Hiking with Annie
2009
July - September
Trailhead: N47 23.864 W121 29.177 (NAD83) Elevation: 1875 ft Distance: 11.2 miles Elevation gain: 1565 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 26 18.4 W121 30 00.0 Elevation: 3440 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 47, between North Bend and Snoqualmie Pass, and turn north. At the stop sign turn left onto FR9035 and drive about 1/3 mile to the trailhead parking lot.
Hike description: This 2 day excursion did not take place during the best weather. It was somewhat cool and more than a bit wet, but at least that kept the crowds away. Originally, we were going to camp at Pratt Lake but on the way up we met a couple coming down and they told us about a nice spot at Lower Tuscohatchie. So after a short rest at Pratt we pushed on to Tuscohatchie, which is much more secluded. It didn't quite rain but there was a heavy mist falling most of the night. The campsite was just off the shore of the lake between a couple of small streams. The sound of running water lulled us to sleep that night.
Jul 08-09 - Pratt & Lower Tuscohatchie Lakes
Trailhead: N47 24.068 W121 31.108 (NAD83) Elevation: 2645 ft Distance: 5.5 miles Elevation gain: 1155 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 25 20.5 W121 30 43.5 Elevation: 3800 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 45, between North Bend and Snoqualmie Pass, and turn north onto FR9030. At just over 3/4 mile the road splits. Veer to the right, staying on FR9030 and continue for about 2-1/2 miles to the end of the road and the Talapus Lake trailhead.
Hike details: This lake basin is usually buried in snow until summer and stays rather swampy after it melts out. Skunk Cabbage finds an ideal habitat here, blooming sometimes before the snow is completely melted. Olallie Lake has several nice looking campsites but usually fill up pretty fast on weekends as it is such a short hike into.
Jul 20 - Talapus & Olallie Lakes
Trailhead: N47 23 34.0 W121 28 27.7 (NAD83) Elevation: 1940 ft Distance: 6 miles Elevation gain: 1685 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 21 37.4 W121 28 29.9 Elevation: 3625 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: Take exit 47 off I-90 and turn south toward the river. Just past the river, at the "T", turn left onto NF5590. Follow for .4 mile to the end of the road and the trailhead parking lot.
Hike description: The trail travels along the Humpback Creek valley for about 1.5 miles then climbs 300 feet or more up the flank of Silver Peak before dropping down in the Annette Lake basin. There are several nice campsites at the lake and since it is not in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area, campfires are legal.
Jul 27 - Annette Lake
Trailhead: N47 29.200 W121 45.225 (NAD83) Elevation: 515 ft Distance: 6 miles Elevation gain: 3445 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 30 25.8 W121 44 18.6 Elevation: 3960 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 32 at North Bend and turn north onto 436th Ave SE. Drive for about 1/2 mile to a stop sign then turn left onto North Bend Way. After about 1/4 mile turn right onto Mt Si Rd and drive about 1/2 mile to the small trailhead parking lot on the left. If the lot is full, drive through and turn right on Mt Si Rd going back the way you came - there is an overflow parking lot just down the road.
Hike description: I chose this trailhead because the main Mt Si trail is usually very crowded. After 1/2 mile the Old Mt Si trail veers off to the right. This trail is very steep in places and can be rough but is worth it for the solitude. Rarely do you see anyone on it. At about 2-1/4 miles the two trails veer to within 10 feet of each other so I took the main trail the rest of the way (and passed about a dozen people). The old trail actually joins the main trail about 1/2 mile farther up and the viewpoint (which is as far as most people go) is only 500-600 feet farther. The summit is at the top of The Haystack (a large butte of rock jutting up about 150 feet) but I have never been there as it is a class 3 scramble and I didn't want to chance it with Annie.
Aug 03 - Mount Si
Trailhead: N47 31.774 W121 59.739 (NAD83) Elevation: 530 ft Distance: 9 miles Elevation gain: 1270 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 29 58.1 W122 00 31.1 Elevation: 1800 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 20 and turn south at the end of the exit ramp. After a few hundred feet, turn right on SE 79th St and drive about 3/4 mile to the parking lot.
