08-27-23
The
day before, Gary and I found about the only place in Washington State
with clear air. I hoped to get in a Sunday hike without smoke too. In
the morning. My neighborhood was at about 140 AQI. North Bend was at
about 120. Everywhere else looked bad too. Everywhere except at
Snoqualmie Pass. The lone AQI monitor there was reading 30. Even
Greenwater, near where we were Saturday, was over 75. My original plan
was to find no good air and head up to the pass for an underground hike
through the Snoqualmie Tunnel. That is my usual refuge when nowhere
else is safe to breathe. The monitor might be malfunctioning but I
decided to stop at the Pacific Crest Trail south trailhead to check it
out. After getting up at 4:45 am the day before I slept in until 6:00
am. I was on the road at about 6:50 am. I exited I-90 at
Snoqualmie Pass and drove the dirt road up to the trailhead. I had
hiked south on the PCT one time before. That was on 6-25-89. Just a
short 34 years ago. On that trip I visited Lodge Lake nd continued for
a 12 mile day. I arrived at about 7:50 am to find half a dozen cars in
the lot. I really did not expect to see anyone but through hikers.
I was on the trail at 756 am. It was already about 67 degrees on the way to the high 80s this day. The monitor was correct. The sky was blue and the air felt clean. The trail immediately enters forest. The forest was cool. I immediately passed a campsite with a tent and a couple people. A hiker passed my at my car and he was back in sight soon. My best memory of the trip 34 years ago was hiking across and up the open ski slopes. Out of the forest, it felt about 20 degrees warmer. Looking north from the slopes I could see Guye Peak right across the valley. The sky was a bit hazy over there and worse farther north. The haze was not far away. The trail crosses several service roads before reaching the ridge top. I found some Indian paintbrush still blooming there. There was a lot of some yellow flower also blooming.
At the ridge top I was partly in forest again. The trail passes Beaver Lake before fully entering forest once again. So far I had climbed 450' in about one mile. The trail began to descend. It was not bad but there are a lot of big rock steps. Not my favorite terrain. There are three big logs across the trail. None are hard to get around. I was just surprised that the PCT, right near the pass, had not had them cut out this year. I caught and passed the lone hiker seen earlier. There were a few hikers heading north. I had no problem finding the side trail to Lodge Lake. I could hear voices as I came close. A group was camping near the lake. I said "hi" and continued a short way to the shore. Lodge Lake was pretty nice. Campsites only 1.95 miles from the trailhead makes for a good family backpacking destination.
My stay at the lake was short. Photos and some food and water and I was on my way back. I still had the tunnel to hike. On especially hot days in recent years I have seen the big parking lot at the tunnel nearly full. I wanted to arrive before possible big crowds appeared. I hiked 350' uphill and then down the north side of the ridge. I had Purple Air on my phone and the monitor now read 58. It had almost doubled since I started hiking. The air was just a little hazy now. I passed half a dozen groups hiking in on my way out. I reached my car at 9:37 am. I hiked 4 miles in 1:41 gaining 800' of gain. That was 800' more than I had figured when the plan was just to hike the tunnel. I took the old highway down to Hyak and the parking lot for the old railroad grade through the tunnel. It took less than 10 minutes. The parking lot was more than half empty when I arrived. The air still seemed pretty clear. I was quickly on my way. The temperature felt to be well over 70 degrees now.
After .25 miles I reached the tunnel. I usually do two full round trips through the tunnel. That plus a little more gives me a 10 mile day. I already had 12 miles on Saturday and 4 more in the morning so I though in terms of one trip out and back and a little more in the tunnel to give me 6 miles plus the morning for a total of 10 miles. The tunnel was cool but there was no wind. I was fine with long pants and a thin long sleeve shirt. I usually do the 2.3 miles in the tunnel in about 32 minutes. I was not so chipper this day. I maintained a steady pace but not sub 15 minutes/mile. I passed a dozen or more groups on this leg. Not crowded but bikes and a few hikers and runners passed on by. I had my headlamp on a low setting as I did not need much light to see the walls and floor of the tunnel. I popped out the other end at 10:32 am. I took 38 minutes for the first leg. There were four or five groups at the west portal. I continued on to the viewpoint of McClellan Butte and Granite Mountain. Usually on tunnel hikes the smoke is to bad I can barely see Granite Mountain across the valley. It was not great but not nearly that bad. Blue sky, some white clouds, and some haze.
