I spent the first hour of this hike hiding in the bushes from a security guardwho pulled up to the trailhead before I could locate the trail. A helpful fellow in a tractor informed me that the Hancock Timber Co recently acquired the old Weyerhouser Tree Farm, and as of the first of this year they require a permit even for non-motorized use. This is a shame as Fuller Mountain is a very pleasant hike.

The trail is in great shape considering the lack of use and maintenance and offers many views of the Snoqualmie Valley along the way. Just NE of the viewless summit is a nice outcropping of mossy rock looking out from Bessemer to Rattlesnake. Don't try this one unless you're ready to watch your back for vehicles, the guy I spoke to mentioned $150 fine for trespassing.

It's not a hill...not quite a mountain... It's more like a butte or a knob, poking up from the flat of the Snoqualmie plateau north of North Bend. I was looking at it last week from Rattlesnake Ridge and thinking I should find out what that knob was. In my search for information, I came across a couple of less than enthusiastic reviews, one called it "another I-90 dumpster dive" for times like this where you don't want to futz around in the snow, and a meth lab/car prowl area.

I haven't been up this way since the bridge washed out on the way to Bare Mountain several years ago. Frankly, it seems like a friendlier place than the Middle Fork Valley, which gives me the creeps. There is active logging going on around the trail head, trucks and activity. I think that probably kicks up enough dust to keep the tweakers at bay.

http://www.summitpost.org/fuller-mountain/182477 is a pretty good trail description, there are also some other detailed trip reports here on wta if you seach for Fuller. I don't really have anything to add to these trail descriptions, since I lost the trail up and down, in different places. It is not clear, so bring a topo map, a map of roads in the area, and a compass.

I found my way to the gravel pit, and went more or less straight up to the summit to the left of the pit. I think the trail proper is further around to left, but the forest is open and it's an easy, but steep scramble to the summit. I hooked up with the real trail on the flat summit and followed it to the east side of the butte, where there is a rock outcrop with the only open views I saw, looking east and south, toward the foothills and Mt. Si.

Followed the real trail down around the west side of the butte and lost it again. I ended up walking a couple miles of logging road back to where I parked. I was very glad to have a map and a compass or I'd still be out there.

Far from a dumpster dive, this was a fun hike, very secluded, didn't see anyone. I enjoyed the challenge of navigating with map and compass, which is good since the trail is not easy to follow. Bring bug spray, they were brutal.

I didn't get out of the house until after 9:00 am. I headed east with a few options in mind. I made my first visit to Fuller Mountain in late winter last year. I had a heck of a time finding the trail beyond the gravel pit. I must have wasted an hour climbing all around. Eventually I headed back to the road, made a quick right turn and stumbled into the real trail. I also went on to Klaus and Boyle Lakes. Passing the High Point exit I saw dozens and dozens of cars parked to hike Tiger Mountain. I figured I would see very few people at Fuller Mountain.

I drove through North Bend and onto the road to the NF Snoqualmie. Just before leaving the low valley there were two spots close together where water was running over the road. The big one was about 75' across. That was not expected. I headed uphill and soon pavement gave way to gravel. It is 3 1/2 miles on dirt to the starting point at the Spur 10 gates. I parked near the main road and walked downhill to the gate. It was 10:10 when I got started. Opposite the gate I found the unsigned trail.

There was a flood warning for King County, the Snoqualmie was running high, and I was about to reach 10 Creek. I expected it would be very high. I remembered the log bridge with a rope handrail and hoped it would still be there. I could hear the creek long before I reached it. It was running much higher than on my visit last year. Part of the trail leading to the bridge was a creek. The first post for the handrail was hanging loose. The next one was partly pulled out. the handline was useless for the first half of the log bridge. The water was very deep and running very fast. I gingerly worked my way across. A short bit without wire mesh was very slick.

What I did not recall was that there was another part of the creek to still cross. This log was only a few inches above the water. I made it across with dry feet. The next section of trail is almost a rainforest. Moss hanging from the trees and moss covering rocks, stumps, and the ground. I soon reached the road at the entrance to the old gravel pit. There were dozens of culverts right where the trail reaches the road. Looks like this is the central culvert storage area. Having learned from my first visit, I turned left and in a few minutes took the uphill road to the right. A short way up I found the unmarked start to the Fuller Mountain trail. The start is not very obvious but a few steps in tread is found.

