Nice hike and workout today. It was a 7-miler up and down the Margaret’s Way trail on Squak Mountain. Beautiful day, supposed to be great all week.
I did the little side trip to Debbie’s View (above). Not much extra mileage but it is a good view point.
There is a stand of birches I always love:
Track below. Not sure where I will go Thursday, but I do plan to get out on the trail.
I did a 6.5 miler today, up and down the Mount Teneriffe Trail. I was hoping to go further but I was not pleased with the trail. There was plenty of snow this week and I was expecting to use my snow shoes but there has been a quick melt-out and the trail was too sketchy for spikes, not nearly deep enough for the snow shoes, and too slippery for just boots. So I turned around at about 2,600 feet.
Not unhappy, though, it was a nice workout on a beautiful day.
Even without getting to any of the viewpoints, let alone the awesome Teneriffe summit, there is plenty of interest.
Here is the track:
Track
I look forward to next week, weather should be decent.
No big deal today, the typical Section Line (back via Nook and Wetlands) conditioning hike.
Back in October I took a photo of nearly-empty Round Lake and said that, like those famous haystacks, I would take photos of Round Lake every three months, to compare. There was a bit more water in January and much more today. We will see how it looks in July.
Nice workout, beautiful day.
No Derek today. He had an unexpected work obligation so I skipped Stegosaurus Butte and explored the Change Creek Trail, up to the Hall Point junction. I read a trip report from Wednesday that said the trail was navigable up to Hall Point – unlike Zig Zag, just across Hall Creek, go figure – so I checked it out. And except for a couple of very short stretches, it was snow-free.
However, the snow from the trail up to Hall Point looked pretty deep so I turned around right there. No problem, hike was about 3 miles and very steep (1400 feet of gain in a one mile stretch) so it was a good workout.
As always I love being out there in the forest.
Track below:
On Tuesday, by chance, I noticed a new WTA (Washington Trails Association) trip report for a hike I have looked at doing called Stegosaurus Butte. It is about 2 miles up and down but ultra-steep, at least according to the sources I have consulted.
I thought perhaps Derek and I could tackle it on Saturday. But I was not sure about how to get to the trail head, or exactly how to find the trail, since the Stegosaurus Butte trail is strictly unofficial, with no sign marking it.
Anyway, I got off at Exit 34 (a popular exit for hikers and for semi-trucks because of the huge truck stop just off the I-90 freeway) and drove way past the popular Mailbox Peak trail head, past the trail I have hiked a few times to Thompson Lake or Granite Lakes, past a few other trail heads to the one I was looking for.
There was an obvious place to start and a very cool little bridge to cross:
There is a very long trail just across the bridge but you cannot go left these days, nor for the next year, as that portion of the trail is closed for renovation and to clear out the damage from a slide.
But that was fine with me, my route took me to the right, down the Pratt River Trail. Maybe .25 mile along that trail I noticed a faint boot path heading up and I pulled out my Gaia app and verified that that was the Stegosaurus Butte Trail and I started up.
And it is definitely up, up, up! And the trail (see above) more or less disappears a few times. I had to check Gaia a couple of times to make sure I was on track. About 1/3 of the way up (see track below) I turned around. I had found the trail and explored it far enough to figure out what to do.
I figured that, solo, it might be a tad on the dicey side coming down such a steep, rocky, rooty trail. Better to wait until I am with Derek, so if something happens there is a possibility of rescue.
On the way back down I decided to check out the Pratt River Trail and it is a nice one. It is totally suitable for people who can walk but are not used to going up steeply. It is a gentle up and down through the forest, never far from the river – just a great walk.
Here is the view from the bridge:
And here is the track. If Derek agrees, we will be back on Saturday to see about the views from the top of the Butte.
I have no objective reason to be disappointed. True, my hike today was really short (2.2 miles) but there was enough elevation gain that I had a decent workout. And I did get out on a trail, the day is beautiful, the views were awesome so I am trying to work myself into a better mood.
