Katwalk exist two lakes on either side of the trail - the Alaska lake and the Gravel Lake. Many hikers carry on till reaching there. We decided to call it a day at the Katwalk with the intention of returning in future to continue hiking to the lakes on that trip. On our way back, we heard the very loud and long calls of a marmot that was sitting on top of a big rock situated way above the trail where the trail passes through a rockfall.

From 20090801 Hiking Kendall Katwalk

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Poo Poo Point

Sunday, July 26th
Elevation gain 1700 ft
Trail length: 4.5 miles one way

Time taken: 1 hr 35 minutes s on way up and 1 hr 10 on way down.

Level of difficulty: Medium

Poo Poo Point is perched atop the west precipice of the Tiger Mountain near Issaquah. It is a very popular launching point for para gliders and advanced (level 3) hang-gliders. On a sunny dry day traveling on I-90 East and before reaching the Issaquah exits, you will see them flying in the sky against the greenary of the forested Tiger mountain. The bald little patch you see in the mountain is the Poo Poo Point. Today I've o seen them in the act of launching into the air and rise further into the sky, climbing the thermals in a spiral movement. The 'thermals' are upward surge of warm air created by development activities- concrete surfaces and such. The gliders get a ride on a large truck that drives on a forest road onto the Poo Poo Point. There were a few non-gliders as well who hitched that ride and will likely walk down a hiking trail later.

The hiking trail was pretty quiet. I encountered only two groups of people while climbing up, and none on the return trip. The weather forecast for the day may have a part to play - it is supposed to be close to 90 degree Fahrenheit today. Even otherwise, I think very few perhaps venture out on this trail off the Issaquah High School campus. The trail is pretty much off the beaten path. It is a good mixture of steadily rising long segments, short switch-backs and intermittent level stretches, with a downward slope thrown is as well. Unlike other trails on the Tiger Mountain, it is away from the noise from the interstate highway and therefore provides a nice solitude, until you get to your destination of course, where you will expect to find some people hanging around.


More popular trails on the Tiger Mountains are the ones from High Point trail head. Most head from there to the West Tiger Mountain peaks.

There were quite a few people at the final destination when I arrived there. Most were the gliders - taking off one after the other. In a short time, all of them gliders were gone flying. Rest were occasional hikers - mostly young adults. As I started the return trip, another van load of gliders arrived.


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McClellan Butte

Saturday, July 18th

Elevation gain 3800 ft

Trail length: 4.4 miles one way

Time taken: 2 hrs 40 mins on way up and 1 hr 45 on way down.
Level of difficulty: Hard

Another excellent Summer day in the Pacific Northwest, and what a better way to soak it up than being at the summit of the shear cliff of the McClellan Butte at an elevation of 5,160 ft?

Unlike other hikes I have undertaken so far, I started out late on the day: 4:25 PM at the trail head to be precise. I figured, with a long summer day and no inclement weather in the forecast, I would have enough time to complete the hike. But to tell you the truth, I ended up spending more time at the summit, being lost in the excellent views all around, oblivious to passing time. As a result, I barely made it back to the trail head just before it got really dark at 9:10 pm.

By getting to the summit late in the day, I also expected to have some nicer picture moments in the afternoon sun. Boy, was I disappointed at all! The sun played light and shades with the clouds and painted all sort of collages on the greenery below. You have to be there to enjoy the 360 degrees of unobstructed views of the peaks and the precipitous hillsides of the Cascade Mountains.

I encountered fewer people en-route compared to any other trails in the area. Everyone I met were returning. At the time of passing the last person, I was hardly a third of the way up. Obviously, I was all alone at the summit. It is nice for a change to not find a crowd on one of the popular hiking destinations. But a companion while hiking would sure have lessened the feelings of physical hardship associated with such an arduous effort as this hike.

The trail has changed slightly from the description in the book in terms of location of crossing the Iron Horse Trail. The book also did not indicate a loss of elevation at the beginning of the final stretch of the climb. Even on this bright July day, there were still patches of snow on some sections of the trail. At one point, the trail disappears under a large chunk of ice, which entailed special efforts to cross it.

The final 100 feet of climbing the rock scramble is not for the faint hearted. It can be dangerous for the average person on a good weather day, and even for the brave on a wet day. You could stop right there and not climb the scramble. Then you would perhaps always be mulling on what it would have been like at the summit. But once you make it, you are rewarded with feelings of satisfaction and pleasure that makes the whole exercise well worth it.

See more pictures here.

Goat Peak

Sunday, June 22nd
Elevation gain: 1500 ft
Length: 5 miles round trip
Time taken: 90 minutes one way
Difficulty: Medium/Hard

Link to pictures

Finally I have sit down to write about this trip done four weeks ago. Goat peak trail is located several miles off the scenic North Cascade Highway. The trail head is accessible through partly surfaced and partly gravelly forest roads off of the main highway. The driving directions to the trail head proved to be misleading. You will end up driving more than what is described.

