Hiking with Annie
January - March
2014
Trailhead: N47 24.068 W121 31.108 (NAD83) Elevation: 2645 ft Distance: 8.3 miles Elevation gain: 1510 ft Hike time: 10:57 am to 4:26 pm Total time: 5 hrs 31 minutes Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 25 30.1 W121 30 45.8 Elevation: 4155 ft Total Ascent: 2055 ft
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: The first mile of the trail slowly climbs along the flank of Bandera Mtn, gaining about 400 feet before running up next to Talapus Creek. The next 1/2 mile it follows alongside the creek until entering the lake basin. Another 1/4 mile gets you to Talapus Lake, which I think is one of the more picturesque lakes in the region (at least from a photographic view). From here the trail climbs up to, and roughly follows, Olallie Creek for about 3/4 mile to the Olallie Lake trail junction. Taking a left at the junction arrives at Olallie Lake in about 1/4 mile. The trail continues for about 1/2 mile around to the north end of the lake where there are several campsites. From here we followed a set of boot prints straight up the hillside for about 1/4 mile to the Pratt Lake trail. Another 1/4 mile and we were at the Olallie Lake viewpoint and 1/4 mile past that, the Pratt Mtn saddle. We hiked past the saddle for about 1/2 mile on the Island Lakes trail trying to get a different view of Talapus Lake, but couldn't find a good spot so we headed back. From the saddle, its about a mile back to the Talapus Lake junction. Turning here its another 1/4 mile back to the Olallie Lake trail junction and 2-1/2 miles back to the trailhead.
Jan 06 - Pratt Mountain Saddle
Trailhead: N47 25.486 W121 35.007 (NAD83) Elevation: 2180 ft Distance: 6.7 miles Elevation gain: 2010 ft Hike time: 11:03 am to 3:41 pm Total time: 4 hrs 38 minutes Permit required: Northwest Forest Pass
Destination: N47 25 29.8 W121 33 17.2 Elevation: 4190 ft Total Ascent: 2370 ft
Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 45, between North Bend and Snoqualmie Pass, and turn north onto FR9030. At about 3/4 mile the road splits. Veer to the left onto FR9031 and continue for 3 miles to the trailhead.
Hike description: The weather at the trailhead was sunny and - for the middle of January - surprisingly warm. The trail starts fairly flat for the first 1/4 mile, but soon begins gaining elevation. At about 3/4 mile, Mason Creek comes roaring down the mountainside, making a fairly impressive little waterfall. Small clearings alongside the trail for the first mile and a half provide views of Mt Kent and McClellan Butte across the I-90 corridor. Mt Rainier starts making an appearance at this point - just the summit at first, but as you go along and hit other clearings, it looms larger and larger, until, once you're out of the treeline, it becomes a dominant feature. At just over 2-1/2 miles, the trail leaves the tree cover and comes out onto the edge of a large boulder field, then angles back along the exposed mountainside to the Bandera Mtn trail juction at just over 2-3/4 miles from the trailhead. The Mason Lake trail angles back alongside the ridge again for about 1/4 mile before dropping down over the ridge to the lake basin. Mason Lake is just under 1/2 mile from here. The weather here was a lot cooler than at the trailhead. Although the photos look sunny and calm, the wind was howling at about 30 mph and was ice cold. We were only on the lake shore for about 5 minutes.
Jan 20 - Mason Lake
Trailhead: N47 31.774 W121 59.739 (NAD83) Elevation: 530 ft Distance: 9.4 miles Elevation gain: 1300 ft Hike time: 10:37 am to 4:34 pm Total time: 5 hrs 57 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 29 58.6 W122 00 29.8 Elevation: 1830 ft Total Ascent: 2070 ft
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.
Jan 27 - Tiger Mountain: Poo Poo Point
Parking: N47 26 30.2 W121 40 19.5 (NAD83) Elevation: 1250 ft Distance: 7.4 miles Elevation gain: 2600 ft
Hike time: 10:16 am to 4:06 pm Total time: 5 hrs 50 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 25 50.7 W121 40 36.4 Elevation: 3850 ft Total Ascent: 2820 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 a short distance away.
