08-04-24
After
a long drive and hike the
week before, I was up for a short drive and long hike. The mid 80s
afternoon with high humidity had me out the door early. I decided on a
long trip on Rattlesnake Mountain. Years back I did a trip to East Peak
via Grand Prospect. I thought I would do that and add in a visit to
West
Rattlesnake Peak. I was out the door at 6:20 am and reached the
Snoqualmie Point lot at 6:59 am. The lot was about one third full. Most
all on them were mountain bikers. The Rattlesnake Mountain Trail (RMT)
is
hikers only so I would only see them at the big junction at Stan's
Overlook and on roads near West Peak. There are plenty of trails for
bikes. It was 61 degrees and humid at
the start. I was on my way at 7:02 am.
I quickly reached the road and then the junction where bikes go left and hikers straight ahead. It became lonely very fast. I was not going to see many people on my way up. In fact, I only saw one person below Grand Prospect and two more before East Peak. The morning forecast had humidity at about 80% when I started and it dropped to about 65% by the time I reached East Peak. That seemed about right. My shirt was soaked in twenty minutes. There was just enough breeze to keep it manageable. I reached two miles and the bike trail junction near Stan's Overlook at 7:46 am. I found a few Indian Pipes just poking out of the ground a little before where I often see saprophytes. It is a dark forest with little ground cover. I expected to see more. I only saw a few old coralroots. That was a disappointment. The wildflower show was not great. In the clearcuts up high there were a lot of foxglove and daisies. There were some fireweed mixed in too. That was about it.
I popped out of the forest onto the old road. This soon gives way to more trail. The old road is now just a wide trail. I was still feeling good as I hit the stairs just before Grand Prospect. I arrived at GP at 8:37 am. I took 1:35 to hike the first 4 miles with about 2100' of gain. That was not bad for a humid morning. I could see Mt. Si and Mt. Teneriffe across the valley. At least I could see the top half of them. Fog filled the entire valley. I was in bright sunshine but tit was dark down in North Bend. I was glad that I started at 1100" and now down in the pea soup fog. I had a little food and water and headed on. The RMT traverses around the side of West Rattlesnake Mountain. It gains a little than drops down. I reached the next junction at 9:00 am. Here I met two runners coming from Rattlesnake Lake. They were two thirds of the people seen so far. The RMT continues ahead. I would come back that way. Now, I turned right for a short bit to the road From West Peak towards East Peak. This would give me a view of Mt. Rainier if it was out of the haze.
I turned left on the road and began to climb. Soon I had a clear look to Mt. Rainier. It was hazy but I could see the whole mountain. It was early enough that part of the road walk was in shade. The sun would be overhead soon. The humidity had lessened a little and it was good hiking in the shade. This section was all in a recent clearcut. Brush and some flowers have filled in without forest. I continued ascending and the RMT came into the road. I continued ahead and a short steep climb brought me to... a small cement building with a few towers on top. The route did not go father. Time to check the GPS. I had to have missed the trail heading off to my right. I went back to the RMT junction and found the trail right across from where it came in. The trail is small and while I was looking left where it came in I missed where it went off right. That was it for navigation. Had I been on the RMT I would have seen the trail across the narrow road.
The route reentered forest for the final climb to the top of East Peak. I passed the side trail to Windy Landing at reached the junction just below the East Peak tower at 9:35 am. The sign said it was 5.9 miles back to Snoqualmie Point. I had done almost half the distance and 2800' of gain and it was still early. I quickly walk up to the tower. I was disappointed to see that the locked door had been damaged by someone trying to get inside. The door is part way pushed in with a cement block in the gap. A small shed next to it has had the door ripped off. I have been coming up to East Peak for over 35 years and had not seen damage before. I headed back to the bench with a view over to Si and Teneriffe. The sunshine was still gleaming in the top of the fog. I had an angle where I could clearly see the near vertical face of the Mt. Si haystack. The sunshine made it really stand out. I had some brunch and then headed on. Three hikers went by heading for the tower. That doubled the number of people seen.
I retraced my route downhill to the spot where I lost the trail earlier. This time I went across staying on the RMT. The trail is in the clearcut. I had one spot with a view back to Mt. Rainier. I reached the junction where I left the RMT coming up. Again. I went over to the road. This time I turned right. Now I would take the road up to the top of West Rattlesnake. I passed two bikers on the road. There are a lot of daisies and foxglove along the road. The climb is steep for a road. The sun was getting very warm now. I topped out on the 3262' top of West Peak. To the north where there is a great view of Mt. Baker I saw...haze. That was it. This summit was clear cut just a couple years ago. The views are pretty good. I could see the towers atop East Tiger and Tiger 1 to the west I could see Bellevue though it was hazy. Good views but not great this day. It was now 10:37 am and time for an early lunch. I was 7.8 miles into my day. I had less than 200' of uphill to go. A big group of mountain bikers arrived. They stayed as long as I did.