I and my wife Minakshi climbed precariously over the big snow patch on the main trail on the peak you would encounter preceding the climb to final destination. There was an inconspicuous way around to avoid climbing on the snow. We used that on our way back.

The weather started out overcast and took an ominous turn for thick flurries as the destination neared. However, it was nice to be hosted by 'Lightning' Bill in the Fire Lookout at the top. It was warm and cozy inside the Lookout. It is built with glass windows all around. The temperature was freezing outside. 'Lightning' Bill works for the Forest Service and keeps an eye on forest firesThe area is the rain shadow zone of the cascade mountains and notoriously dry and thus prone to forest fires. He notifies authorities when he spots any, in addition to playing a very good host to all the hikers who show up in large numbers all through the summer. Learn more about Lightning Bill and Goat Peak at his website.

The weather deprived us of supposedly stunning views all around. Besides, as Lightning Bill said, it was still early in the season to see the gorgeous colorfulness that envelops the mountains in late summer/early fall, even though we did have a few glimpses in the form of the few flowers we saw on the way. We came back with the resolve to return next year during the later part of the summer season.

Rainy Lake

From Rainy Lake

Saturday, June 21st
Elevation gain: None
Length: 1 mile one way
Time taken: 20 minutes one way

If you happen to be traveling across the Cascade Mountains in the Washington state via highway 20, you will cross Rainy Pass and Washington Pass. At Rainy pass, a quarter mile off the road is a trail head for trails to Rainy Lake (1.0 mile). Parking payment is required at the trail head.

Its a paved trail running by the hill side. Even in this month of June, there is snow on the trail at several places along the way. The hike is fairly uneventful until the lake front suddenly presents itself with exquisite views of the high cliffs with snow capped peaks and walls surrounding the Rainy Lake adorned with waterfalls. It is a refreshing retreat for travelers crossing the mountains via Hwy-20.

At the lake front is a picnic spot with paved opening and benches. The trail continues from here with the option of a loop finally ending at the trail head. I headed back the way I came as I still had more traveling to do to get to my final destination of the Pearrygin State Park near Winthrop on the East side of the mountains.

From Rainy Lake

Granite Mountain

Saturday, June the 13th

Elevation gain 3800 ft

Trail length: 4.3 miles one way

Time taken: 2 hrs 45 mins way up and 2 hrs on way down.

It was a perfect weather to start with - bright and sunny. I was paging through my hiking book Beyond Mount Si trying to decide which trail to head too. After scaling the Mail Box peak a week ago, I was getting feeling confident of taking on one of the more difficult day hikes. There are many trails listed that are located between Mount Si and the Snoqualmie pass. However, most of them are marked to be good starting July. Then there is the Granite Mountain that is supposed to be good for the month of June and after. It is one of medium to hard difficulty level. Now I have my trail for the day.



After you exit I-90 East at #47 and turn left at the stop sign, you get a majestic view of the mountain. The trail head is about half mile away from here and a Northwest Forest Permit is required to park at the nice paved parking lot at the trail head. I saw a few NWF service personnel scouting the parking lot doing whatever they needed to do - possibly enforcing permits as well. The lot became quickly full and some folks parked by the roadside away from the parking lot too. Permit is also required for hiking this trail and the forms can be filled out for free at the starting point of the trail. The first half of the trail passes through forest tree rising steadily all the time and then opens up to fairly open sky with low shrubs all around. Starting here, nice views are available all the way to the top. By that time, the cloud covers increased to the point that I heard thunders and felt a few raindrops falling on my face. Despite possibility of lightnings, I figured the darker clouds were located further to the West and I decided to press on. The trail crossed two streams so far - on was frozen today and the other was flowing strong.

Soon after, the sky stopped thundering, and the trail started to disappears into snows before coming out of it for a short length. After playing hide and seek for a couple of times, it vanished for good underneath the snow pack that continued from the top all the way to here. The alternative to walking on the snow on a steeply climbing ridge line was to climb on all four on the rock scramble that ran parallel to the snow trail. After giving it a try for once, I reverted back to the snow route. The new trekking poles I purchased from REI came very handy to get a firm footing while climbing. I also improvised my steps by hitting the toe into the snow in order to get a firm foothold.

There is a lookout at the top, slightly to the South East off the peak. I rested there and ate my lunch while absorbing the breathtaking views all through all of 360 degrees of the horizon. There were several people already there; some were leaving while others were still arriving during my stay there. Soon I got on to my way back. I noticed other hikers using ice axes, very useful tool while climbing down a snow covered slope. I did not have one. So I improvised again by digging in the heel into the snow at every step to avoid skidding and sliding. But I realize I should get my next hiking gear - an ice axe, should I plan on hiking on a snowy trail like this.

With the fabulous excitement I got from this trip I should plan on coming back later in the season to see what the experience would be like in a warmer weather when all the snow is gone, .