Hike description: Starting from the Homestead Valley trailhead, the trail heads up to the Iron Horse trail, following it for a short distance to the west to an unmarked trail on the left. This is the Mt Washington trail and proceeds steeply up the mountain passing a small waterfall, the Climbing Cave and the Moses Rock before leveling out a bit before the Owl Spot viewpoint at about 1-3/4 miles from the parking lot. Just under 1/2 mile from the Owl Spot, the Great Wall trail cuts off to the left. This trail is unmaintained and the first 3/4 mile is rough and overgrown in places until it comes up onto an old logging road. From here the trail is much easier to walk but it is open and exposed. It travels around Change Peak before turning west onto the Great Wall - the ridge between Change Peak and Mt Washington. We didn't make it that far however, as the snow was getting too deep and my toes were getting too cold from breaking the trail through the snow. We turned around 3/4 mile after making it to the old logging road.
Feb 03 - Great Wall (attempt)
Parking: N47 26 30.2 W121 40 19.5 (NAD83) Elevation: 1250 ft Distance: 6.0 miles Elevation gain: 2210 ft Hike time: 10:25 am to 3:22 pm Total time: 4 hrs 57 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 25 36.6 W121 41 28.4 Elevation: 3460 ft Total Ascent: 2455 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: Finally - a break in the weather on a day I don't have to work! But after such a long period without hiking I would have to work into it slowly. The weather was clear and sunny, although a bit breezy - however, once on the trail and into the forest, the wind wasn't much of an issue. A short distance from the Mt Washington trailhead, I noticed a faint bootpath that I'd never noticed before. Following it for a short ways led to a small, hidden cave up in the rock wall. I didn't climb up into it as the rocks were too wet and slippery, but it is a place I will definately check out at a later date. When we passed the Climbing Cave, I noticed some new climbing hardware had been installed, so I stopped to check it out. We were originally going to go over the Great Wall but, having not been hiking for 1-1/2 months, I just didn't have the stamina, so, I decided to just go to the pond. We headed up through the valley and reached the pond about 1:30. After stopping for a few minutes and taking a few photos, we headed back into the valley near the second creek crossing and stopped for lunch. Although still buried in snow, there were several snow-free rocks to sit on and being unseasonally sunny and warm made for a pleasant break. Eventually though, we had to get going and within a bit more than an hour, were back at the car.
Mar 24 - Mount Washington: Washington Pond
Trailhead: N47 30.673 W121 50.979 (NAD83) Elevation: 920 ft Distance: 9.0 miles Elevation gain: 2180 ft Hike time: 10:26 am to 4:31 pm Total time: 6 hrs 05 minutes Permit required: Discover Pass
Destination: N47 28 17.8 W121 49 15.4 Elevation: 3100 ft Total Ascent: 2495 ft
Driving directions: Eastbound I-90 - Take exit 27 off I-90 just west of North Bend. At the end of the exit ramp, turn right and follow the road up the hill. The parking area and trailhead is to the right at the top of the hill. Westbound I-90 - Take exit 31 off I-90 at North Bend and take a right, at the end of the ramp, onto Bendigo Blvd S. Follow Bendigo for .6 miles and take a left onto W North Bend Way. Follow North Bend Way for 3.3 miles, then follow the road under the freeway and up the hill to the parking area.
Hike description: I forgot to get my Discover Pass renewed and they did not have a pay box for 1 day passes, so I had to park outside the permit area and walk in. We did some geocaching along the way, so I had a list of 9 geocaches from the trailhead to Grand Prospect. However, most of them were either in heavy brush that I didn't want to crawl through, were too well hidden or were missing altogether. I ended up finding only 2. As a result of all the searching, it was after 2:00 when we finally reached Grand Prospect. It was rather windy in the area but we were, for the most part, shielded from it in the trees. With the protection from the wind and the clear skies, it ended up being a rather pleasant day. The hike back down was a lot faster, but we did stop a few times for quick searches for undiscovered geocaches.
Mar 31 - Rattlesnake Mountain: Grand Prospect
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.