08-17-25
After six consecutive hikes of less than 10 miles I was up for a longer
trip. We had an unusual rainstorm on Friday and it would be damp and
cloudy. I did not want to go for a long drive under those conditions.
Further complicating things, all lanes of I-5 northbound through
Seattle were closed for the weekend. I wanted to get back early before
the weekend travelers returned. I chose to hike up the Rattlesnake
Mountain Trail from the west end. I spent much of Saturday painting my
house and I was a little sore. The plan was to get to Grand Prospect
and if I felt good aim for adding both the East Peak and West Peak of
Rattlesnake. I was on my way at 6:35 am heading east. At Issaquah, a
road sign stated that Highway 18 was closed from I-90 to
Issaquah-Hobart Road. That meant that mountain biking on Tiger would be
unavailable. Rattlesnake would be really crowded this day. I was
especially glad to have an early start. I expected bikers to fill the
lot and both sides of the road back to the highway. It was unlikely
that I would see many hikers.
I arrived at 7:13 am and I was on my way at 7:16 am. There were only about 7 or 8 cars in the lot. It was overcast and as I started uphill I quickly noticed the humidity. It was only 59F so the humidity was not too bad. I set a steady pace. I was stiff after spending three hours on a ladder painting the day before but I soon felt much better. At the first trail road crossing two mountain bikers arrived at exactly the same time. A few minutes later at the second crossing the two bikers beat me by about five seconds. They were the only people I saw for the first 6+ miles of my hike. I zipped by Stan's Overlook and continued up. I reached Grand Prospect at 8:59 am. I hiked the first 4 miles in 1:43. It was time for a break. Mt. Baker was in clouds. Mt. Si was mostly clear but nearby Mt. Teneriffe was in clouds. I was feeling better than I expected so I would head on to East Peak. I was back on my way at 9:14 am. The trail out to the road was a little brushy. With recent rain the brush was damp. My pants became a bit damp but not soaked. At the next junction, I decided to take the dry road vs. the slightly brushy trail.
I popped out on the road and turned left heading for East Rattlesnake Mountain. At the spot with a view of Mt. Rainier I saw nothing but clouds as I expected. The road has some steep climbing and some gentle sections too. The trail crosses the road and I took the trail. The best wildflowers of the day were between here and where the clearcut ends and forest begins. Pearly everlasting was in some very big patches. There was also fireweed and a few blooming foxglove. The trail was a bit brushy and a little wet but again I did not get soaked.Once in forest the grade steepened for the final push to the top of East Peak. The forest is quite thick and a bit dark with minimal ground cover. I popped out of the forest just before the top. The sign said 5.9 miles to the Snoqualmie Point Trailhead. My GPS read 5.82 miles. It was just a minute or so to the tower. I arrived at 10:08 am. Just as on my previous visit one year earlier, the door to the tower building was bent in at the bottom with a concrete block holding it open. The door was still locked.
I headed back to the bench for a food and water break. I could see Mt. Si clearly but Teneriffe was still in the clouds. The view is at a very different angle than from Grand Prospect. I was packed and on my way down at 10:18 am. I soon passed a runner coming up. He was the first non-biker I had seen all day. As mentioned earlier, there is little ground cover in the forest. It is perfect saprophyte terrain. Just off the trail I saw one. Nearby were too others. They were all pinesaps. I looked around and found a few more mushrooms but no more saprophytes. At the trail crossing I chose to head down the road retracing my route in. The road drops, passes the trail to Grand Prospect and begins the climb to West Rattlesnake mountain. It was getting a little lighter with a few small patches of blue sky. Mt. Rainier was still completely in the clouds. The climb to the top brought me to about 3000' of gain. I arrived on top at 11:13 am. I was not 8.1 miles into my trip.
I could see out to all the peaks along I-90 and over to Bellevue. Tiger Mountain was in the clear. The Cascade Crest to the north was in clouds. I did see Mt. Index but not Baker or Three Fingers. A father arrived towing his son's bike with a strap. Several thousand feet of gain doing that must have been a good workout. This was my last break as I finished most of my food and water. At 11:35 am I headed down. I took the road as it headed south then switchbacked to the north. As expected, I started seeing more mountain bikers heading up. At the next switchback I left the road and dropped back to the Rattlesnake Mountain Trail below Grand Prospect. I still felt pretty good. The trip down the last 3.70 miles was uneventful. The trail is pretty smooth and easy hiking. I did pass a lone hiker and then a couple. In the last 1.5 miles I passed several more groups. I ended up seeing ten hikers. I reached the trailhead at 1:19 pm. The lot was full as expected. My GPS read 12.7 miles. I wanted to get it up to 13 miles so I headed over to Snoqualmie Point Park. It has an excellent close up view of Mt. Si. I headed back with 13.07 miles recorded. My GPS usually reads high on mileage but at each trail sign with miles listed it was right on today.
I was not surprised to see that the road from I-90 was lined with cars on both sides. This is a popular mountain biking spot. My drive home was less bad than expected. From 1st Ave by the stadiums to the middle of the tunnel it was slow going. It added about 10 minutes to my drive. Considering that northbound I-5 was closed through Seattle that was much better than expected. I was sore from painting from a ladder the day before but felt so much better after a mile of hiking. I am glad that I went on the whole 13 mile maximum route. With the early start I was home by 2:45 pm. It turned out to be a very nice day for a long hike.
