12-10-23
The
day before was forecast to be heavy rain all day long. Friday night the
rain arrival was put off until 10:00 am. I headed out early and started
with a headlamp. I hiked up Tiger 3 and 2 and coming down the rain
stayed at bay. I added miles on the Tradition Plateau to get up to 10
miles and only had rain for a few minutes finishing at 11:05 am. Sunday
was forecast to be rain and showers all day long. After no hiking the
previous weekend and midweek, I was glad to have had at least one hike.
I turned off my alarm and planned to stay home on Sunday. I woke up at
6:30 am and checked the Doppler radar to verify the steady rain. Huh?
There was no rain in Issaquah, just a little east of Preston. Future
radar showed it would only get clearer. Well, maybe I could get in
another hike. I was on the road at 7:48 am. For the second time in the
past two months, the road under Aurora Avenue was closed off my police.
I had to turn around and go around Green Lake to the freeway. I stopped
in Issaquah for gas $.62/gallon cheaper than in North Seattle. I
arrived at the High Point North Trailhead at 8:30 am. I was on my way
at 8:34 am. It was clear in Seattle but Tiger Mountain was cloudy and
there was a little cloud over Grand Ridge. One runner was headed out
just ahead of me. We were the only cars in the lot.
It was an unseasonably warm 52 degrees at the start. The bridge over Issaquah Creek showed that recent rain had the water flowing high and fast. The first .60 miles is a gentle descent along the old railroad grade. A waterfall part way along had lots of water. As I turned onto the trail up Grand Ridge I noticed movement farther down the railroad grade. It was a waterfall. I had never seen this one before. I had to check it out. A couple minutes later I was down the trade to the falls. It is only about 20' tall but is wide and nearly vertical. It's like a mini Spray Falls at Mt. Rainier. I doubt it runs very often. I'm glad I noticed it. Now I went back to the trail and started the climb up Grand Ridge. I saw nobody up to the ridge top junction. It is a gently graded trail made for mountain bikes. It is perfect for fast hiking. I usually average about about 20 minutes/mile on this trail. After 10 miles and 2600' of gain the day before, I was not feeling that good. I still set a good pace. The overcast and moister lit up the moss. I started taking photos. I did not plan to do a trip report for this trip but after the waterfalls and now the good lighting I decided to do one. I made a lot of photo stops. That added to a slower time but was well worth it.
At 1.6 miles I reached the ridge top junction. Lots of people access the trail from here. I expect to start seeing more people after turning on to this trail. I did start to see some hikers and runners but not many. Bikers were even fewer. The over cast began to break. I saw a few shadows. A bridge crosses a seasonal creek and it was running this day. I next crossed the only road of the day. The trail climbs a bit and a soon reached the junction with the Water Tower Loop Trail. Most of the time I do the loop counterclockwise. This time I decided to to it clockwise. I turned onto the trail. It gains elevation up to the water towers. The forest has been thinned and meadows created. This lets in light and now there was some sunlight. I could see blue sky. At 10:00 pm it was supposed to be rain all day. Now I had blue sky. I just noticed the water towers through the trees. Now it is mostly downhill to the lower junction. I passed a stump and the far side was covered with small mushrooms. I saw a lot of them in early fall but have not seen fresh ones in a while. It was an impressive display. The trail passes one more junction and reaches the main trail after 2.36 miles. Now I just had .48 slightly uphill miles to close the Water Tower Loop. I thought I would be passed by a lot of bikers on the main trail this late in the morning. I saw nobody. Back at the loop junction I had just 2.5 miles to go.
I quickly hiked back to the road crossing. In the next section A few bikes appeared. I also saw a few more hikers and runners. That changed at the next junction where I left the ridge top trail. I had one downhill mile to go to reach the railroad grade. As I descended the clouds over Tiger Mountain began to block the sun. It is very low in the sky this time of year. It became a bit cooler and darker. I still had a few moments of direct sunshine. I'm not sure if the tops of the Tiger summits were in the clear but at least lower down the fog/clouds did not bur off before the end of my hike. I reached the grade at 11:23 am. I was 11 minutes short of 3 hours on the trail. I made good time hiking the slight uphill back to the trailhead. One official truck passed me on the grade. There is a trail that drops about twenty feet down to Issaquah Creek. The waster was high enough for me to drop on down for a closer look. The creek was making a lot of noise. Up above it the highway was making noise too. I took a few photos and a video of the roaring creek. Then it was back up to the grade.
The last part went by fast. I arrived back at the trailhead at 1136 am. With my last detour I took 3:04 to cover 8 miles with 1000' of elevation gain. Usually I see about four times more bikes than hikers and runners. This day it was closer to even. Fewer bikers than normal and more hikers. I still had long periods of solitude on this close to the city trail. It was the same 52 degrees at the end as as the start of my trip. I was a bit surprised to look over to Tiger Mountain and see all the low clouds. On Grand Ridge I had a lot of sunshine on what was supposed to be a very rainy day. It was warmer and drier than I would expect on December 10. After no hiking the first weekend and midweek, I managed to get in 18 miles and 3600' of gain this weekend. A poor start to December is now looking a lot better.
