12-23-25
In
recent years I have taken weekdays off to hike on my birthday. The
weather has been very wet recently and when Tuesday looked to be dry I
planned a hike. My knee has been sore lately so I planned a trip on a
smooth trail. The Doppler radar showed snow at West Rattlesnake
elevation so I prepared for some snow with poles, gaiters, and
microspikes. I did not expect much snow but you never know. I was
delayed in the morning as all four tires on my car were six pounds
below normal. After pumping them up I was on my way. Half way there,
the Check Engine Light came on. This day was not off to a good start. I
finally arrived at the Snoqualmie Point trailhead at 9:34 am. There
were 7 or 8 cars in the lot. I was packed and on my way at 9:38 am. My
hope was to get in a 9 or 10 mile hike to Grand Prospect then over West
Rattlesnake summit, down the road and back onto the Rattlesnake
Mountain Trail (RMT) before traffic was bad. It was 38F at the start.
People in the parking lot had mountain bikes. I hoped to have a lot of
solitude on the RMT hiking trail.
The trail leaves the lot and quickly crosses a road where biker and hiker trails diverge. The uphill trail showed signs of recent water running down it. A lot of water running down. Recent heavy rain ran down trails and had trees falling over. With no recent trip reports, I had no idea about down trees. This trail is mostly smooth and I can hike it pretty fast. This day I had a heavier winter daypack and new high top boots. I was definitely slower than with light hiking shoes and a light summer pack. I soon saw a hiker coming down. That was a bit of a surprise this early on a Tuesday. The sky was mostly white. On the drive up I had a look at the summit and the clearcuts at and below the top. There was plenty of new snow up there. Down low I had the usual ferns and mossy trees. I checked my GPS at the powerline corridor where there is a sign noting it is 1.3 miles from the start. Gaia software runs high on mileage and low on elevation gain. This day it read 1.303 miles. That is nearly exactly in line.
At the junction next to Stan's Overlook my GPS was still only .03 off the posted 1.9 miles. In fact, all day it was dead on the posted mileage. That is a very rare event. There was very little wind all day. In the forest here I had a short cold breeze. It died down before I needed to add a layer. I soon saw another hiker coming down. It would be several more hours before I saw a third person. At 2500' I saw the first snow of the day. It remained minimal until I left the forest for an old road turned trail. Here it was more open and the snow was sporadic. Little in trees and a light layer in open spots. As I ascended the snow became more prevalent. I am always amused to see the last switchback and then popping out of the forest at Grand Prospect to find much more snow. It was no different today. An inch or two immediately become 6-7 inches. The deciduous trees had their many small branches covered in fresh snow. From Grand Prospect I had a great view down to North Bend and over to Mt. Si and Mt. Teneriffe. The snow level across the Cascade front was a steady white line. Si had a nice summit snow layer. To the north I could not see any of Mt. Baker. I arrived at 11:21 am. I took 1:47 to hike 4 miles. That is pretty good under the circumstances. My knee mostly hurts on steep downhills. I had two choices now. I could go straight up the old road to the summit towers on West Peak or follow the RMT to the ridge top road and then take it up to the summit. The first route is just under 9 miles. The latter I believe to be 10 miles. I felt good so I chose to continue on the RMT.'
First, I stopped to put on gaiters. The snow was packed my boots and only 3-4 inches deep on the forest. I was concerned with how deep it would be on the wide and open road ahead. A short way along the tracks left the trail and headed straight up the fall line to the lower towers. This is as route I have taken a number of times. I was surprised to see that another group left the trail here. Now I just had some old tracks with fresh snow on them. After .60 miles I reached the road. The RTM parallels the road on the way up to East Peak. I turned right and quickly reached the road. Snow covered some footprints. I could just make out the bootprints. Mt. Rainier should have been seen to the south but it was completely lost in clouds. The towers of West Peak were in sight. I started slogging along the road heading for West Peak. I saw lots of rabbit prints and a few deer prints. No hikers had been here since the snow the previous day and night. The road descended at a gentle grade. Even though the snow was not deep, it still slowed me down as I sank in several inches with each step. I was averaging 2.5 mph over 4.6 miles when I reached the road. At the summit I was at 5.4 miles and my overall speed was down to 1.9 mph. I was under 1 mph on the road section.
A bike trail cuts a switchback in the road then crossed the road and heads below the summit. The partly visible tracks headed that way. To reach 10 miles I stayed on the longer road. The climb to the summit is short and steep. I slowed more along here. When I reached the bike trail junction, the footprints headed up the road. They helped a little but were buried under the fresh snow near the top. As I climbed, I had a great view of Rattlesnake Ridge all the way to the tower on East Peak. Mt. Si and Mailbox Peak also came into view. The views are the trade off for the recent clearcutting of the ridge. I reached the 3250' summit at 12:22 pm. That was one slow 1.4 miles from Grand Prospect. Although the sky was completely overcast the views out to peaks were pretty good. I could see Mt. Washington, McClellan's Butte, Bandera, Granite, Defiance, Mailbox, Teneriffe, Si and more. To the north Baker never did appear but Three Fingers Mountain was in sunshine and the snow on it was really lit up. I usually put on a jacket here as winter provides a cold wind most of the time. Not this day. It was near 40F and calm. So far, I had just had a short break at Grand Prospect. I had a short food and water break plus more photos. I was on my way down at 12:33 pm. That was about it for breaks other than a few water stops.