At 10:54 am I headed down. I would have liked to stay longer as I was in shade with a cool breeze. It was only going to get hotter down low so I needed to leave. I took the road down. It is shorter to drop to Grand Prospect but I wanted more miles and the last views of the day. As I descended I started to run into small groups of bikers heading up. The road starts in the opposite direction before switching back. The traverse below the summit is mostly open clear cut slopes with long views. There are some sections of trees and shade too. I decided to stay on the road to the last easy spot to cut over to the RMT below Grand Prospect. I was quickly on trail again. The rest of the way down was easy walking. The grade of the RMT is moderate and the tread is mostly pretty soft. It is nearly all in shade. The section below the powerline corridor was clearcut about 25 years ago and the trees have largely grown back. I saw a few groups of hikers on the lower section of trail. With all the bikers that fill the lot and the roadside below it, the hiking trail in not nearly as busy as it used to be. Another reason I was on this trail today.
I reached the trail head at 12:41 pm. The lot was almost full. A few cars were leaving. I had 12.3 miles so far and decided to head over to the park for a little more mileage. I also wanted to see if the fog over North Bend had burned off. It was very toasty at the trailhead. It was about 79 degrees toasty. I hiked over to the park and up to the viewpoint with a roof. It was nicer in the shade. I could see all of Mt. Si. The fog was gone. My detour added about half a mile and allowed me to round up to 13 miles with 3200' of gain. With viewpoints and two summits I had covered a lot of ground and it was just after noon. I was home for afternoon watching the Paris Olympics.
This trip gave me exactly what I was looking for. A much shorter drive than the week before. With an early start, I survived a hot and humid afternoon. I just had a cool and warming humid morning. I saw very few hikers of bikers at a very popular trailhead very near Seattle and Bellevue. The haze limited views but some were still pretty good. Mt. Si with sunshine gleaming on fog below it was a neat sight. 13 miles with 3200' of gain is a pretty good day. The early start had be back home just after 1:30 pm. I would have preferred to be in high alpine meadows in early August but this day turned out really good.
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I quickly reached the road and then the junction where bikes go left and hikers straight ahead. It became lonely very fast. I was not going to see many people on my way up. In fact, I only saw one person below Grand Prospect and two more before East Peak. The morning forecast had humidity at about 80% when I started and it dropped to about 65% by the time I reached East Peak. That seemed about right. My shirt was soaked in twenty minutes. There was just enough breeze to keep it manageable. I reached two miles and the bike trail junction near Stan's Overlook at 7:46 am. I found a few Indian Pipes just poking out of the ground a little before where I often see saprophytes. It is a dark forest with little ground cover. I expected to see more. I only saw a few old coralroots. That was a disappointment. The wildflower show was not great. In the clearcuts up high there were a lot of foxglove and daisies. There were some fireweed mixed in too. That was about it.
I popped out of the forest onto the old road. This soon gives way to more trail. The old road is now just a wide trail. I was still feeling good as I hit the stairs just before Grand Prospect. I arrived at GP at 8:37 am. I took 1:35 to hike the first 4 miles with about 2100' of gain. That was not bad for a humid morning. I could see Mt. Si and Mt. Teneriffe across the valley. At least I could see the top half of them. Fog filled the entire valley. I was in bright sunshine but tit was dark down in North Bend. I was glad that I started at 1100" and now down in the pea soup fog. I had a little food and water and headed on. The RMT traverses around the side of West Rattlesnake Mountain. It gains a little than drops down. I reached the next junction at 9:00 am. Here I met two runners coming from Rattlesnake Lake. They were two thirds of the people seen so far. The RMT continues ahead. I would come back that way. Now, I turned right for a short bit to the road From West Peak towards East Peak. This would give me a view of Mt. Rainier if it was out of the haze.
I turned left on the road and began to climb. Soon I had a clear look to Mt. Rainier. It was hazy but I could see the whole mountain. It was early enough that part of the road walk was in shade. The sun would be overhead soon. The humidity had lessened a little and it was good hiking in the shade. This section was all in a recent clearcut. Brush and some flowers have filled in without forest. I continued ascending and the RMT came into the road. I continued ahead and a short steep climb brought me to... a small cement building with a few towers on top. The route did not go father. Time to check the GPS. I had to have missed the trail heading off to my right. I went back to the RMT junction and found the trail right across from where it came in. The trail is small and while I was looking left where it came in I missed where it went off right. That was it for navigation. Had I been on the RMT I would have seen the trail across the narrow road.