Mail Box Peak

Sunday the June 7th, 2009
Elevation gain - 4000 ft
Trail length - 2.5 miles
Time taken - 2 hours on way up, 1.5 hours on way down.



I heard about this trail from a fellow hiker whom I met duringa a trip to the Tiger Mountains. Then a discussion with my colleague David, who is an avid hiker, albeit much more experienced, whetted my interest so much that I setout for this trail today.

While driving east on I-90 and getting closer to the exit for the trail head, a steady drizzle welcomed me. For a moment or two, I doubt in my mine about going ahead. But then shook it off and continued. Exit-34 leads to the parking lot where a NW forest pass is required for parking. It is a 10 minutes walk from there beyond the gated entry on a forest road to the trail head, where a warning sign cautions hikers this being a dangerous one. You can read the full text of this notice in the slide show.

The 2.5 mile trail ascends about 4000 ft. That is an average of 31% slope. That gives some idea about the levelo of difficulty associated with this trail. For some parts, it feels like a steep ramp, but more often than not, the trail is more like a staircase, or even like a ladder at some points. The difficulty of the Mt Si trail pales in comparison to this one. There two things I would definitely recommend any hiker to bring to this trail - company and a pair of trekking poles. The company will ease your time, the trekking poles will cushion your knees, specially while climbing down. It is a tough trail both on way up and down.

The trail starts through forests for the first hour and then the forest clears up. After 1.5 hours, I encountered the field of boulders that leads straight to the top. There is another option of taking the trail that goes around it over a large patch of snow. I went ahead with the boulder route and was on all four at some points along the way. By two hours I reached the top and there was the Mail Box! There were about 7 people already there. All along the route, I overtook 7 individuals or groups and one person overtook me. So I guess I was on the faster side of the average time needed for this hike.

I spent 20 minutes up there - eating my lunch, taking turn with other hikers to sign the book inside the mail box and taking a few pictures. Unfortunately, it was very foggy all around that prevented getting any significant views. I would consider this as an incentive to visit this peak one more time on a sunny day, for the view from here is vouched to be astoundingly beautiful.

On my way back, I followed the trail on the snow patch around the boulder field and was back at the trail head in about an hour and a half.

More links:
Seattle Pi Article
SummitPost.org
Attrition.ws

West Tiger Mountain

It was a beautiful memorial day! Bright and sunny with the temperatures in the upper sixties - what more can I ask for to go on a hiking trip in this often rainy and overcast Pacific Northwest? So I decided this is the perfect day to start my hiking activities for the year.

It is a short drive from my home to the High Point trail head for hiking into the Tiger Mountains, which is also true for all the outdoor lovers in the greater Seattle area. Therefore on any given weekend, I would expect to see and pass a lot of hikers on the trails. The small parking space was already full by the time I reached there around 10:30 and vehicles were parked by the roadside leading from the I-90 exit all the way to the trail head.

The Tiger Mountain has six summits, of which there are three that hikers often visit. The most popular one is #3. The trail is a pretty wide and moderately steep one and is fairly maintained. There are also host of trails that crisscross the hole mountain leading to different viewpoints and summits. It would be easy to get lost if you do not have a map to guide you and you stray from the marked trails. Even though most of the trails are really are marked yet it might be difficult to find your way without a map as I discovered firsthand during my first foray into the tiger mountains a couple of years ago .

After parking my car on the roadside, at 10:40 am, I headed towards the summit #3 where most others headed as well. On my way, I passed several people in both directions- some alone, some in groups. Just before reaching the summit, I had an opportunity to interact with a group of well hiked hikers about level of difficulties of this trail compared to other trails. One of them liked my terming the Mount Si trail as 'relentless'. They mentioned the 'Mailbox' as a tough one. I have not been to that trail yet. I reached the number three by noon, and it was a zoo of people up there; I did not find a rock to sit down that was not taken already by other people. A lot of the people were there standing, soaking up the sun and the views all around. You could see the other nearby mountains, summits, and the Lake Sammamish at a distance.

I preferred to get away from the crowd and headed towards summit#2. There was hardly anybody on the trail, except for a group of college kids having a little picnic at a viewpoint on the trail side. Ten minutes later, I was up there, where I met with two elderly people who graciously agreed to be photographed for my camera. It is a very good idea to head to #2 or to #1 for that matter, if you liked quietness more than a crowd at your your destination.

Since I had time to spare, I went on to summit #1, which is just 8-10 minutes further away. I passed just one hiker on my way and again met just one couple on top who agreed to click a couple of pictures with me in them. Apart from hiking to the highest summit, the other most rewarding feature of summit#1 is the beautiful view of the Mt. Rainier in the distance seemingly perched above the clouds, which is well worth the extra effort to get there. Soaking up the views all around, I ate my lunch there and headed back at 12:45. I was back at the trail head by 2:05 pm.