Hiking with Annie
January - March
2011
Parking: N47 26.100 W121 39.575 (NAD83) Elevation: 1480 ft Distance: 3.0 miles Elevation gain: 1210 ft Hike time: 10:10 am to 2:49 pm Total time: 4 hrs 39 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 25 47.9 W121 39 52.3 Elevation: 2690 ft Total Ascent: 1675 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 east of North Bend. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto Homestead Valley road. At just over 3/4 mile, turn into Olallie State Park on the left side of the road and park in the parking lot. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 and, at the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto Homestead Valley road. Follow for about 1-1/4 miles and turn into Olallie State Park on the right side of the road and park in the parking lot.
Hike description: The shortest route to the trailhead is to park in the main parking lot at Olallie State Park, cross Homestead Valley Rd and hike up the gated road, to just past the trestle, and climbing the trail up to the Iron Horse trail. As you can see by looking at my GPS map, I took a couple wrong turns trying to find the trailhead - but we did find it without too much trouble. It was 11:00 am by the time we hit the trailhead and headed up the steep, slippery trail. It was a cold November day and the rock wall near the trailhead was covered with ice. Before long we were at Raven's Roost viewpoint, with excellent views of the I-90 corridor. Pushing on, the trail runs in and out of tree cover affording views across the Hall Creek valley before turning west, then south again along the ridge of MidMountain. After a short distance we reached Change Creek Vista with a view of Change Peak and a bit of Mt Si & Mt Teneriffe. About 1/10 mile from here is the cutoff to Hall Point. In the snow it was a bit of a scramble to get up the steep ridge to the viewpoint. Once at the viewpoint we had amazing views of the I-90 corridor and the Hall Creek valley. After enjoying the view for a bit and catching our breath, we headed back to the car, taking a short detour to a small waterfall on Hall Creek.
Jan 10 - Hall Point
Parking: N47 26 30.2 W121 40 19.5 (NAD83) Elevation: 1250 ft Distance: 6.0 miles Elevation gain: 2320 ft Hike time: 10:35 am to 2:55 pm Total time: 4 hrs 20 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 26 02.4 W121 41 03.6 Elevation: 3570 ft Total Ascent: 2420 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 east of North Bend. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto Homestead Valley road. In .1 mile, after crossing the river, turn right onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot .2 mile away. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 and, at the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto Homestead Valley road. Follow for 1.9 miles and, just before crossing the river, turn left onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot.
Hike description: We left the parking lot and arrived shortly at the Mt Washington trail. Not far from the trailhead we came to the small waterfall near the Iron Horse trail. After taking a few photos we headed up the trail. About 1/2 mile up we came to the Moses Rock - a rock wall with water flowing from a crack. After a short break we continued on. At nearly 12:30 we turned off of the Mt Washington trail onto the Great Wall trail. This trail is not a regularly maintained trail and was a bit brushy and rough in places. Its not excessively steep though, so it was pretty manageable. Nearly 3/4 mile up the trail we walked up on a rabbit - I think the first one I've seen on this side of the state. At another 1/4 mile, the trail comes up onto an old, abandoned, over-grown logging road. This is where I decided to turn around and head back down to the parking lot.
Jan 24 - Great Wall (attempt)
Trailhead: N47 26.580 W121 58.615 (NAD83) Elevation: 560 ft Distance: 7.1 miles Elevation gain: 1515 ft Hike time: 9:41 am to 2:09 pm Total time: 4 hrs 28 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 27 42.3 W121 57 41.1 Elevation: 2075 ft Total Ascent: 2105 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - take exit 17 at Issaquah and turn south onto Front St. Drive for about 8 miles and turn left on Tiger Mtn Rd. Look for the trailhead on the right in about 1/4 mile. Parking is along the left side of the road. Westbound I-90 - take exit 25, between North Bend and Issaquah, and turn south onto Hwy 18. Follow for about 7-1/4 miles and take the exit ramp to Issaquah Hobart Rd, turning right. In about 1/4 mile, turn right onto Tiger Mtn Rd. Look for the trailhead on the right in about 1/4 mile. Parking is along the left roadside.
Hike description: Getting a slightly earlier start than usual, we were on the trail on an unusally pleasant, sunny February morning. At a little over a mile we came to a split in the trail - to the right is the horse trail and left is the foot trail - so we went to the left. Both trails converge in about 1/2 mile at Hobart Gap. This is where we left the TMT (Tiger Mountain Trail) and took the South Tiger Powerline trail - the only problem was we went the wrong way. But it didn't take long to figure that out and we were soon headed the right direction. About 1/4 mile from Hobart Gap we left the Poweline trail and grabbed the South Tiger Traverse trail. This spot gives a good view down into the Mirrormont area and I went to take some photos when I realized my camera was gone. We had to backtrack all the way to where we turned around on the Powerline trail then come all the way back. That added another 1/2 mile to the hike, but luckily I found my camera. After finally getting a few photos we continued on. In about another mile we left the Traverse trail and turned onto the South Tiger trail. Another 1/4 mile and we were "at the top". The official summit of South Tiger is very anti-climactic - there are no views, nothing to give any indication that you are even on a summit other than being able to tell you are at the top of a hill. I could see another "peak" about 1/4 mile to the north, so, since the forest in this area is not brushy at all, I decided to bushwhack to it. When we reached it, I realized I made the right decision. There are at least some views here and even a makeshift horse camp. We sat and ate lunch, enjoying the sunshine before heading back down the trail.