Hike description: The hike to Poo Poo Point from here takes no less than 5 different trails. Starting from the trailhead, take the West Tiger #3 trail for just under a mile. From here veer right onto the Talus Rocks trail. This is an interesting nether world that winds around large talus rock. There used to be underground caves here but they have blocked those off. A short distance past the talus field take an almost 180° left onto the Section Line trail. This is a steep trail that heads almost straight up the face of West Tiger peak #3. After 1/2 mile you intersect the West Tiger Railroad Grade. Take a right here and follow this trail for about 1-3/4 miles. Here you hit an intersection of 3 different trails. Going straight puts you on the Poo Poo Point trail. Another 3/4 mile and you are at Poo Poo Point. There are shorter and more direct routes here, but I guess I like doing things the hard way. This is actually one of 2 hangglider launch sites. When you hear in the news about hanggliders rescued on Tiger Mountain, this is probably where they launched from.
Aug 10 - Poo Poo Point
Parking: N47 24 31.8 W121 36 09.4 (NAD83) Elevation: 2220 ft Distance: 7.2 miles Elevation gain: 2880 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 24 24.0 W121 37 20.5 Elevation: 5100 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 38 and turn right onto Homestead Valley Rd. Follow for 1-3/4 miles then turn right onto FR9020. Drive about 2-3/4 miles to where the trail crosses the road and park at the side of the road. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 38 and turn left onto Homestead Valley Rd. Follow for about 1/4 mile then turn left onto FR9020. Drive about 2-3/4 miles to where the trail crosses the road and park at the side of the road.
Hike description: There is a 2nd trailhead just off I-90 at exit 42 which adds another 2 miles round-trip to the hike. The trail wends its way up the east flank in a mostly southwest direction until it finally crests the ridge. From here it takes a giant U-turn heading back to the northeast to the rocky butte. This is another one that I have not yet made the top of as it is another Class 3 scramble I'm afraid to make with Annie.
Aug 17 - McClellan Butte
Trailhead: N47 25 40.5 W121 24 48.4 (NAD83) Elevation: 3020 ft Distance: 11.5 miles Elevation gain: 2400 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 27 09.9 W121 22 41.4 Elevation: 5420 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 52 and turn left at the end of the ramp.Shortly after crossing under the freeway, turn right onto a dirt road leading into the trailhead parking lot. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 53 and turn left at the end of the exit ramp. After crossing under the freeway, take a right on Highway 906. Shortly after crossing under the freeway again, at about 3/4 mile, turn right onto a dirt road leading into the parking lot for the trailhead.
Hike description: The main problem with this section of the PCT is that just over 2.5 miles from the trailhead it makes an extremely large switchback that adds no less than 2 miles to the hike (in one direction - 4 miles if coming back the same way). Once past this though the views begin to open up and the rugged peaks of this area become apparent. Another mile and you come to the Kendall Katwalk, a short section of trail that was blasted out of the solid rock face of the ridge.
Aug 31 - Kendall Katwalk
Trailhead: N47 25 40.5 W121 24 48.4 (NAD83) Elevation: 3020 ft Distance: 8.6 miles Elevation gain: 2340 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 27 33.3 W121 23 43.2 Elevation: 5360 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 52 and turn left at the end of the ramp.Shortly after crossing under the freeway, turn right onto a dirt road leading into the trailhead parking lot. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 53 and turn left at the end of the exit ramp. After crossing under the freeway, take a right on Highway 906. Shortly after crossing under the freeway again, at about 3/4 mile, turn right onto a dirt road leading into the parking lot for the trailhead.
Hike description: The trail follows the Commonwealth Creek trail that branches off the PCT after 2.5 miles. It drops down into the Commonwealth Basin, crossing the creek before climbing the opposite side. About .1 mile before reaching Red Pond, a side trail leads to a small knob that makes a great place for lunch. If the time of year is right there are Huckleberry bushes that can provide some additional nourishment. Just before Red Pond veer to the right up along the flank of Red Mountain. The pass is along a saddle between Lundin Peak and Red Mountain. The views from the pass are mostly to the north across the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River valley. The trail actually leads down the other side of the pass to the river valley but appears to be little used.