The road descends and I had some footprints breaking trail. At the junction with the earlier seen bike trail the footprints headed right. I stayed on the road for better views and a little longer trip. The road switchbacked right and began a long traverse. It was much easier breaking trail downhill. The snow was harder here too. I still sank down with each step but not as far. I could see across to East Tiger and Tiger 1 peaks and towers. I could also see downtown Bellevue. Seattle was behind Tiger Mountain. I had a short view of Glacier Peak and Mt. Index. They had lots of new snow. I passed the bike trail again where it crosses the road. The bootprints now turned down the road. A few minutes later I saw the third person of the day. A lone biker was pedaling up the snowy road. The snow was less deep here but it looked like a lot of work pedaling in the snow. We had a short conversation and then parted ways, It was not much farther to the spot I leave the road. It is only a minute or two back to the RMT. I was now below Grand Prospect and the snow was much less deep. Travel was easy for the first time in over an hour.
Even though the trail is pretty smooth, I still had some knee pain. This trip puts me within 14 miles of a 900 mile year. I am trying to balance knee rest with getting the last few miles. I am making progress. The knee does feel better than a couple weeks ago. Once I was off the old road section and back in thick forest, the snow began to disappear. In the last 3 miles I began to see a few hikers heading up. There were 3 or 4 logs across the trail but not were much of a problem to get over. My pace down was steady but not as fast as usual. I was glad to be done as I reached the trailhead at 2:37 pm. My total hiking time was 5:03. For the day I hiked 10.15 miles with 2400' of elevation gain. The drive home was not bad as some people are on vacation two days before Christmas.
This turned out to be a fun hike. I definitely had solitude on a hike so close to Seattle. I saw six people all day long. The trail was in good shape after all the rain. It was nice to see so much snow on the upper route. By late December I usually have been on snow on Tiger and Rattlesnake for weeks or a month. The snow was not deep but it covered everything with a fresh coat of white. While it was cloudy and the volcanoes were in clouds (except Glacier Peak), most peaks were clearly visible. Once I was done with the descent me knee felt just fine. My new boots did great and I had dry feet all day. I look forward to more snowy hikes and maybe even seeing some blue sky again soon.
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Trips - 2025
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The trail leaves the lot and quickly crosses a road where biker and hiker trails diverge. The uphill trail showed signs of recent water running down it. A lot of water running down. Recent heavy rain ran down trails and had trees falling over. With no recent trip reports, I had no idea about down trees. This trail is mostly smooth and I can hike it pretty fast. This day I had a heavier winter daypack and new high top boots. I was definitely slower than with light hiking shoes and a light summer pack. I soon saw a hiker coming down. That was a bit of a surprise this early on a Tuesday. The sky was mostly white. On the drive up I had a look at the summit and the clearcuts at and below the top. There was plenty of new snow up there. Down low I had the usual ferns and mossy trees. I checked my GPS at the powerline corridor where there is a sign noting it is 1.3 miles from the start. Gaia software runs high on mileage and low on elevation gain. This day it read 1.303 miles. That is nearly exactly in line.
At the junction next to Stan's Overlook my GPS was still only .03 off the posted 1.9 miles. In fact, all day it was dead on the posted mileage. That is a very rare event. There was very little wind all day. In the forest here I had a short cold breeze. It died down before I needed to add a layer. I soon saw another hiker coming down. It would be several more hours before I saw a third person. At 2500' I saw the first snow of the day. It remained minimal until I left the forest for an old road turned trail. Here it was more open and the snow was sporadic. Little in trees and a light layer in open spots. As I ascended the snow became more prevalent. I am always amused to see the last switchback and then popping out of the forest at Grand Prospect to find much more snow. It was no different today. An inch or two immediately become 6-7 inches. The deciduous trees had their many small branches covered in fresh snow. From Grand Prospect I had a great view down to North Bend and over to Mt. Si and Mt. Teneriffe. The snow level across the Cascade front was a steady white line. Si had a nice summit snow layer. To the north I could not see any of Mt. Baker. I arrived at 11:21 am. I took 1:47 to hike 4 miles. That is pretty good under the circumstances. My knee mostly hurts on steep downhills. I had two choices now. I could go straight up the old road to the summit towers on West Peak or follow the RMT to the ridge top road and then take it up to the summit. The first route is just under 9 miles. The latter I believe to be 10 miles. I felt good so I chose to continue on the RMT.'
