Mount Washington

 

I am late only for a second time but this time, I am at least less than a week off.

This is Mount Washington over looking the Snoqualmie Valley on the south side. Many people go for the North end hikes like Little Si, Big Si, Mailbox Peak and what not but I wanted to change it up. In my reading, I found this this and ultimately decided to go for broke.

A few Minor issues, were merely finding the trail and hoping it wasn't to out of the way.

The trail starts after your first right into Olallie state park. The parking lot isn't anything special besides dirt, a couple signs and a initial trail. Its from the trail that you begin. It's small. Very small. You then pop out on to what is like a forest service road. A fork in the road is then met and you continue straight. As you keep going you'll pass a sign saying John Wayne Pioneer Trail. About a hundred yards after, you'll come across a "Trail". This is the actual trail. If it looks like it than it probably is and with that the UP begins.

Not much of a trail...

Now we're getting some where

Small view

This isn't to particularly hard. You'll be greeted occasionally by interesting sheer rock faces and some views although not much. I had some problems when asked how high up we were because I couldn't get a good look at other mountains to guesstimate.

At about a mile you'll come to a rock face with an opening in the bottom. Attached to the rocks are many hooks which I assume is used for rock climbing
although why they're at a point in which people would be upside, I don't know but exploring the mini cave was a fun side trip as I got to tell my girlfriend(who was occupying me again) about erosion processes and the likely formation of the rock(being an avid person of geology myself.)

 

Not sure why you would hang your self upside down but OK...

 

 

After leaving the little side trip, the up factor kept going. I, in all honesty, was a little worried that I had put us on the wrong trail, due to there not being any signs about it. We reached a clearing at about 2,500 feet and took a small break. Observing the East side of Rattlesnake Mountain, I failed to realize we were in the exact spot we needed to be in. What we had came to was the Owl Lookout spot. Back in the day, the local Mountaineers would do evening hikes to the location to observe owls flying about above the land. Now it is more of a location for the unhearty to turn around but I wasn't gonna let the break deter me any so we forged on. As we kept going up, we reached a small plateau in which I found a sign pointing to Mount WA. I breathed a sigh of relief as I knew we were in the right spot. We took the right and kept on. We had to hop across a creek not once but twice both were pretty full due to the snow around. Now there wasn't a lot but it was ice which made the going slow.

Looking out from "Owl Point"

and so it begins...

 

We arrived at a small pong and had another breather. I was looking for a small rock pile while my girlfriend snapped a few pictures lucky for us, it was sticking out of the snow and we continued down that direction and up still.

Cute little pond

THANK YOU

 

 As you go, you wrap around the dark side of a valley, still trudging in snow and pretty much stay in the snow the rest of the way. As we turned a corner and faced north, I caught sight of the little seen Glacier Peak and some snow.

 

McClellan Butte

Sun+Snow=BRIGHT


Coming around a bend again you get an awesome view of the Snoqualmie Valley. Now fooled by me, my girlfriend thought we were done but ho-ho ho little did she know. I turned and pointed up and she saw the true summit just a few hundred feet above. With a heavy sigh she set off ahead of me.

Hmmm Are these climbable?

Summits up there, now push!

Well we got onto a service road and continued on. We came to another open space and was greeted with a no trespassing sign. This I knew was going to be here because the backside of the mountain is on the north side of the little seen Cedar River Watershed. Thankfully, rather than shoot up a steep gulch, we went down the road. I had contacted a man at the Seattle Public Utility's the day before and found that so long as you don't go bombing down to the lake. So we got to another opening and I snapped a few pictures of the rarely seen lakes

Masonry pool

Miss Tahoma Showing off

 

 

and we began an up hill push to the end

　

Now the thing about this hike is that you don't realize you're at the summit until you're there but let me just say. Hot damn it was worth it.

　

To be honest.. This is the only view that matters(lots of trees at the summit)

　

Now funny story about the flag. The night before the Seattle Seahawks had won the NFC Championship and I thought that for the heck of it... Why not claim Mount WASHINGTON for the 12th man? Well that's exactly what I did. In fact this picture has even now is to be featured on Q-13 Fox News this morning in sending it into my favorite weather women.

