This was a 4.5 mile round trip with about 500 to 600 feet of elevation gain/loss. The trails are mostly dried out from the wet spring with very few mud holes that have not hardened.

The spring rains did bring out flowers, phlox, trillium and bleeding heart were in evidence. The trees are all decked out with spring leaves and the scent of spring was in the air on this sunny day. It took about 1.75 hours to do the hike sans pack and with light hiking shoes.

Saw several hikers on the trail to Wilderness Peak and one man resting on the bench at the summit.

A great walk and a nice sunny day for a walk.

This was a quick outing in Cougar Mt. Park, about 3 miles in length with a fair number of mud/water holes and blowdowns on the trail. With all of this the trip took about 1 hour to complete with some stops for dogs [dog owners, if your dogs do not like seeing strange people, keep them on a leash] on the trail and photos (this is the quickest I have walked this trail).

There is still some snow in the area I hiked but only one patch on the trail (Nike Horse Trail). There were several downed trees on the Quarry Trail including one that horses can not pass (a duck under and step over maneuver). The other blow downs were not as bad and there was evidence of horses getting over these as well as deer tracks in some of the muddy areas.

Coal creek was running high and fast and the falls were as full of water as I have ever seen them.

This is a loop series of trails about 7 miles long with about 1300 to 1500 feet of elevation gain/loss over a series of ups and downs.

My first destination was Coal Creek Falls from the Sky Country Trail Head. The route to the falls had lots of folks with dogs and is a nice down hill walk for the most part. Not much water in Coal Creek and the falls were silent to my ears. Trees are leafy and grass is very high after a cool wet summer so not much in the way of views on any of the trails.

From the falls I headed to De Leo Wall via the Marshall Hill trail, on parts of the trail you could see a sharp drop off but no real views due to foliage. All the trails are in good shape with no mud. As most of my hiking in the area has been in fall/winter/spring this was a welcome change.

I passed Far Country falls but again could not see or hear the falls from the trail. The rest of the walk was a nice amble through a shady green forest.

Weather the last two Sunday's has been muggy and warm so I am glad I took extra water with me.

1.8 mi one way, +460/-30 ft, Old Man, Cave Hole, By-Pass, Fred's Railroad, Shy Bear, Wilderness Peak

Trailhead 47.53329, -122.11296, 1160 feet, Sky Country Trailhead
Endpoint 47.52003, -122.09346, 1590 feet, Wilderness Peak

This is a good alternative to the Wildnerness Peak Trail as a way to Wilderness Peak. Starting from the Sky Country trailhead next to the former Nike missile site, the trails are wide and on a near-level grade to Shy Bear Pass, 1.4 miles away. The Old Man Trail wanders easily through the woods to its terminus at Cave Hole Trail. A short way down Cave Hole to the right (south), By-Pass Trail takes off to the left (east) and crosses the North Fork Coal Creek watershed. The By-Pass Trail's eastern terminus is at Fred's Railroad Trail, which from the name, one could guess is an old railway. This trail ends at Shy Bear Trail, which climbs on a shallow grade to Shy Bear Pass. From this point, the Wilderness Peak Trail climbs on a moderate grade. This trail is narrower than the ones encountered so far. There are no views from the top, but there is a bench to rest on.

From the looks of the weather forecast, this may be my last hike in the Northwest before heading home to Texas.