There was a steady breeze coming out of the tunnel. Fifty feet from the tunnel it was very cool. Another 50 feet and it was hot. I parked at the first picnic table where it was cool. Folks came and went as I just enjoyed the cool resting spot. The wind blow away the haze. I had great clean air at my spot. The 520 bridge was closed in Seattle and there was a Mariners game starting at 1:10 pm. I-5 was already backed up and getting to the tunnel via the stadium would be challenging. I needed to waste time here rather stuck in my car inching along. Considering that it was already hot in my house sitting outside in clean air with natural air conditioning was not so bad. I headed back into the tunnel at 11:07 am. I felt no wind on the way west because the wind was blowing west. Now I felt the wind and added my own 3.5 mph pace to it. I felt a very cold wind. Rather than stop and pull out a windshirt I kept moving. When I was about .25 miles from the east end, I turned around. I needed to add one mile to get up to six. I went half a mile back and turned around. When I came out of the tunnel it was now hot. Going form 54 degrees with a wind chill to 85 degrees made it seem even hotter. The lot was now more than half full. When I started my car it registered 89 degrees. That dropped to 85 as I drove home. I arrived at the stadiums 10 minutes after the game started and passed by quickly.
This was a strange weekend. The dreaded wildfire smoke and high temperates of late summer. On Saturday we were lucky and found the one spot with clear air. On Sunday I was resigned to hiking in the tunnel but for a short time in the morning the PCT had clear air to Lodge Lake and back. Then I went underground in the tunnel. Even then, the west end had a cool breeze keeping the haze at bay while I enjoyed a shady picnic table for a long break. I was really fortunate to get in two great trips that combined for 22 mile with 4200' of gain. August was not looking like a good hiking month until this weekend rescued a poor start to the month. Even with the state in a smoky haze, I had two great hikes.
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Trips - 2023
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I was on the trail at 756 am. It was already about 67 degrees on the way to the high 80s this day. The monitor was correct. The sky was blue and the air felt clean. The trail immediately enters forest. The forest was cool. I immediately passed a campsite with a tent and a couple people. A hiker passed my at my car and he was back in sight soon. My best memory of the trip 34 years ago was hiking across and up the open ski slopes. Out of the forest, it felt about 20 degrees warmer. Looking north from the slopes I could see Guye Peak right across the valley. The sky was a bit hazy over there and worse farther north. The haze was not far away. The trail crosses several service roads before reaching the ridge top. I found some Indian paintbrush still blooming there. There was a lot of some yellow flower also blooming.
At the ridge top I was partly in forest again. The trail passes Beaver Lake before fully entering forest once again. So far I had climbed 450' in about one mile. The trail began to descend. It was not bad but there are a lot of big rock steps. Not my favorite terrain. There are three big logs across the trail. None are hard to get around. I was just surprised that the PCT, right near the pass, had not had them cut out this year. I caught and passed the lone hiker seen earlier. There were a few hikers heading north. I had no problem finding the side trail to Lodge Lake. I could hear voices as I came close. A group was camping near the lake. I said "hi" and continued a short way to the shore. Lodge Lake was pretty nice. Campsites only 1.95 miles from the trailhead makes for a good family backpacking destination.
My stay at the lake was short. Photos and some food and water and I was on my way back. I still had the tunnel to hike. On especially hot days in recent years I have seen the big parking lot at the tunnel nearly full. I wanted to arrive before possible big crowds appeared. I hiked 350' uphill and then down the north side of the ridge. I had Purple Air on my phone and the monitor now read 58. It had almost doubled since I started hiking. The air was just a little hazy now. I passed half a dozen groups hiking in on my way out. I reached my car at 9:37 am. I hiked 4 miles in 1:41 gaining 800' of gain. That was 800' more than I had figured when the plan was just to hike the tunnel. I took the old highway down to Hyak and the parking lot for the old railroad grade through the tunnel. It took less than 10 minutes. The parking lot was more than half empty when I arrived. The air still seemed pretty clear. I was quickly on my way. The temperature felt to be well over 70 degrees now.