Sep 08 - Red Pass
Parking: N47 23.800 W121 22.765 (NAD83) Elevation: 2510 ft Distance: 6.5 miles Elevation gain: 290 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 25 53.0 W121 21 04.9 Elevation: 2800 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 54, on Snoqualmie Pass, and turn north at the end of the exit ramp. Turn right, just past the eastbound exit ramp onto NF4832 and follow for about 1 mile. Turn left onto gravel road Huckleberry Peak Rd and follow for about 1/2 mile to the parking lot for Gold Creek Pond, just on the left.
Hike description: The trail roughly follows Gold Creek, weaving into the forest and back to the creek again several times. About 2 miles from the trailhead was a gigantic logjam of avalanche debris that forced us to turn around. I thought we might be able to climb through it but after fighting it for 30 minutes and gaining only a few feet on the trail, I decided to turn back. It took the Washington Trails Association (or whoever did the work) 2 or 3 more years to get the trail cleared.
Sep 14 - Gold Creek
Trailhead: N47 26.689 W121 25.403 (NAD83) Elevation: 3120 ft Distance: 11.2 miles Elevation gain: 1760 ft Hike time: N/A Total time: N/A Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 28 32.5 W121 27 54.4 Elevation: 4880 ft Total Ascent: N/A
Driving directions: Westbound I-90 - Take exit 53 and turn left at the end of the exit ramp. After crossing under the freeway, take a right on Highway 906. Shortly after crossing under the freeway again, at about 3/4 mile, turn right onto Alpental Access Rd. Follow for about 1-1/4 miles and turn left into the large parking lot for Alpental Ski Resort. The trail is across the street. Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 52 and turn left at the end of the ramp.Shortly after crossing under the freeway, turn right onto Alpental Access Rd. Follow for about 1-1/4 miles and turn left into the large parking lot for Alpental Ski Resort. The trail is across the street.
Hike description: After hiking through lowland brush and forest for just over 1.5 miles, the trail to Snow Lake turns to the right zig-zagging up a steep ridge. At the top of this ridge is a saddle between Snoqualmie Mountain and Chair Peak. Over the saddle the trail zig-zags down the other side into the Snow Lake basin. Just before reaching the lake you come to an old homestead. Just the stone foundation and fireplace are still standing. Snow Lake probably gets its name from the amount of snow it gets every year. It usually gets completely buried in snow and doesn't thaw out until mid-July or August. Winding around the lake you cross the outlet stream over a log crossing. After passing by Snow Lake, hike up and over the ridge to Gem Lake. We set up camp on the near shore and settled in for the night. The next morning we ate breakfast and headed around the lake to see where the trail went. We only went about .75 mile and decided to head up Wright Mountain instead. The trail up the mountain is fairly rough and ends up as a scramble before you actually reach the top, but it was completely doable even for Annie. Once at the top the views are fantastic - one of the few hikes I've done that had an unhindered 360° view. The summit was lousy with bugs but the view was so fantastic I barely noticed that they were lady bugs! Nearly back to the main trail I noticed that Annie had walked out of her pack so we had to go back and find it. Luckily it wasn't too far back. After another quiet night we broke camp the next day and hiked out. Of course when we got back to the car it had a dead battery and I had to sit and wait until someone came off the trail to get a jump.
Sep 22-24 - Snow & Gem Lakes and Wright Mountain
A note about the Google maps: Because of the way the Google maps work, the marker for the parking lot or trailhead is not always in the right position on the map. However, there is a way to find the exact position. First copy the GPS coordinates from the description below the map. Then click on the word Google in the lower left corner of the map. This opens another window with a full sized map of the area. Paste the coordinates into the search box and hit enter. A red marker appears at the exact coordinates of the parking lot or trailhead. You can also get directions to it by clicking the word "Directions" - just under the box you pasted the coordinates into - and then entering a starting location.