So we finished with an U-RAH

 

What a hike it was.

I found it incredibly amazing to gain a different view on the valley so commonly hiked and especially since the climb wasn't to terribly hard. I think on the way back we saw maybe 4 hiking party's of about 20 or so people. It is defiantly a nice escape from Si or Mailbox and will defiantly be done by me again.

74,415 feet left

Poo-Poo point

So I am a tad bit late on this one but I suppose better late than never (Hiked on 1/3/2014)

The first hike I did of 2014 was a very small "mountain" named Poo-Poo Point. It lays at the west edge of the Tiger Mountain Forest. Which ironically, I've lived in Washington for awhile and I have actually never done the classic Tiger Mountain. Poo-Poo Point on the other hand is a small hike that isn't to terrible hard but will make you work a bit to get a view.

The first step of 2014

You start out at a parking lot off a busy road leading from Maple Valley/Hobart to Issaquah. The funny part about it is that the parking lot is apart of a spot for hang gliders to land. In fact that what Poo-Poo is, a Hand glider launch point. The day that my girlfriend and I were there, it was quiet foggy. That seemed to be the trend with the hike considering it was a year before when I did it the first time. You cross the Landing Zone after seeing many signs warning to look up. The trail is pretty basic but surprisingly for as much as it is traveled, the trail does have some pretty rough spots. This makes for an interesting time because you are occasionally climbing over roots and rocks that would not be expected on a pretty well used hike. We continued onward climbing up and up and finally broke through the fog. Getting some what of a view. We got to a point in which I finally gave my partner a break. Knowing my goal of 80,000 vertical feet gained through 2014, I am one to push myself and the ones who are coming along. At the same time, I realized I was quiet out of shape, taking the holidays off to not worry much about hiking.

Getting above the fog

 

Kris siting back

 



We kept going up and the trail opens up a bit more. I believe it maybe the cedar trees causing this. I'm not biologist so don't ask... You keep going until you smash through the trees and open into a clear cut. At first it's kinda shocking because it's unexpected but then you begin to climb up to the top and find that it is likely used for paragliding jump spot. A smaller white sign is on the ground giving you a number and business name if you are curious about hurling yourself off a mountain, since it wasn't my cup of tea, we continued on. After another small jaunt through the woods, you begin to go up and up and up and finally break through trees. There seems to almost be a light at the end of the trees but it really the actual summit. As you come through the trees, you look north and are able to see the town of Issaquah and lake Sammamish, to the south is a iffy view of Maple Valley and possible northern reaches of Kent/Auburn and across the way is Cougar Mountain.

The summit view

Weather station

Looking on

Another significant part, at least to me is the presence of two very "official" looking devices on the top end of the hill. The tall tower is a weather monitoring device. It's most like for the people who jump off the mountains. The second and more curious device is a solar panel and small capped object on a tripod. This is what basically is GPS station. There is a scientific name for it but most people wouldn't understand. The metal rods go down into the earth about 30 feet and that about it. The device is really cool though because it measures the movement of earths tectonics plates by the thousandths. I believe that the device was placed there by Central Washington University and the University of Washington.

The set up

To go back mealy retrace your steps. On a clear day, on the first summit, there is a slight view of Mount Rainer, or as I better call it by its real name Tahoma. Today wasn't the case but it was a good hike none the less. Nothing to serious and a good way to start my year off. Would be something to do on an unbusy day of the week or a rainy day. We saw 4 people besides us the entire day. In my opinion a simple hike for a simple day.

That leaves 78,225 feet left

Guess whos back?

Everyone to everyone.

So this maybe "just another blog" but I find the prospect of sharing my adventures with the world to be an almost desirable thing to do.

A lot of people may not even go out in the way I do. I have many major goals for my hiking, which is what this blog is and will be for that. I'll include my travels as well a set of rules that my fellow hikers and I learn about during our time in nature. I hope to eventually make this a book eventually and who knows where it'll end up at.

And this time.. I'll be bringing some friends

 

 

 

 

For all of you from me, I hope you enjoy

"To see the world, Things dangerous to come to, to see each other and to feel. That is the meaning of life"

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxpTx0VDBKw