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.

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.

A trip to Mount Si

It was a partially overcast pacific northwest summer day. The temperature was in the mid 70s. I had hardly a six-hour window to drive to the trail-head and be back for an appointment. I decided to go ahead anyway - a fact that I regretted later.

The four mile hike to the bottom of the haystack (the clump of rocks that you can see from far away) demands relentless climbing through switch backed trails except for a short stretch that is also a point of special interest. It is a 350 year old Douglas tree that survived the great fire in the 19th century. I completed the climbing in an hour and fifty minutes, which according to my colleague who is a veteran climber, was a bit too fast. I too realized it when a 20 minutes break was not enough to explore haystack any further. I would have needed another 20 minutes of rest before climbing to the top to see the North Bend town below. Since I was short on time, I decided that I would need to come back another day to do it.

On a side note, I met this girl on my way up, who was there walking the trail searching her soul, after her boyfriend had asked her to move out of her parent's home. We talked as we walked together for a few minutes. She is a college student aspiring for a teaching career and working for it carrying with her several grands of student loan. She is currently living with her parents so she does not have to pay rent. She is a devoted Christian too, who has vowed in an early age to practice abstinence before marriage and is now apprehensive of the fact that if she moved out, at some point her boyfriend would want to move in with her. The dilemma between her principles, finance and maintaining a relationship was all too evident. I moved on after suggesting she might find happiness by following what might make most sense from the point of view of her avowed principle as well as financial stability.

Back to the hiking - I returned with the conclusion that I must return with a companion, which will make the tedious four mile hike feel easier, and allowing sufficient time to climb the haystack all the way to the top.