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Trips - 2025
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I arrived at 7:13 am and I was on my way at 7:16 am. There were only about 7 or 8 cars in the lot. It was overcast and as I started uphill I quickly noticed the humidity. It was only 59F so the humidity was not too bad. I set a steady pace. I was stiff after spending three hours on a ladder painting the day before but I soon felt much better. At the first trail road crossing two mountain bikers arrived at exactly the same time. A few minutes later at the second crossing the two bikers beat me by about five seconds. They were the only people I saw for the first 6+ miles of my hike. I zipped by Stan's Overlook and continued up. I reached Grand Prospect at 8:59 am. I hiked the first 4 miles in 1:43. It was time for a break. Mt. Baker was in clouds. Mt. Si was mostly clear but nearby Mt. Teneriffe was in clouds. I was feeling better than I expected so I would head on to East Peak. I was back on my way at 9:14 am. The trail out to the road was a little brushy. With recent rain the brush was damp. My pants became a bit damp but not soaked. At the next junction, I decided to take the dry road vs. the slightly brushy trail.
I popped out on the road and turned left heading for East Rattlesnake Mountain. At the spot with a view of Mt. Rainier I saw nothing but clouds as I expected. The road has some steep climbing and some gentle sections too. The trail crosses the road and I took the trail. The best wildflowers of the day were between here and where the clearcut ends and forest begins. Pearly everlasting was in some very big patches. There was also fireweed and a few blooming foxglove. The trail was a bit brushy and a little wet but again I did not get soaked.Once in forest the grade steepened for the final push to the top of East Peak. The forest is quite thick and a bit dark with minimal ground cover. I popped out of the forest just before the top. The sign said 5.9 miles to the Snoqualmie Point Trailhead. My GPS read 5.82 miles. It was just a minute or so to the tower. I arrived at 10:08 am. Just as on my previous visit one year earlier, the door to the tower building was bent in at the bottom with a concrete block holding it open. The door was still locked.
I headed back to the bench for a food and water break. I could see Mt. Si clearly but Teneriffe was still in the clouds. The view is at a very different angle than from Grand Prospect. I was packed and on my way down at 10:18 am. I soon passed a runner coming up. He was the first non-biker I had seen all day. As mentioned earlier, there is little ground cover in the forest. It is perfect saprophyte terrain. Just off the trail I saw one. Nearby were too others. They were all pinesaps. I looked around and found a few more mushrooms but no more saprophytes. At the trail crossing I chose to head down the road retracing my route in. The road drops, passes the trail to Grand Prospect and begins the climb to West Rattlesnake mountain. It was getting a little lighter with a few small patches of blue sky. Mt. Rainier was still completely in the clouds. The climb to the top brought me to about 3000' of gain. I arrived on top at 11:13 am. I was not 8.1 miles into my trip.
I could see out to all the peaks along I-90 and over to Bellevue. Tiger Mountain was in the clear. The Cascade Crest to the north was in clouds. I did see Mt. Index but not Baker or Three Fingers. A father arrived towing his son's bike with a strap. Several thousand feet of gain doing that must have been a good workout. This was my last break as I finished most of my food and water. At 11:35 am I headed down. I took the road as it headed south then switchbacked to the north. As expected, I started seeing more mountain bikers heading up. At the next switchback I left the road and dropped back to the Rattlesnake Mountain Trail below Grand Prospect. I still felt pretty good. The trip down the last 3.70 miles was uneventful. The trail is pretty smooth and easy hiking. I did pass a lone hiker and then a couple. In the last 1.5 miles I passed several more groups. I ended up seeing ten hikers. I reached the trailhead at 1:19 pm. The lot was full as expected. My GPS read 12.7 miles. I wanted to get it up to 13 miles so I headed over to Snoqualmie Point Park. It has an excellent close up view of Mt. Si. I headed back with 13.07 miles recorded. My GPS usually reads high on mileage but at each trail sign with miles listed it was right on today.
I was not surprised to see that the road from I-90 was lined with cars on both sides. This is a popular mountain biking spot. My drive home was less bad than expected. From 1st Ave by the stadiums to the middle of the tunnel it was slow going. It added about 10 minutes to my drive. Considering that northbound I-5 was closed through Seattle that was much better than expected. I was sore from painting from a ladder the day before but felt so much better after a mile of hiking. I am glad that I went on the whole 13 mile maximum route. With the early start I was home by 2:45 pm. It turned out to be a very nice day for a long hike.
 Into The Green Forest |
 Red Leaves |
 Cloudy Day |
 Lit Up Leaves |
 Mushrooms |
 Old Road To GP |
 Flowers @ Grand Prospect |
 First Mt. Si View |
 Fireweed Close Up |
 Onto The Road |
 West Peak Is Behind Me |
 Where Is Mt. Rainier? |
 East Peak In Sight |
 Brushy Trail Start |
 Best Flower Show |
 Mountain Ash Berries |
 Big Fir Cone |
 Back In Forest |
 Building Door |
 Bunchberries |
 East Peak Tower |
 Mts. Si & Teneriffe |
 Mt. Si Summit |
 Camp Robber Jay |
 Wet Mushroom |
 Pinesap |
 Foxglove |
 Firefox Everlasting |
 Nearing West Peak |
 Thistle |
 Ridge To East Peak |
 Snoqualmie Valley Peaks |
 Mailbox Peak |
 Mt. Teneriffe |
 Mt. Si Haystack |
 Dark Clouds & Flowers |
 Bright Clouds |
 West Tiger 1 |
 Bellevue |
 Big Pearly Everlasting |
 Mt. Index |
 On The Road Again |
 Green Ground Cover |
 Green Arches |
 Bleeding Hearts? |
 Clear Views Now |
 Shades Of Green |
 Mt. Si From Park |
Trips - 2025
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