The trail is narrow and rocky. This day it was covered with red wet leaves making it even slicker than normal. I moved pretty slowly as I tried to stay on my feet. A little sun was breaking through but it was mostly overcast. That helped to bring out the many shades of green. Lots of photo opportunities on this short trail. I recorded .92 miles to the summit trail. It's another 1 1/4 miles to the summit. Many small branches were down across the trail and a few bigger logs. I removed most of the smaller branches. The biggest downed trees are near the ridge top. At my slow pace it was 11:40 when I reached the ridge.

The trail from there to the summit is not entirely obvious. I had to stop several times to poke around and find it again. The fact the ground is covered in leaves does not help. I took a short break at the 1880' high point and pulled out the summit cache. Only two other folks had signed it since my visit 10 months earlier. The summit is completely forested so I headed over to the viewpoint. There were still a lot of clouds but I had sunshine beating down on me.

Soon I was heading down. I lost the route several times on the ridge but picked it up again each time. Towards the bottom of the trail I heard dogs and met the only group I was to see all day. Once off the summit trail I had to choose where else to go. I turned right on the road then right again and in a few hundred feet right once more. This is the road that runs parallel to Klaus lake. It was a lake in places last March but now it is completely dry. At the first wide spot on the left I turned onto an unmarked trail. It winds through forest a short way to the shore of Klaus Lake. A nice place for a break in the sun.

My break was short and I was soon back on the road. I took a left and continued up the road. Just before the road reaches Boyle Lake it makes a rightward turn. A very grassy spur goes straight ahead. I took this spur last time and met a trail that crosses the outlet and continues around the lake. That trail goes on to Bridges Lake and I have yet to hike it very far. The road began to climb above the lakes. The farther along the road I hiked the softer the tread. Gravel gave way to grass. Near the end there are small trees growing in the road and in a few years it will require bushwhacking. Still, that is only a short bit.

The road came to a "Y" with a treed bump right in the middle. The right road is long overgrown. The left is a little overgrown but easy walking. The road quickly ended at a grassy landing. Trees are small but have grown up enough to block all views. Bridges Lake is below but out of sight. The treed bump was now less than 100' above me. I was going to head back but decided to take a quick look to see if there was a boot path heading up. Son of a gun! Not just a boot path. There is a built trail switchbacking up. In just a few minutes I was on top. I'm guessing this is the "Biergarten" described in a trip report by Whitebark. The top was scalped sometime in the past and trees are growing larger. There are still some nice views out, especially down to Bridges Lake.

It was already 2:20 and I was 3 1/4 miles from my car so I made this break a short one. Now it was mostly sunny and very comfortable. There is an unusual angled view of Big and Little Si from the viewpoint. The trip down was pretty fast. I was back at the car at 3:50. This is a seldom visited area. It's close to North Bend but a million miles off the radar screen of most hikers. The low elevation makes it a good choice for a winter walk. I still have some more exploring to do. For the day I hiked about 9 1/2 miles with 1600' of gain.

36 photos have been posted at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips-2011" on the left margin. Finally some color after a number of snow trips.

After a long day of snowshoeing yesterday I chose an easy destination. Fuller Mountain is one of those short trips that I never chose to spend a day hiking. Today would be my first visit. This was the first day of Daylight Saving Time and with the time change I struggled out the door at 10:10. It was already 11:15 by the time I reached Spur 10 and started walking. The gate is on the left side about 3.5 miles up the North Fork Snoqualmie Road beyond the end of pavement. I chose to park near the main road and walk the short distance down to the gate.

As mentioned in other reports the trail begins across the wide road from the gate, just to the left of the signs. There are two posts but no trail sign remains. Just a few minutes along the trail 10 Creek is reached. The creek is pretty wide and deep. A log bridge with a rope handrail makes crossing pretty easy. Lots of sword ferns and moss along this part of the trail. The route crosses one old road that is now completely covered by grass and moss. The trail soon breaks out of the forest at another gravel road. A gravel pit is to the right and the road also heads to the left.

