12-01-24
Gary
and John were free for a Sunday Thanksgiving Week hike. After a big
storm we were looking for a route without downed trees on the trail. I
did an 8 morning hike up East Tiger the day before. I wanted to get in
more mileage on a smooth trail. My legs were a bit tired. The recent
big windstorm was partly cleaned up and we wanted to be on a trail
without trees down across it. I suggested a trip of the Rattlesnake
Mountain Trail for lots of options and a nice smooth trail. Trip
reports mentioned it had missed most of the wind. Also, snow did not
start until almost up to Grand Prospect. Best of all, the day was
likely to have clear skies. The clearcuts on the ridge and West Peak
meant sunshine and views. We met at the Snoqualmie Point Trailhead at
7:52 am. By 7:59 am we were on our way. It was cold and clear at the
start. Most people at this trailhead are mountain biking. Just a few
minutes up the trail we headed onto the hiker only Rattlesnake Mountain
Trail (RMT). It was cold enough that we got off to a fast start. John
has a new phone and on this trip we all recorded GPS tracks. Gary's is
usually the most accurate. Mine adds a little extra mileage. John's old
phone added a bit more. By the half mile mark it was clear that mine
was way off base this day. It never records less than accurate mileage.
This day I was 20% low in half a mile. It only became worse as the day
went on. On my previous track it read high as usual.
I was feeling good as the steady grade helped a lot. At the powerline crossing we were out in the open. The sun was still to low to shine on us. Above, the sky was mostly clear. We continued up to the junction with the short route to Stan's Overlook and several bike trails. We were now almost half way to Grand Prospect. We continued in forest with little ground cover. At the one short bridge on the route, we saw where a big tree fell right along the edge of it. It broke into several parts. A few inches left and it would have hit the bridge. It was clear sailing up to the old road. This route runs almost all the way to GP. When we were almost there, we saw the first snow on the ground. The views from Grand Prospect were excellent. Mt. Baker was clearly visible to the north. Mts. Si and Teneriffe were right across from us. They were in sunshine and we were still in the cold shade. The next section took us around West Peak to the road/trail between West and East Peak. The trail had snow off and on. It was slick but no problem for us.
At the next junction, the RMT goes left and right leads to the road/trail. We went right. Quickly we left forest and were in bright sunshine. It was much warmer. Unfortunately, the forecast was wrong and there was some wind. We turned left at the road heading for East Peak. The open sunny hike along the ridge was part of our plan. Going back into forest with some down logs near East Peak was not. We would have views, sunshine, and some extra mileage without dark cold forest and logs to get over and under. The route climbs as it heads east. The snow was mostly continuous but not deep. We had plenty of footprints to follow. So far we had not seen many people. We then passed a group of motorcyclists. They somehow came from Hobart. I had not seen motorcycles on Rattlesnake in decades. We came to another junction. Left climbed up to the RMT. Right stayed on road heading to the East Peak. We chose to go left and uphill. We reached the RMT and took it. Soon we saw the forest ahead as the clearcut neared the end. We also saw the first and only logs across the trail. It was time to turn around.
It was 4 miles to Grand Prospect. We were now at the 5.2 mile mark. It was time for a food and water break. After that, we dropped back to the last junction. this time we took the road road heading for East Peak. Now we were on untracked snow. We hiked for a few minutes until we saw more shade ahead. It was time to head back. On the way we had some good looks out to Mt. Rainier. It was in the clear with fresh snow. Now West Rattlesnake Peak was getting closer. The plan was to follow the road to the top of West Peak then down the west side until w could cross over to the RMT below Grand Prospect. We had a little bare ground and more snow as we began to climb to the west summit. West Rattlesnake has the best views. We would have clear views in almost all directions. We would be several hundred feet above Snoqualmie Pass. The wind was cold but the views were outstanding.
To the northwest, there was ground fog. It sat in a valley looking like a meandering river. Around it the ground was clearly seen. Mt. Baker was still in the clear along with Three Fingers. We could see Mt. Si and Mt. Teneriffe close by. Mailbox Peak had snow on the upper ridge to the top. A very snowy Granite Mountain appeared over the ridge. Far up the SF Snoqualmie Valley nearing Snoqualmie Pass was a wall of white. Fog rose up to fill the valley though all around was in sunshine. That was unusual. We spent some dime enjoying all the views. The sun shining off the snow really caused it to be extra bright. It has been dark in Seattle so this was really nice. At 12:08 pm we headed down. The road was snowy but with good traction. I had microspikes but no poles and did not need either one this day. On the west side of the peak we had great views over to Tiger Mountain and the Olympic Mountains. We started seeing bikers coming up. We had a short trip through the forest to get back on the RMT. Now we just had about 3.7 miles of easy downhill.
The downhill was easy but on my second hike in two days the last miles seemed to drag on. Back at the junction with Stan's Overlook, we turned right for the short walk to the overlook. The views are rapidly closing out and the table were taken by bikers. We had no reason to hang around. We just had 2 miles to go. We reached the bottom at about 11.6 miles. I wanted to round up to 12 so we went over to the park next door. We had a great look at Mt. Si from a lower angle than on West Peak. After that we headed back to the cars. We ended the hike at 2:32 pm. For the day we covered 12 miles with 2800' of gain. For the weekend, I hiked 20 miles with 4500' of gain. I was getting a bit tired.