The route reentered forest for the final climb to the top of East Peak. I passed the side trail to Windy Landing at reached the junction just below the East Peak tower at 9:35 am. The sign said it was 5.9 miles back to Snoqualmie Point. I had done almost half the distance and 2800' of gain and it was still early. I quickly walk up to the tower. I was disappointed to see that the locked door had been damaged by someone trying to get inside. The door is part way pushed in with a cement block in the gap. A small shed next to it has had the door ripped off. I have been coming up to East Peak for over 35 years and had not seen damage before. I headed back to the bench with a view over to Si and Teneriffe. The sunshine was still gleaming in the top of the fog. I had an angle where I could clearly see the near vertical face of the Mt. Si haystack. The sunshine made it really stand out. I had some brunch and then headed on. Three hikers went by heading for the tower. That doubled the number of people seen.
I retraced my route downhill to the spot where I lost the trail earlier. This time I went across staying on the RMT. The trail is in the clearcut. I had one spot with a view back to Mt. Rainier. I reached the junction where I left the RMT coming up. Again. I went over to the road. This time I turned right. Now I would take the road up to the top of West Rattlesnake. I passed two bikers on the road. There are a lot of daisies and foxglove along the road. The climb is steep for a road. The sun was getting very warm now. I topped out on the 3262' top of West Peak. To the north where there is a great view of Mt. Baker I saw...haze. That was it. This summit was clear cut just a couple years ago. The views are pretty good. I could see the towers atop East Tiger and Tiger 1 to the west I could see Bellevue though it was hazy. Good views but not great this day. It was now 10:37 am and time for an early lunch. I was 7.8 miles into my day. I had less than 200' of uphill to go. A big group of mountain bikers arrived. They stayed as long as I did.
At 10:54 am I headed down. I would have liked to stay longer as I was in shade with a cool breeze. It was only going to get hotter down low so I needed to leave. I took the road down. It is shorter to drop to Grand Prospect but I wanted more miles and the last views of the day. As I descended I started to run into small groups of bikers heading up. The road starts in the opposite direction before switching back. The traverse below the summit is mostly open clear cut slopes with long views. There are some sections of trees and shade too. I decided to stay on the road to the last easy spot to cut over to the RMT below Grand Prospect. I was quickly on trail again. The rest of the way down was easy walking. The grade of the RMT is moderate and the tread is mostly pretty soft. It is nearly all in shade. The section below the powerline corridor was clearcut about 25 years ago and the trees have largely grown back. I saw a few groups of hikers on the lower section of trail. With all the bikers that fill the lot and the roadside below it, the hiking trail in not nearly as busy as it used to be. Another reason I was on this trail today.
I reached the trail head at 12:41 pm. The lot was almost full. A few cars were leaving. I had 12.3 miles so far and decided to head over to the park for a little more mileage. I also wanted to see if the fog over North Bend had burned off. It was very toasty at the trailhead. It was about 79 degrees toasty. I hiked over to the park and up to the viewpoint with a roof. It was nicer in the shade. I could see all of Mt. Si. The fog was gone. My detour added about half a mile and allowed me to round up to 13 miles with 3200' of gain. With viewpoints and two summits I had covered a lot of ground and it was just after noon. I was home for afternoon watching the Paris Olympics.
This trip gave me exactly what I was looking for. A much shorter drive than the week before. With an early start, I survived a hot and humid afternoon. I just had a cool and warming humid morning. I saw very few hikers of bikers at a very popular trailhead very near Seattle and Bellevue. The haze limited views but some were still pretty good. Mt. Si with sunshine gleaming on fog below it was a neat sight. 13 miles with 3200' of gain is a pretty good day. The early start had be back home just after 1:30 pm. I would have preferred to be in high alpine meadows in early August but this day turned out really good.
 Starting Up The RMT |
 Ferns Everywhere |
 Cloudy Powerline Spot |
 Closure |
 Indian Pipe |
 Foamflower |
 Bare Ground |
 Grand Prospect View |
 Pearly Everlasting |
 Flower Lined Trail |
 Dog Vomit Slime Mold |
 RMT Junction |
 West Peak From Road |
 Mt. Rainier |
 Cement Building |
 Lit Up Foxglove |
 Nearing East Peak |
 East Peak Tower |
 Smashed Door |
 Mt. Si Haystack |
 East Peak Viewpoint |
 Heading Down |
 West Peak Ahead |
 Mt. Rainier Again |
 Shady Road |
 Steep Road |
 Flowers Along Road |
 View To Mt. Washington |
 West Peak Summit |
 Flowers But No View |
 Downtown Bellevue |
 Lots Of Daisies |
 Daisies & A Bee |
 Flower Bouquet |
 West Summit From Road |
 Bleeding Heart |
 Red Berries |
 Guttation On Fungus |
 Nearing The End |
 Mt. Si From Park |
Trips - 2024
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