After .25 miles I reached the tunnel. I usually do two full round trips through the tunnel. That plus a little more gives me a 10 mile day. I already had 12 miles on Saturday and 4 more in the morning so I though in terms of one trip out and back and a little more in the tunnel to give me 6 miles plus the morning for a total of 10 miles. The tunnel was cool but there was no wind. I was fine with long pants and a thin long sleeve shirt. I usually do the 2.3 miles in the tunnel in about 32 minutes. I was not so chipper this day. I maintained a steady pace but not sub 15 minutes/mile. I passed a dozen or more groups on this leg. Not crowded but bikes and a few hikers and runners passed on by. I had my headlamp on a low setting as I did not need much light to see the walls and floor of the tunnel. I popped out the other end at 10:32 am. I took 38 minutes for the first leg. There were four or five groups at the west portal. I continued on to the viewpoint of McClellan Butte and Granite Mountain. Usually on tunnel hikes the smoke is to bad I can barely see Granite Mountain across the valley. It was not great but not nearly that bad. Blue sky, some white clouds, and some haze.
There was a steady breeze coming out of the tunnel. Fifty feet from the tunnel it was very cool. Another 50 feet and it was hot. I parked at the first picnic table where it was cool. Folks came and went as I just enjoyed the cool resting spot. The wind blow away the haze. I had great clean air at my spot. The 520 bridge was closed in Seattle and there was a Mariners game starting at 1:10 pm. I-5 was already backed up and getting to the tunnel via the stadium would be challenging. I needed to waste time here rather stuck in my car inching along. Considering that it was already hot in my house sitting outside in clean air with natural air conditioning was not so bad. I headed back into the tunnel at 11:07 am. I felt no wind on the way west because the wind was blowing west. Now I felt the wind and added my own 3.5 mph pace to it. I felt a very cold wind. Rather than stop and pull out a windshirt I kept moving. When I was about .25 miles from the east end, I turned around. I needed to add one mile to get up to six. I went half a mile back and turned around. When I came out of the tunnel it was now hot. Going form 54 degrees with a wind chill to 85 degrees made it seem even hotter. The lot was now more than half full. When I started my car it registered 89 degrees. That dropped to 85 as I drove home. I arrived at the stadiums 10 minutes after the game started and passed by quickly.
This was a strange weekend. The dreaded wildfire smoke and high temperates of late summer. On Saturday we were lucky and found the one spot with clear air. On Sunday I was resigned to hiking in the tunnel but for a short time in the morning the PCT had clear air to Lodge Lake and back. Then I went underground in the tunnel. Even then, the west end had a cool breeze keeping the haze at bay while I enjoyed a shady picnic table for a long break. I was really fortunate to get in two great trips that combined for 22 mile with 4200' of gain. August was not looking like a good hiking month until this weekend rescued a poor start to the month. Even with the state in a smoky haze, I had two great hikes.
 On The PCT |
 Nearing Open Slopes |
 Crossing Ski Area |
 Guye Peak |
 Ski Lifts |
 Flowers & Peaks |
 Beaver Lake |
 Log Across Trail |
 Lodge Lake Sign |
 Lodge Lake |
 Lodge Lake Again |
 Sky High View |
 Highest Point |
 Brushy Spot |
 Rock Steps |
 Indian Paintbrush |
 Fall Colors & Peaks |
 Tunnel East Portal |
 Getting Darker |
 Lit Up Hikers |
 West End Ahead |
 Granite Mountain |
 West End Crowd |
 McClellan Butte |
 Heading East |
 Lights Are Coming |
 Nearly Done |
 East End & Fall Colors |
Trips - 2023
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