Parking: N47 21.832 W121 31.866 (NAD83)  Elevation: 3360 ft  Distance: 7.8 miles  Elevation gain: 1140 ft Hike time: 11:16 am to 3:47 pm  Total time: 4 hrs 31 minutes  Permit required: No Pass required

Destination: N47° 22' 02.2" W121° 32' 22.5"  Elevation: 4500 ft  Total Ascent: 1360 ft

Driving directions: From I-90, take exit 47 just west of Snoqualmie Pass and turn south, crossing the Snoqualmie River. At the "T", take a right onto FR55 and drive about 1-1/4 miles to a "Y" in the road and veer left onto FR5510. Drive for about 3.8 miles until the road is blocked by a gate. Park in the large parking area just to the left.

Hike description: Apparently this trail has been converted into a bike trail - although I have seen only one bike on it so far. We started out from the trailhead going north on the Howard Lake trail (why its called that I have no idea - I know of no lakes in this area called Howard Lake and there are no lakes anywhere near this trail). It was a mostly sunny day with some clouds, but a pretty decent day all around. The trail heads roughly north northeast for about 3/4 mile offering views of Humpback Mtn to the east. It then makes a mile long half circle to the west around the north end of Little St Helens before abruptly making a 360° turn back to the north and then heading east. There are decent views of the mountains across I-90 along this section of trail - Mt Defiance, Bandera and Granite Mtns. At about 2-1/4 miles from the trailhead, the Little St Helens trail cuts off to the south. It used to be a logging road to the top of Little St Helens but several years ago the Forest Service or DNR or whoever manages the area decided to decommision the road and dumped debris all over it to cover it up and revert it to natural vegetation. The last time I tried this hike must not have been too long after this was done because it was too rough to hike through. After a few years though, the weather has smoothed it out some and there is now a makeshift trail through it to the top. Its not fast going but it is doable now. The trail tops the ridge about halfway between the two highest peaks. We first headed north to the lower of the two peaks and were soon at the top. Although a little overgrown it offers decent views of the peaks along I-90, even as far as Snoqualmie Pass. After enjoying the view for a few minutes we headed back and up to the higher peak. From here there are views of Silver and Abiel Peaks to the east and Mt Rainier to the south. When we headed back down we took the upper trail back. It parallels the Howard Lake trail above it and runs about 3/4 mile farther south. It then circles around and approaches the parking area from the south.