01-23-22
The
day before I did a 10.4
mile one way hike along Rattlesnake Mountain. More than half of it was
on snow. This day I wanted to get out again but on an easier trip. It
would be another day of the inversion with clouds down low and sunshine
up high. I needed to get above the inversion. With that in mind, I
decided to redo a hike I did back in November. A trip on the south side
of Squak Mountain to Debbie's View from the State Park Trailhead. This
is shorter and with more solitude than taking Margaret's Way Trail. The
viewpoint would be packed but the rest of the route would be much less
so. Weather stateons showed it was at or just below freezing at the
trailhead. I waited a bit before leaving to allow a little bit of
warming. I reached the trailhead at 8:27 am. By 8:33 am I was on my
way.
A group of three headed out ahead of me than a single guy. The lot had only about 7 or 8 cars so there could not be too many folks ahead of me. I quickly crossed the road and saw the one guy heading up it. It was foggy as expected. The lot was wet even though it had not rained in days. The air was soaking wet. The mist provided a neat environment. Close by colors seemed extra colorful. Visibility was a bit limited. It looked good enough to provide photos for a trip report. I seldom do one for Squak Mountain but this day I started taking photos from the beginning. It took about 10 minutes until I spotted the group of three out ahead. I was hiking a bit faster but I kept stopping for photos. They never were far ahead but I never caught up either. The trail is gently graded making it fast to hike. I was a bit warn out from the day before hike but I felt good. I set a good but not grade pace. There are several junctions. Most are signed. Keeping left is the key. Going right will take you to the road up Central Peak that I crossed at the start.
Unlike trips on Tiger Mountain after recent storms, there were not many trees down. They have all been cut out. Easy hiking. At about 1200' I crossed out of the inversion zone. It immediately warmed up by what felt like 10= degrees. I started with gloves and a wool hat. I The short steep section has been cleaned up a bit. There are no loose rocks left to slip on. I reached the junction with the Perimeter Trail at the 2.3 mile mark. I went left on the PT. More easy hiking though the trail is a bit narrower. So far I had only seen the 4 people who started just ahead of me. At the turn off for Debbie's View I saw two more. On the short hike in several groups passed me heading out. In 3 minutes I saw more people than during the first hour of hiking. There were only a two people at Debbie's View when I arrived at 9:40 am. It took just 1:07 to hike up 2.8 miles. The view is to the south and the sun was high enough to flood it. Mt. Rainier stood out with no clouds atop it. Just a few vapor trails. All around us was the top of the cloud layer. It was shining bright white. There were no breaks. From the Olympics to Squak Mountain it was a solid sea of low clouds/fog.
A couple more people arrived and soon they all left. I had the place to myself for a short time. It was great to just sit in the sunshine. It was in the mid 40s but it felt like 60 degrees. Later I would be descending back into the dark murky muck. I was not in a hurry to leave. That is until the next wave of hikers arrived. I was not too close to others but when I left there were 11 others at the viewpoint. More than I am comfortable with. I was not sure of where to go next. I headed over to the top of Margaret's Way and a short way up the trail across from it. This is where I turned around on my November trip. Instead of retracing my steps I decided to hike up West Peak's two summits. I climbed up and over and down to the May Valley Trail I started up on. A few steps from there is the road up to the Bullitt Fireplace. At the Fireplace there was a big group and on the side of the trail was another group. I went a little further and stopped for my lunch break.
After that it was time to head back. I dropped down the road to the May Valley Trail and followed it the last 2.7 miles down. When I reached the Perimeter Trail I concluded the upper loop. I saw a number of people coming up while I descended but it was never crowded. I had some long periods seeing nobody. At 1200' I began to see mist in the trees. I had reentered the inversion layer. Looking out to the sun through the trees I saw the sun rays shooting out in all directions. I have seen this many times on the trail. I have never seen it this good. The bright sunshine hitting the thick mist proved quite a show. Good enough that I took a lot of photos and several videos. The unexpected highlight of the trip. Right on cue, the temperature dropped 10 degrees. My gloves went back on. The mist provided all kinds of lighting making for interesting photos.
At the bottom I reached the road crossing and turned right on the Pretzel Tree Trail. This quick short hike brought me up to 7 miles for the day. That was with 1900' of elevation gain. When I reached the sign for the Pretzel Tree I looked long and hard and did not see it. I'm not sure if I missed it or it has fallen down. I was back at my car at 12:21 pm. The lot was now mostly full. There were half a dozen spaces still available. It was just as dark and dank as when I started at in the morning.
This hike exceeded my expectations. I just wanted to get in an easy hike with a short drive. Bonus points for getting up above the fog again. I had all that plus some great photo opportunities. The fog added an unusual vibe to the day. It is still January. Soon, we will have rain down low and snow in the mountains. For now I made the most of a crummy day in the city but a great day on the trail and above the muck.