Feb 13 - South Tiger Mountain
Trailhead: N47 26.580 W121 58.615 (NAD83) Elevation: 560 ft Distance: 11.2 miles Elevation gain: 2040 ft Hike time: 10:50 am to 3:54 pm Total time: 5 hrs 4 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 29 08.2 W121 58 11.7 Elevation: 2600 ft Total Ascent: 2360 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - take exit 17 at Issaquah and turn south onto Front St. Drive for about 8 miles and turn left on Tiger Mtn Rd. Look for the trailhead on the right in about 1/4 mile. Parking is along the left side of the road. Westbound I-90 - take exit 25, between North Bend and Issaquah, and turn south onto Hwy 18. Follow for about 7-1/4 miles and take the exit ramp to Issaquah Hobart Rd, turning right. In about 1/4 mile, turn right onto Tiger Mtn Rd. Look for the trailhead on the right in about 1/4 mile. Parking is along the left roadside.
Hike description: The weather for most of the day was overcast with an occasional sunbreak. On this trip we took the right fork onto the horse trail when we came to where the trail splits. When we reached Hobart Gap we stayed on the TMT and would be on this trail for most of the hike. At a little over 4 miles, the trail turns sharply to the west at Zeig's Zag and travels around a 2000 ft peak called Karl's Peak. About 3/4 mile around this peak, at Karl's Gap, is a faint bootpath leading up to the peak. We, however, pressed on toward Middle Tiger. At about 5-1/2 miles, we turned off the TMT onto the Middle Tiger trail. This trail follows a ridge up to the summit of Middle Tiger. The summit is somewhat similar to the official summit of South Tiger - there are no views, no benches for resting, not even a decent sized rock to sit on. But, unlike South Tiger, doesn't have a double peak. Therefore, we didn't stay too long - caught our breath a bit, marked the spot on the GPS then headed back down. Once back at Hobart Gap, we took the foot trail instead of the horse trail.
Feb 20 - Middle Tiger Mountain
Trailhead: N47 29.200 W121 45.225 (NAD83) Elevation: 515 ft Distance: 5.2 miles Elevation gain: 1035 ft Hike time: 11:02 am to 2:40 pm Total time: 3 hrs 38 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 29 54.5 W121 45 22.1 Elevation: 1550 ft Total Ascent: 1875 ft
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: Starting up the trail, we soon reached the lookout just above the parking lot. After checking out the view on this mostly overcast morning, we headed up toward Little Si, stopping in the gulch between Little Si and Mt Si to check out the rock wall that climbers use. We didn't see any climbers so we continued on, reaching the summit in less than 1-1/2 hrs. After we ate lunch, overlooking North Bend, we snapped a few photos then headed back down. When we reached the Old Big Si trail, I decided I wasn't ready to head home yet so we headed up the Big Si trail to the Boulder Garden Loop trail, where we turned off and hiked around the Garden Loop. We completed the 1-1/2 mile loop in about 50 minutes.
Mar 07 - Little Si & Boulder Garden Loop
Parking: N47 26 30.2 W121 40 19.5 (NAD83) Elevation: 1250 ft Distance: 5.7 miles Elevation gain: 2180 ft Hike time: 10:40 am to 2:54 pm Total time: 4 hrs 14 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 25 36.6 W121 41 28.4 Elevation: 3430 ft Total Ascent: 2210 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 east of North Bend. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right onto Homestead Valley road. In .1 mile, after crossing the river, turn right onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot .2 mile away. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 38 off I-90 and, at the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto Homestead Valley road. Follow for 1.9 miles and, just before crossing the river, turn left onto a gravel road leading to the parking lot.
Hike description: The weather was mostly cloudy with occasional sunbreaks - typical for this time of year. We worked our way up the trail, past the Climbing Cave, the Moses Rock, the Owl Spot viewpoint and the Washington Creek crossing. As we dropped back down into the valley near the 2nd creek crossing I saw something I had heard about but had never seen - "snow doughnuts". They appear to form from somewhat damp, sticky snow on fairly steep hillsides. When a small clump of snow falls from a tree or rock and begins rolling downhill, as long as it rolls straight down as it collects snow, it forms more of a wheel than a ball as when making a snowman. As they collect snow, the outer surface grows wider, giving them the doughnut look. From here, Washington Pond was a little over 1/4 mile. Normally, it doesn't look like much - full of logs and stumps and usually somewhat stagnant water. During the winter though, it can go through some dramatic changes depending on how much it freezes, how much snow covers it, etc. On this trip it was still pretty well buried in snow and wasn't too visible. After taking a break and snapping a few photos we headed back, stopping at the Owl Spot for a short break.
Mar 28 - Mt Washington: Washington Pond
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.