QuarryRecent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail
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This was a quick outing in Cougar Mt. Park, about 3 miles in length with a fair number of mud/water...
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.
Nike Horse Trail, Cave Hole, Coal Creek Falls, Quarry, Marshall's Hill, Wildside Trail-De Leo Wall, Far Country, Shy Bear, Fred's Railroad, By Pass Trial, Old Man Trail
— Aug 28, 2011
— Alpine Art
Day hike
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This is a loop series of trails about 7 miles long with about 1300 to 1500 feet of elevation gain/loss...
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. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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This loop of trails made 5 miles. The trails are in great shape - a bit of mud here...
This loop of trails made 5 miles. The trails are in great shape - a bit of mud here and there, but easy to get around. Coal Creek Falls was full of water. Lots of Bleeding Hearts along the trail as well as other flowers I don't know the names of.
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Snow on trail
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Despite the hyperventilation of snow-crazed local T.V. weather forecasters, today was quite a nice day for hiking. Starting at the...
Despite the hyperventilation of snow-crazed local T.V. weather forecasters, today was quite a nice day for hiking. Starting at the Sky Country trailhead, I rambled around Cougar Mountain and visited all three of the park's lovely waterfalls (Coal Creek, Doughty, and Far Country) and various other highlights. The air was dry and brisk, a light dusting of snow flocked the trees, and the frozen soil of the trails crunched crisply underfoot...what could be nicer?
Two of the waterfalls have gotten a makeover--Doughty Falls sports a new overlook and the formerly elusive Far Country Falls has a new access trail to its base. The conditions of the trails was generally excellent, with a few minor blowdowns here and there being the main problem. Often I will do a trail-by-trail breakdown of maintenance problems in my trip reports, but there is no need here at Cougar Mountain. Not much snow, ice or mud anywhere. Some general issues deserve a mention: The Vista Points--Long View Peak and Far Country have become grown over and don't offer much of a view anymore. May I suggest that King County do a little tasteful tree removal to improve the view? The Holly Menace--Something has to be done about the slow motion invasion of holly trees through out the park. They are everywhere! Otherwise, in 20 years, the trails in the park will be viewless tunnels through thickets of those scratchy shrubs. The Renton Fish and Game Club--Somehow, even though they are about 3 to 4 miles south of Cougar Mountain, they are blanketing the park in gunfire noise. This problem seems to have gotten much worse in recent years. They need to build higher berms and walls to mitigate the noise. For now, I only hike at Cougar Mountain on mondays and tuesdays, where they are closed. Ah, blessed silence!
Red Town, Cave Hole, Coal Creek Falls, Quarry, Indian Trail, Wildside Trail-De Leo Wall, Marshall's Hill, Wildside
— Dec 19, 2010
— Alpine Joe
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Water on trail
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This series of trails forms a nice clockwise loop starting at the Red Town TH on Cougar.
Blue skies, sun, no...
This series of trails forms a nice clockwise loop starting at the Red Town TH on Cougar.
Blue skies, sun, no wind, and temperatures in the mid-forties. The Coal Creek Falls are quite pretty right now, with a light dusting of snow on the surrounding area. When I got to the De Leo Wall trail, I decided to take the extra loop out to the “lookout spot”. This section of trail is narrower, more overgrown, and in rather poor condition, and the lookout was just a view of the suburbs to the SW. I’d skip it next time and just enjoy the climb up the main De Leo Wall trail. There were some blowdowns on the Marshall's Hill trail, but not too difficult to get over. 5 miles round trip, approx 1,100' elevation gain. |
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