I had not planned on this trip but when other plans fell through I took a quick look online, printed an old map, and grabbed my Footsore book. A little more online research would have saved me some time and frustration. Footsore said to follow the road above the gravel pit and pick up the trail once again. That's what I tried to do. The road ended and there were no signs of footprints let alone a trail. I headed back down and climbed up to a flat area to the left of the pit. An old road headed in the correct direction so I took it. Lots of small alder trees to work through and I climbed up to.. another dead end. Try as I might all those animal tracks just did not look like a trail.

I consulted my map and reread the book. One more look and I gave up. It seems that the mighty Fuller Mountain had defeated me. I dropped part way back down and found the end of another old road. This one in better shape. I scanned the uphill side as I descended and son of a gun if I didn't find an unmarked trail heading into the woods. Had I turned left on the road after exiting the forest on trail I would have found the bottom of the correct road just a few minutes later. A right there and the trail appears within a few minutes.

Now back on track after wasting 45 minutes, I followed the trail as it gently climbs while traversing most of the way around the mountain. It is gentle in grade but narrow and rocky with numerous small ups and downs. There is an amazing display of moss on this trail. The overcast sky really brought out the green. After a long traverse the route finally got down to gaining elevation. There are several logs down across the trail but none posed a problem. Easy to go over or under. A series of switchbacks brought me to the upper mountain. On flatter ground the trail was much less distinct. Dried leaves covered everything. The route weaves around salal and more sword ferns as it heads for the summit.

I had to stop a few times as the route seemed to disappear but it always picked up again immediately. One last push and I reached the high point. The top is forested and pretty flat. I passed one hiker with four dogs on the way up. It's not easy to pass a group on the narrow tread. After lunch I took another look at the book. There is a rocky viewpoint and I set out to find it. Just a few steps back down the trail I saw what looked like two faint trails. The one on the left is the way down. I took the other one. It dropped a little in a meadow and entered evergreen forest. A few minutes later I popped out at the viewpoint. I could see over to Si and out to North Bend. Snowy peaks sat roughly behind Lake Hancock. After a few photos I was on my way.

I returned to the junction and headed down the main trail. On the way up there are breaks in the forest providing views out to Klaus Lake. I figured that would be my next destination. Coming down was much faster as I dropped a mile to the road junction in about 30 minutes losing 800'. In a minute or two I reached the road coming from the gravel pit. That would be my route home. Within a few minutes I came to a four way junction. The junction did not seem to be on my old map and I chose to head straight. Another mistake. Shortly I realized my error as the route turned away from Fuller Mountain. I wanted to cut below it.

Back to the junction and a left turn had me heading in the right direction. My book mentioned a trail to the lake shore about a half mile up the road. Within 1/3 mile I saw a wide spot on the left side. A close look showed a trail heading into the woods. This trail does wind through forest and end up right on the shore of Klaus Lake. The lake is bigger than I was expecting. A nice place to sit back and relax.

I soon headed back to the road and continued towards Boyle Lake. The road ascended then dropped and came to a "Y". Whitebark had posted a report showing a loop starting here. The main road goes right and an older grassy road heads left. I went left. In a short distance the road ended and a trail headed into the woods. I could now hear the creek and I reached the outlet to Boyle Lake. The bridge is old and rotting but solid enough for now. I crossed the outlet and went part way around the lake. The shore is marshy and there was no place to get a good look at the lake from the shore.

Now it was time to head back. I retraced my steps to the Fuller Mountain road junction and stayed right. Around the next bend was the gravel pit and the trail heading back to the start. The last half mile did not take long at all. For the day I saw one hiker and two mountain bikers. Not bad solitude for a trail right outside North Bend. If I had time to do some research I would not have taken a few wild goose chases but heck that's just part of the fun on a new route. Fuller is a neat little summit and adding the loop Whitebark described around the three lakes would make for a full day of hiking. I'll have to come back and give it a try.

Photos have been posted at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips-2010" on the left margin.