The name ‘Grand Prospect’ does sound rather grand but it is just a view point on the west/middle/north side of Rattlesnake Mountain. Starting from the Snoqualmie Point lot it is 4 miles up to Grand Prospect, and half of that is almost totally within a beautiful 2nd growth forest. This is one of my favorite hikes.
I started up the trail this morning about 5:45 am, headlamp time again. Now that the sun is coming up later and later, I was on the trail for more than an hour before I was able to safely remove the headlamp. But that’s OK, it is kind of spooky being in the forest in the dark.
However, on the way down, I startled a huge buck elk that had been standing on the trail. Fortunately, rather than being angry at the pathetic trespassing human the elk was properly disgusted. He took off running. And I am glad he did.
I only saw a very few people the entire time.
The view above is interesting and if you move the camera down you get a great view of the I-90 Exit 31 roundabout (have to look carefully):
All in all a very fun morning and a great workout.