Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Sasse Ridge
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. The route follows the road to its end--if you park at the recommended switchback, you'll have about 2 miles of road walking. Fortunately, even though the road winds through old clear-cuts, the scenery is remarkably enjoyable. The old clearings provide grand views across the Cle Elum Valley toward Polallie Ridge and Davis Peak. And the clearings themselves are thick with wildflowers and, occasionally, thick brambles of huckleberry bushes. Once you near the road end, look for the faint unmaintained trail as it climbs steeply away from the roadway. For the next mile the trail angles upward without benefit of switchbacks or respite, gaining more than 1100 feet to attain the crest of Sasse Ridge at 5500 feet. When you hit the ridgeline, you'll find a trail junction. Turn right and stroll south along the ridge crest, hopping over rocks and tripping through flowers, which sometimes grow right in the middle of the seldom-used trail. In the next mile, you'll climb to the 5730-foot summit of Sasse Mountain. Stop and enjoy the vast vistas: Jolly Mountain, Elbow Peak and Hex Mountain fill the horizon to the north, east, and south. To the west, the blue chasm of Cle Elum Lake separates you from the tall summits of Domerie Peak and West Peak. Note that this is a dry route--no water, but lots of sun and exposure. If you've brought Fido along, make sure to pack plenty of fluids for both of you to prevent dangerous dehydration. Also be aware that some small species of cactus grow here, so bring a pair of tweezers to pull spines from your dog's pads should he step on a spiny plant. (Better yet, teach him to walk in booties.)
Driving Directions:
From Seattle drive east on I-90 to take exit 80 (signed "Roslyn/Salmon la Sac"). Head north on Salmon la Sac Road (State Route 903) about 15 miles, passing through Roslyn and past Cle Elum Lake. Turn right onto Forest Road 128 and drive up the steep, winding road. You should be able to drive about 2.5 miles to a wide switchback turn (elev. 3400 ft). Beyond, the road gets very rough, so park here to save your vehicle from abuse. You might stop even lower. Recent Trip Reports
Hiked here recently?
Submit a trip report!
There are
28
trip reports for this hike.
See all trip reports for this hike.
Day hike
Features:
Ripe berries
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
For today's adventure, we did hike #82 in the "Day Hike:Snoqualmie Region", titled Sasse Ridge. From Roslyn we followed the...
For today's adventure, we did hike #82 in the "Day Hike:Snoqualmie Region", titled Sasse Ridge. From Roslyn we followed the Salmon La Sac road past Lake Cle Elum, then turned right onto FS# 128. This gravel logging road was mostly smooth, but had some deep drain dips that will cause low-slung cars (like our Prius) some trouble We parked pretty much where the book recommends, a long two miles up the road, then walked from there. Beyond the parking spot, the road steepens quite a bit, but high clearance vehicles should have no trouble driving all the way to the end of the road. The book said it was 2 miles, but the actual distance was more like 3. The road walk was a bit tedious although views got better and better as we climbed.
At the top of the clearcut, true trail began. Lots of blueberries to pick near the parking area. The Little Salmon La Sac trail (the book fails to mention the trail's name) traversed past a few gullies, then at the base of a rockslide it turned hard to the right and started climbing very steeply along the side of a talus slope. There was a pile of blowdowns blocking the trail here, which we bypassed by climbing strait up the rockslide. The steep climb lasted for perhaps a quarter mile, then the trail veered into the woods and became quite a bit more gentle. A cliff of what looked like columnar basalt, and the huge pile of talus below it, was an interesting sight. Midway up the climbing traverse of Sasse Mountain's north slope, the trail crossed a small swampy meadow, fed by a vigorous spring, which would be a total mudhole if this trail were used much. We found the continuation of the trail at the top left side of the meadow. A short climb beyond the meadow brought up to the summit of the ridge and junction with the Sasse Ridge Trail, about one mile from the start of the trail. Here we found that this notoriously inaccurate guidebook contained a huge error. It recommends that hiker turn right and ascend to the summit of Sasse Mountain, where (it promised) meadows and views. Well, there are no such things - contrary to the book's description, Sasse Mountain's summit is forested and viewless. . After returning from the summit of Sasse Mountain, which will appeal only to peak baggers, we followed the Sasse Ridge Trail north from the Little Salmon La Sac Trail junction and soon arrived at an open, spectacular ridgeline with steep meadows and cliffs falling away on either side. Perhaps the guidebook author was thinking of this part of the Sasse Ridge trail when he wrote the chapter. We scrambled about the craggy ridgeline for a bit, then were chased off the ridge by an actic wind - fall finally seems to have arrived in the mountains. After this ridgeline romp, we retraced out steps back to the car, but not before harvesting a bunch of tasty berries in the clearcut area at the trailhead. All in all, the scenic and little-used Little Salmon La Sac trail offers a nice quick way to get to Sasse Ridge, at least if you have a high clearance car. Don't bother with Sasse Mountain, turn left when you reach the ridge. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
This week we headed over Snoqualmie Pass to continue exploring the Teanaway area. After flipping through some guidebooks and doing...
