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, .
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, .
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