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Trips - 2023
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It was an unseasonably warm 52 degrees at the start. The bridge over Issaquah Creek showed that recent rain had the water flowing high and fast. The first .60 miles is a gentle descent along the old railroad grade. A waterfall part way along had lots of water. As I turned onto the trail up Grand Ridge I noticed movement farther down the railroad grade. It was a waterfall. I had never seen this one before. I had to check it out. A couple minutes later I was down the trade to the falls. It is only about 20' tall but is wide and nearly vertical. It's like a mini Spray Falls at Mt. Rainier. I doubt it runs very often. I'm glad I noticed it. Now I went back to the trail and started the climb up Grand Ridge. I saw nobody up to the ridge top junction. It is a gently graded trail made for mountain bikes. It is perfect for fast hiking. I usually average about about 20 minutes/mile on this trail. After 10 miles and 2600' of gain the day before, I was not feeling that good. I still set a good pace. The overcast and moister lit up the moss. I started taking photos. I did not plan to do a trip report for this trip but after the waterfalls and now the good lighting I decided to do one. I made a lot of photo stops. That added to a slower time but was well worth it.
At 1.6 miles I reached the ridge top junction. Lots of people access the trail from here. I expect to start seeing more people after turning on to this trail. I did start to see some hikers and runners but not many. Bikers were even fewer. The over cast began to break. I saw a few shadows. A bridge crosses a seasonal creek and it was running this day. I next crossed the only road of the day. The trail climbs a bit and a soon reached the junction with the Water Tower Loop Trail. Most of the time I do the loop counterclockwise. This time I decided to to it clockwise. I turned onto the trail. It gains elevation up to the water towers. The forest has been thinned and meadows created. This lets in light and now there was some sunlight. I could see blue sky. At 10:00 pm it was supposed to be rain all day. Now I had blue sky. I just noticed the water towers through the trees. Now it is mostly downhill to the lower junction. I passed a stump and the far side was covered with small mushrooms. I saw a lot of them in early fall but have not seen fresh ones in a while. It was an impressive display. The trail passes one more junction and reaches the main trail after 2.36 miles. Now I just had .48 slightly uphill miles to close the Water Tower Loop. I thought I would be passed by a lot of bikers on the main trail this late in the morning. I saw nobody. Back at the loop junction I had just 2.5 miles to go.
I quickly hiked back to the road crossing. In the next section A few bikes appeared. I also saw a few more hikers and runners. That changed at the next junction where I left the ridge top trail. I had one downhill mile to go to reach the railroad grade. As I descended the clouds over Tiger Mountain began to block the sun. It is very low in the sky this time of year. It became a bit cooler and darker. I still had a few moments of direct sunshine. I'm not sure if the tops of the Tiger summits were in the clear but at least lower down the fog/clouds did not bur off before the end of my hike. I reached the grade at 11:23 am. I was 11 minutes short of 3 hours on the trail. I made good time hiking the slight uphill back to the trailhead. One official truck passed me on the grade. There is a trail that drops about twenty feet down to Issaquah Creek. The waster was high enough for me to drop on down for a closer look. The creek was making a lot of noise. Up above it the highway was making noise too. I took a few photos and a video of the roaring creek. Then it was back up to the grade.
The last part went by fast. I arrived back at the trailhead at 1136 am. With my last detour I took 3:04 to cover 8 miles with 1000' of elevation gain. Usually I see about four times more bikes than hikers and runners. This day it was closer to even. Fewer bikers than normal and more hikers. I still had long periods of solitude on this close to the city trail. It was the same 52 degrees at the end as as the start of my trip. I was a bit surprised to look over to Tiger Mountain and see all the low clouds. On Grand Ridge I had a lot of sunshine on what was supposed to be a very rainy day. It was warmer and drier than I would expect on December 10. After no hiking the first weekend and midweek, I managed to get in 18 miles and 3600' of gain this weekend. A poor start to December is now looking a lot better.
 Issaquah Creek At Start |
 The First Waterfall |
 Big Falls |
 Different Angle |
 Straight In Front |
 Fresh Mushrooms |
 More Rushing Water |
 Leafy Pond |
 Good Lighting |
 Blue Sky! |
 Mossy Rock |
 Sun & Meadow |
 Big Puddles |
 Lots of Mushrooms |
 Mess Of Mushrooms |
 More Shrooms |
 Underside |
 Small Mushrooms |
 Sunshine Ahead |
 Lit Up Moss |
 Sun & Shadows |
 Backlit Moss |
 Two Trees Across Trail |
 Heading For RR Grade |
 Ferns & Moss |
 Mossy Goodness |
 Back On The Grade |
 Issaquah Creek |
 Waterfall Again |
 Looking Upstream |
 Looking Downstream |
 Creek At Start Again |
Trips - 2023
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