10-29-22
Every
year I set out to hike at
least 800 miles and gain 200,000' of elevation. This has been a very
good year so far. I came into the last weekend of October with 793
miles and 197,500' of gain. Kim was free for a hike. This day was also
the 40th anniversary of Pie Night. A group of us have gotten together
in the fall each year to make apple pies. I have only missed a couple
in four decades. I needed to be home by late afternoon. We decided on a
close in hike. Kim and I hiked to Grand Prospect on 7-6-08. We had not
been back together in the past 14 years. It was time for another visit.
The lot fills up early with mountain bikers and so we needed an early
start. We met at 7:45 am and reached the Snoqualmie Point trailhead at
8:25 am. We were on the trail at 8:30 am.
The lot was about 75% full. There were a few cars parked outside the gate. Lots of bikers were getting ready to to. We hiked out of the lot, across the gravel road, and past the biker trail. That quickly put us on the Rattlesnake Mountain Trail (RMT) which is hikers only. We saw people but not a lot of them. The grade is steadily uphill but is never very steep. An excellent trail for keeping up a steady pace. There are a lot of deciduous trees in places. The fall colors can be very good. This year with the late heat and no rainfall, the colors have been late to change. They fall colors were a little better than I expected. We had deep evergreen forest and some yellow and red leaves. The top of West Rattlesnake Mountain has been logged this year. The fairly new bike trail is at least temporarily obliterated. Half way up near Stan's Overlook we crossed the biking trail. Signs showed that the trail is still closed. The RMT had not been in the cut. We were fine. This spot was clear cut some years back and has some good leaf color.
Soon we were back in the forest. We saw a few hikers coming down and a few passed us but we had a lot of solitude. It has been raining much of the past week and more was forecast for Sunday. We had a dry day for our hike. It is 8 miles round trip. Just enough to get my 800 miles for the year plus one. I hooped to get up to the top of West Peak to get my 200,000' feet done. We did not have time for that. But we came really close. We reached Grand Prospect at 11:15 am. It was pretty clear. Mt. Baker to the north was lost in clouds. Most of the peaks of the Central Cascades were in the clear. Higher peaks had fresh snow. When we did our trip in 2008, the view from Grand Prospect was in fact grand. In recent years trees grew up to block the views. About a year ago, someone cut down the trees and the view is once more very good.
We hung around for about 20 minutes and headed down. On the way up, I took a short detour through the forest to the new clear cut logged area below the summit. I still have not been up on top on a clear day to see the views. On the way down we saw more folks than on the way up. That still was not a lot. We saw a few mushrooms though the hot dry fall seems to have allowed few to pop through the forest floor. The last section of the old road turned trail is rocky and was covered with fallen leaves. That was not easy walking. The rest of the route was just fine. We reached the parking lot at 1:54 pm. It was now full. On previous trips, the road has been filled with cars on both sides back to the highway interchange. This day there were cars below the parking lot but that was it. Not as crowded as usual.
We were able to get back to town plenty early. It was a fluke that I was so close to reaching both of my goals on the same day. I went over 800 miles but fell 300' short of 200,000' of gain. That would have to wait until the next day. Now I have two full months to add in more miles and gain. It was a very nice hike on a good trail to a once again excellent viewpoint. Another fun day on the trail.
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Trips - 2022
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The lot was about 75% full. There were a few cars parked outside the gate. Lots of bikers were getting ready to to. We hiked out of the lot, across the gravel road, and past the biker trail. That quickly put us on the Rattlesnake Mountain Trail (RMT) which is hikers only. We saw people but not a lot of them. The grade is steadily uphill but is never very steep. An excellent trail for keeping up a steady pace. There are a lot of deciduous trees in places. The fall colors can be very good. This year with the late heat and no rainfall, the colors have been late to change. They fall colors were a little better than I expected. We had deep evergreen forest and some yellow and red leaves. The top of West Rattlesnake Mountain has been logged this year. The fairly new bike trail is at least temporarily obliterated. Half way up near Stan's Overlook we crossed the biking trail. Signs showed that the trail is still closed. The RMT had not been in the cut. We were fine. This spot was clear cut some years back and has some good leaf color.
Soon we were back in the forest. We saw a few hikers coming down and a few passed us but we had a lot of solitude. It has been raining much of the past week and more was forecast for Sunday. We had a dry day for our hike. It is 8 miles round trip. Just enough to get my 800 miles for the year plus one. I hooped to get up to the top of West Peak to get my 200,000' feet done. We did not have time for that. But we came really close. We reached Grand Prospect at 11:15 am. It was pretty clear. Mt. Baker to the north was lost in clouds. Most of the peaks of the Central Cascades were in the clear. Higher peaks had fresh snow. When we did our trip in 2008, the view from Grand Prospect was in fact grand. In recent years trees grew up to block the views. About a year ago, someone cut down the trees and the view is once more very good.
We hung around for about 20 minutes and headed down. On the way up, I took a short detour through the forest to the new clear cut logged area below the summit. I still have not been up on top on a clear day to see the views. On the way down we saw more folks than on the way up. That still was not a lot. We saw a few mushrooms though the hot dry fall seems to have allowed few to pop through the forest floor. The last section of the old road turned trail is rocky and was covered with fallen leaves. That was not easy walking. The rest of the route was just fine. We reached the parking lot at 1:54 pm. It was now full. On previous trips, the road has been filled with cars on both sides back to the highway interchange. This day there were cars below the parking lot but that was it. Not as crowded as usual.
We were able to get back to town plenty early. It was a fluke that I was so close to reaching both of my goals on the same day. I went over 800 miles but fell 300' short of 200,000' of gain. That would have to wait until the next day. Now I have two full months to add in more miles and gain. It was a very nice hike on a good trail to a once again excellent viewpoint. Another fun day on the trail.
 Fallen Leaves |
 Leaves & Evergreens |
 Grade Eases |
 Few Leaves On Trees |
 Green Leaves |
 Kim Takes In Views |
 Morning Sunshine |
 Almost Twins |
 No Ground Cover |
 Clear Cut & Summit |
 Grand Prospect Views |
 Si & Teneriffe |
 Fuller Mountain |
 Si & Teneriffe Zoomed |
 MF Snoqualmie |
 Fungi |
 Bridge |
 Fungus |
 Kim & Mossy Arch |
 Leafy Trail |
 Full Parking Lot |
Trips - 2022
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