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Trips - 2022
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A group of three headed out ahead of me than a single guy. The lot had only about 7 or 8 cars so there could not be too many folks ahead of me. I quickly crossed the road and saw the one guy heading up it. It was foggy as expected. The lot was wet even though it had not rained in days. The air was soaking wet. The mist provided a neat environment. Close by colors seemed extra colorful. Visibility was a bit limited. It looked good enough to provide photos for a trip report. I seldom do one for Squak Mountain but this day I started taking photos from the beginning. It took about 10 minutes until I spotted the group of three out ahead. I was hiking a bit faster but I kept stopping for photos. They never were far ahead but I never caught up either. The trail is gently graded making it fast to hike. I was a bit warn out from the day before hike but I felt good. I set a good but not grade pace. There are several junctions. Most are signed. Keeping left is the key. Going right will take you to the road up Central Peak that I crossed at the start.
Unlike trips on Tiger Mountain after recent storms, there were not many trees down. They have all been cut out. Easy hiking. At about 1200' I crossed out of the inversion zone. It immediately warmed up by what felt like 10= degrees. I started with gloves and a wool hat. I The short steep section has been cleaned up a bit. There are no loose rocks left to slip on. I reached the junction with the Perimeter Trail at the 2.3 mile mark. I went left on the PT. More easy hiking though the trail is a bit narrower. So far I had only seen the 4 people who started just ahead of me. At the turn off for Debbie's View I saw two more. On the short hike in several groups passed me heading out. In 3 minutes I saw more people than during the first hour of hiking. There were only a two people at Debbie's View when I arrived at 9:40 am. It took just 1:07 to hike up 2.8 miles. The view is to the south and the sun was high enough to flood it. Mt. Rainier stood out with no clouds atop it. Just a few vapor trails. All around us was the top of the cloud layer. It was shining bright white. There were no breaks. From the Olympics to Squak Mountain it was a solid sea of low clouds/fog.
A couple more people arrived and soon they all left. I had the place to myself for a short time. It was great to just sit in the sunshine. It was in the mid 40s but it felt like 60 degrees. Later I would be descending back into the dark murky muck. I was not in a hurry to leave. That is until the next wave of hikers arrived. I was not too close to others but when I left there were 11 others at the viewpoint. More than I am comfortable with. I was not sure of where to go next. I headed over to the top of Margaret's Way and a short way up the trail across from it. This is where I turned around on my November trip. Instead of retracing my steps I decided to hike up West Peak's two summits. I climbed up and over and down to the May Valley Trail I started up on. A few steps from there is the road up to the Bullitt Fireplace. At the Fireplace there was a big group and on the side of the trail was another group. I went a little further and stopped for my lunch break.
After that it was time to head back. I dropped down the road to the May Valley Trail and followed it the last 2.7 miles down. When I reached the Perimeter Trail I concluded the upper loop. I saw a number of people coming up while I descended but it was never crowded. I had some long periods seeing nobody. At 1200' I began to see mist in the trees. I had reentered the inversion layer. Looking out to the sun through the trees I saw the sun rays shooting out in all directions. I have seen this many times on the trail. I have never seen it this good. The bright sunshine hitting the thick mist proved quite a show. Good enough that I took a lot of photos and several videos. The unexpected highlight of the trip. Right on cue, the temperature dropped 10 degrees. My gloves went back on. The mist provided all kinds of lighting making for interesting photos.
At the bottom I reached the road crossing and turned right on the Pretzel Tree Trail. This quick short hike brought me up to 7 miles for the day. That was with 1900' of elevation gain. When I reached the sign for the Pretzel Tree I looked long and hard and did not see it. I'm not sure if I missed it or it has fallen down. I was back at my car at 12:21 pm. The lot was now mostly full. There were half a dozen spaces still available. It was just as dark and dank as when I started at in the morning.
This hike exceeded my expectations. I just wanted to get in an easy hike with a short drive. Bonus points for getting up above the fog again. I had all that plus some great photo opportunities. The fog added an unusual vibe to the day. It is still January. Soon, we will have rain down low and snow in the mountains. For now I made the most of a crummy day in the city but a great day on the trail and above the muck.
 Morning Parking Lot |
 Vibrant Colors |
 Looking Up |
 Getting More Misty |
 Interesting Trees |
 Hanging Ferns |
 Mossy Trees |
 Blue Sky! |
 Mt. Rainier From DV |
 View Soutwest |
 Bright Cloud Layer |
 West Peak |
 Group At Fireplace |
 More Mossy Trees |
 Hanging Moss |
 More Sunshine |
 Very Nice |
 Whoa! |
 And Another |
 And The Best One |
 Back In The Mist |
 Gentle Grade |
 Green & Misty |
 Good Colors |
 Wide Angle |
 Mushrooms |
 Pretzel Tree Trail |
 Afternoon Parking Lot |
Trips - 2022
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