We had an easy drive home through Seattle. This trip gave me everything I was after. I am rapidly closing in on a 900 mile year. That is a very good year. We had lots of sunshine up high. We had great views too. We did see bikers near the top and hikers on our way down but for most of the day we had a lot of solitude. It was a great way to end Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
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Trips - 2024
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I was feeling good as the steady grade helped a lot. At the powerline crossing we were out in the open. The sun was still to low to shine on us. Above, the sky was mostly clear. We continued up to the junction with the short route to Stan's Overlook and several bike trails. We were now almost half way to Grand Prospect. We continued in forest with little ground cover. At the one short bridge on the route, we saw where a big tree fell right along the edge of it. It broke into several parts. A few inches left and it would have hit the bridge. It was clear sailing up to the old road. This route runs almost all the way to GP. When we were almost there, we saw the first snow on the ground. The views from Grand Prospect were excellent. Mt. Baker was clearly visible to the north. Mts. Si and Teneriffe were right across from us. They were in sunshine and we were still in the cold shade. The next section took us around West Peak to the road/trail between West and East Peak. The trail had snow off and on. It was slick but no problem for us.
At the next junction, the RMT goes left and right leads to the road/trail. We went right. Quickly we left forest and were in bright sunshine. It was much warmer. Unfortunately, the forecast was wrong and there was some wind. We turned left at the road heading for East Peak. The open sunny hike along the ridge was part of our plan. Going back into forest with some down logs near East Peak was not. We would have views, sunshine, and some extra mileage without dark cold forest and logs to get over and under. The route climbs as it heads east. The snow was mostly continuous but not deep. We had plenty of footprints to follow. So far we had not seen many people. We then passed a group of motorcyclists. They somehow came from Hobart. I had not seen motorcycles on Rattlesnake in decades. We came to another junction. Left climbed up to the RMT. Right stayed on road heading to the East Peak. We chose to go left and uphill. We reached the RMT and took it. Soon we saw the forest ahead as the clearcut neared the end. We also saw the first and only logs across the trail. It was time to turn around.
It was 4 miles to Grand Prospect. We were now at the 5.2 mile mark. It was time for a food and water break. After that, we dropped back to the last junction. this time we took the road road heading for East Peak. Now we were on untracked snow. We hiked for a few minutes until we saw more shade ahead. It was time to head back. On the way we had some good looks out to Mt. Rainier. It was in the clear with fresh snow. Now West Rattlesnake Peak was getting closer. The plan was to follow the road to the top of West Peak then down the west side until w could cross over to the RMT below Grand Prospect. We had a little bare ground and more snow as we began to climb to the west summit. West Rattlesnake has the best views. We would have clear views in almost all directions. We would be several hundred feet above Snoqualmie Pass. The wind was cold but the views were outstanding.
To the northwest, there was ground fog. It sat in a valley looking like a meandering river. Around it the ground was clearly seen. Mt. Baker was still in the clear along with Three Fingers. We could see Mt. Si and Mt. Teneriffe close by. Mailbox Peak had snow on the upper ridge to the top. A very snowy Granite Mountain appeared over the ridge. Far up the SF Snoqualmie Valley nearing Snoqualmie Pass was a wall of white. Fog rose up to fill the valley though all around was in sunshine. That was unusual. We spent some dime enjoying all the views. The sun shining off the snow really caused it to be extra bright. It has been dark in Seattle so this was really nice. At 12:08 pm we headed down. The road was snowy but with good traction. I had microspikes but no poles and did not need either one this day. On the west side of the peak we had great views over to Tiger Mountain and the Olympic Mountains. We started seeing bikers coming up. We had a short trip through the forest to get back on the RMT. Now we just had about 3.7 miles of easy downhill.
The downhill was easy but on my second hike in two days the last miles seemed to drag on. Back at the junction with Stan's Overlook, we turned right for the short walk to the overlook. The views are rapidly closing out and the table were taken by bikers. We had no reason to hang around. We just had 2 miles to go. We reached the bottom at about 11.6 miles. I wanted to round up to 12 so we went over to the park next door. We had a great look at Mt. Si from a lower angle than on West Peak. After that we headed back to the cars. We ended the hike at 2:32 pm. For the day we covered 12 miles with 2800' of gain. For the weekend, I hiked 20 miles with 4500' of gain. I was getting a bit tired.
We had an easy drive home through Seattle. This trip gave me everything I was after. I am rapidly closing in on a 900 mile year. That is a very good year. We had lots of sunshine up high. We had great views too. We did see bikers near the top and hikers on our way down but for most of the day we had a lot of solitude. It was a great way to end Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
 In The Cold Shade |
 Mossy Arbor |
 Grand Prospect Views |
 Mts. Si & Teneriffe |
 Mt. Baker & Three Fingers |
 North Bend |
 Snowy Trail |
 Mt. Rainier |
 Clouds |
 John Leads On Snow |
 Here Is Gary |
 Tiger & Olympics |
 Break Time |
 Heading To West Peak |
 Nearing West Peak |
 Bandera & Cloud |
 Mailbox Peak |
 More Peaks |
 Big Snow & Daniel |
 Meandering River? |
 Baker & 3 Fingers Again |
 Olympics & Tiger |
 Si & Teneriffe Again |
 Granite Mountain |
 McClellan Butte |
 Bellevue |
 Heading Down |
 Snowy Road |
 Log Near Bridge |
 Another Arch |
 Forest Hiking |
 Si From Park |
Trips - 2024
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