The problem is that I suggested to Derek that we go up to Truck Summit via Zig Zag Trail on Saturday and today I thought I would reconnoiter the route. I figured I would eventually hit snow, but I hoped it would be high enough that I would be able to push on to at least the top of Zig Zag, 2750 feet up.
But (see photo above) I hit total snow cover at 2100 feet and I turned around. I am sure I could have gone at least a bit farther, but I figured I would have to go back down this very steep, very narrow trail in the snow and that it might be a bit dangerous.
My hope was that I could make it up to the top of Zig Zag and then go back down via the service road, which is longer and safer. I even brought garbage bags for my shoes if Mine Creek was high. I was ready to do a long hike but, solo, I was not comfortable going up and down so steeply on a snow-covered trail. And I also know from experience that this trail gets lost in the snow and navigation is an issue.
But, as I say, the views were great:
Also, at the western end of the Hall Creek Bridge I found a huge rock that looks like something Derek might want to climb:
I will go somewhere on Thursday, maybe on Squak Mountain, and Derek and I will discuss what to do on Saturday. It might even be possible to get at least to the top of Zig Zag, if not all the way to Truck Summit, but there are other options and we will discuss.
Here is the track. I did spend a good 20 minutes or so on the Hall Creek bridge, just soaking in the beautiful views. I was completely alone, I saw not a single person the entire time. I had nature, a really really huge nature, to myself.
I am planning three hikes next week, two of them fairly strenuous (up Zig Zag Trail) so I figured I would do something moderate today and save my legs for my solo attempt at Zig Zag on Tuesday.
And on the way to the trailhead, on SR202 between Snoqualmie and North Bend (North Bend is the town with the restaurant that was featured in the TV series ‘Twin Peaks’ – the restaurant is named Tweeds – and it is still there, still has pie and coffee) – anyway, there is a huge field where, periodically, a herd of elk gather. I have often seen them but pulling over to take a photo is not easy. The spot to park is very small and until today, there have been cars parked so I had to drive past.
But today it was empty and I pulled over and snapped some photos.
Cedar Butte trail was fine, no view at the top today. Nice forest along the way.
I took a different route back, via a side trail Derek and I spotted a couple of months ago. This trail runs along the south edge of Christmas Lake:
Looking forward to Zig Zag next week. I hope I can get all the way to the top. It could be covered in deep snow and, if so, I will go back down. The trail is very steep and narrow and not easy to navigate in the snow as Derek and I found out a few years ago.
Banner day today. I was up north in Arlington to get my 2nd Pfizer vaccine and from there I drove to the E Sunset Way lot in Issaquah to get in my 3rd hike of the week. Nice! That means if I can sneak out on Sunday I will get to four for the week.
Nothing special, just the standard Section Line to Nook to Bus Trail to Wetlands, but it was a good workout and for sure, a great day.
A post on the WTA web site yesterday led me to believe that the Rattlesnake Ledge Trail, closed due to the plague since last March, had re-opened. So this morning I drove there and sure enough, the trail is now open. It is a great hike physically but I generally avoid it due to the massive crowds that are typically on this trail.
I figured today would be different, and it was, but I did see more than a dozen people on the way down so I will continue to avoid it. Still, it was nice to do this one again.
As always, the views are terrific.
When I got back down I strolled up to the (also closed) Cedar River Watershed Education Center just to see what it looked like. Duh! It looked the same but there was no one around. Sad. On the way back I saw a lone fisherman floating in the lake and I was able to look up to the ledges, which were floating in the clouds.
I have to be creative this week to get in my 3 hikes because I am scheduled for my 2nd Covid vaccine on Thursday, and I am told to possibly expect a bad reaction the next day. And on Saturday Jan and I are doing a bird watching tour in Duvall. So Sunday looks like the likeliest candidate for this week’s hike #3.
The track, which was just under 6 miles:
I didn’t have much time today but where there’s a hill there’s a way so I popped over to Woodinville to spend some time on the hilly Tolt Pipeline Trail.
The people who live along this stretch of trail are not paupers:
It is horse and goat country as well:
Nice way to start the weekly rambles. Derek and I are planning a 4/3 outing to Truck Summit – should be fun.