First, I stopped to put on gaiters. The snow was packed my boots and only 3-4 inches deep on the forest. I was concerned with how deep it would be on the wide and open road ahead. A short way along the tracks left the trail and headed straight up the fall line to the lower towers. This is as route I have taken a number of times. I was surprised to see that another group left the trail here. Now I just had some old tracks with fresh snow on them. After .60 miles I reached the road. The RTM parallels the road on the way up to East Peak. I turned right and quickly reached the road. Snow covered some footprints. I could just make out the bootprints. Mt. Rainier should have been seen to the south but it was completely lost in clouds. The towers of West Peak were in sight. I started slogging along the road heading for West Peak. I saw lots of rabbit prints and a few deer prints. No hikers had been here since the snow the previous day and night. The road descended at a gentle grade. Even though the snow was not deep, it still slowed me down as I sank in several inches with each step. I was averaging 2.5 mph over 4.6 miles when I reached the road. At the summit I was at 5.4 miles and my overall speed was down to 1.9 mph. I was under 1 mph on the road section.
A bike trail cuts a switchback in the road then crossed the road and heads below the summit. The partly visible tracks headed that way. To reach 10 miles I stayed on the longer road. The climb to the summit is short and steep. I slowed more along here. When I reached the bike trail junction, the footprints headed up the road. They helped a little but were buried under the fresh snow near the top. As I climbed, I had a great view of Rattlesnake Ridge all the way to the tower on East Peak. Mt. Si and Mailbox Peak also came into view. The views are the trade off for the recent clearcutting of the ridge. I reached the 3250' summit at 12:22 pm. That was one slow 1.4 miles from Grand Prospect. Although the sky was completely overcast the views out to peaks were pretty good. I could see Mt. Washington, McClellan's Butte, Bandera, Granite, Defiance, Mailbox, Teneriffe, Si and more. To the north Baker never did appear but Three Fingers Mountain was in sunshine and the snow on it was really lit up. I usually put on a jacket here as winter provides a cold wind most of the time. Not this day. It was near 40F and calm. So far, I had just had a short break at Grand Prospect. I had a short food and water break plus more photos. I was on my way down at 12:33 pm. That was about it for breaks other than a few water stops.
The road descends and I had some footprints breaking trail. At the junction with the earlier seen bike trail the footprints headed right. I stayed on the road for better views and a little longer trip. The road switchbacked right and began a long traverse. It was much easier breaking trail downhill. The snow was harder here too. I still sank down with each step but not as far. I could see across to East Tiger and Tiger 1 peaks and towers. I could also see downtown Bellevue. Seattle was behind Tiger Mountain. I had a short view of Glacier Peak and Mt. Index. They had lots of new snow. I passed the bike trail again where it crosses the road. The bootprints now turned down the road. A few minutes later I saw the third person of the day. A lone biker was pedaling up the snowy road. The snow was less deep here but it looked like a lot of work pedaling in the snow. We had a short conversation and then parted ways, It was not much farther to the spot I leave the road. It is only a minute or two back to the RMT. I was now below Grand Prospect and the snow was much less deep. Travel was easy for the first time in over an hour.
Even though the trail is pretty smooth, I still had some knee pain. This trip puts me within 14 miles of a 900 mile year. I am trying to balance knee rest with getting the last few miles. I am making progress. The knee does feel better than a couple weeks ago. Once I was off the old road section and back in thick forest, the snow began to disappear. In the last 3 miles I began to see a few hikers heading up. There were 3 or 4 logs across the trail but not were much of a problem to get over. My pace down was steady but not as fast as usual. I was glad to be done as I reached the trailhead at 2:37 pm. My total hiking time was 5:03. For the day I hiked 10.15 miles with 2400' of elevation gain. The drive home was not bad as some people are on vacation two days before Christmas.
This turned out to be a fun hike. I definitely had solitude on a hike so close to Seattle. I saw six people all day long. The trail was in good shape after all the rain. It was nice to see so much snow on the upper route. By late December I usually have been on snow on Tiger and Rattlesnake for weeks or a month. The snow was not deep but it covered everything with a fresh coat of white. While it was cloudy and the volcanoes were in clouds (except Glacier Peak), most peaks were clearly visible. Once I was done with the descent me knee felt just fine. My new boots did great and I had dry feet all day. I look forward to more snowy hikes and maybe even seeing some blue sky again soon.
 Colorful Green Moss |
 Powerline Corridor |
 Tree Down |
 More Moss |
 First Snow |
 Snowy Old Road |
 Solid Snow Cover |
 Winter Wonderland |
 Many White Branches |
 Grand Prospect |
 Snow Line On Mt. Si |
 Mt. Teneriffe |
 Snowy Clearcuts |
 Leaving Grand Prospect |
 Sign? Legible? |
 Road/RMT Junction |
 Fresh Snow On Road |
 No Tracks On Road |
 Slogging Up West Peak |
 Rattlesnake Ridge |
 West Peak Towers |
 Mt. Washington |
 Mailbox Peak |
 Bandera & Granite Mt. |
 Pilchuck & 3 Fingers |
 Tiger Mountain |
 Downtown Bellevue |
 Heading Down |
 Mt. Index? |
 Back On RMT |
 New Bridge |
 Back To Green Arches |
 Colors Again |
 Last Mossy Arch |
 A Few Last Leaves |
Trips - 2025
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