This week we headed over Snoqualmie Pass to continue exploring the Teanaway area. After flipping through some guidebooks and doing a little research online, we set our sights on Jolly Mountain. With clear skies overhead we geared up and headed up the trail toward great views and the remains of a fire lookout.
There are a number of approaches to Jolly Mountain. The more traditional approach is via the Jolly Mountain Trail #1307, a 12 mile route through pine forest climbing over 4000ft along the way. We decided to take a shortcut to shave off some of that distance and elevation by following logging roads halfway up the mountainside. While shorter, the shortcut is somewhat less scenic, as it involves hiking along forest roads and traversing a few clearcuts. Still, the views from the summit are the real price of this hike, and the shortcut delivers you to those views quickly. Check out the full report at: http://www.hikingwithmybrot[…]in-trail-1307-shortcut.html Jer
Little Salmon La Sac, Sasse Ridge
— Aug 29, 2011
— aimhigh
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Ripe berries
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
Solitude and views, this hike has plenty of both. But you'll have to earn it.
...
Solitude and views, this hike has plenty of both. But you'll have to earn it.
The first problem is forest road 128,which leads you to the start of the trail. It is easily located off Salmon la Sac Road heading north. Soon after you pass Red Mountain campground on the left you will find the gravel road on the right. Turn onto this road and shortly there is a fork and you need to bear right. The first concern are some dry waterbars in the road which will require a high clearance 4x4 vehicle to proceed. There are about three bad ones on the bottom part of the road and these are the worst ones you will encounter on the whole road. Its a long road. Gravel will turn rocky. The road will be brushy in places and you will have to press into the brush in places or fall off the road. The road improves here and there, but really remains about the same almost all the way up,steep, rocky and narrow. It gets a little steeper towards the top. Most of the switchbacks offer some turning around room if you should wish to stop and hike the rest of the way up. Gynormous views from the road. On one of the last switchbacks,the rock face of Sasse ridge suddenly comes into view. Be aware that if you haven't left your vehicle by this point (we did) there are more hazards ahead. One is a dead tree stuck in the road which has to be skirted around on the soft shoulder. If you get past that then you should stop at the fork ahead. The left fork takes you down to a clearing and the right side takes you to the trailhead at the end of the road. There is some deep loose gravel on the remaining steep road, so you might just walk that last part, if indeed you didn't start walking a long time ago. Now you can start hiking the trail! The first part passes through what is probably an avalanche gully when there is snow but now there are some downed trees to climb over or go around.Next you will be climbing the trail alongside the rock filled gully. The footing is a little loose, so you know you will be slipping coming down. The trail then takes you through some dry forest until you come to a bog from a spring. The trail passes right through it with only some rotten downed trees in places to elevate you. Running water flowed into my boots when there was nowhere to get out of the muck. Its really soft, move quickly to keep from sinking dangerously. Perhaps there is another way around. Now its not much further to the junction of the Sasse ridge trail, where there are huge views and its still spring (well, late spring anyway). NO BUGS. Hot, but Breezy
Sasse Ridge, Jolly Mountain
— Aug 15, 2011
— el tigre
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
No water source
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
I drove to the end of FS 2315 and with the help of an off duty FS employee found my...
I drove to the end of FS 2315 and with the help of an off duty FS employee found my way over the gate, around the sheep driveway, up onto Sasse Ridge tr, past Jolly Mountain turnoff and W Fork Teanaway turnoff, to the peak of Jolly Mountain. On the way back I detoured down Jolly Mountain tr well past the Paris Creek fragment but there's not a lot to see here so I headed back steeply uphill.
Great north and west views - you can see the marine layer break up as it bumps up against the peaks of the Cascades. Pretty good flowers. Dry trail, bring water. no bugs. Breezy and coolish even in the sun.
Sasse Ridge, Hex Mountain
— Jun 22, 2010
— Spadafini
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Overgrown | Snow on trail | No water source
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
We took the Sasse Ridge Trail up Hex Mountain, where it intersected with the Hex Mountain Trail, and then followed...
We took the Sasse Ridge Trail up Hex Mountain, where it intersected with the Hex Mountain Trail, and then followed it along the ridge top to Sasse Mountain. The first mile or so was overgrown with branches across the trail in many places. The rest of the trail was steep and narrow in many places, with a few downed trees across it, but was in good condition for the most part.
As we got closer to Sasse Mountain, on the last mile or so of the trail, there were a few big patches of snow that blocked the trail on very steep sections. It was possible to climb around them, but it was pretty dicey in a few places. The last bit of the trail up Sasse mountain had lots of patchy snow, but not enough to cause too much trouble getting to the top. Between the rolling hills and the grading (sometimes we felt like we were back on Mailbox Peak!) the trail was pretty strenuous. But the views from Hex Mountain and some of the other ridge tops made the effort worthwhile. The views were nothing short of amazing - the last peak before we got to Sasse Mountain (around 1.5 miles or so south of the summit itself) provided us with the best vistas of the entire trek, with views of the Stuart Range, the central Cascades, and even Mount Rainier. |
|
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
Forgot your
New user?
