Mount Si

First time hiking Mount Si. Arrived around 9am and there were only 2 other cars in the lot, though about 20 more arrived before I departed. As this was a training hike for Mt. Rainier, I carried a 65L pack with ~30-35 lbs. A t-shirt and non-insulated pants were plenty to keep warm on the steep ascent. Time to reach haystack: 1:40. Time to descend from base of haystack: 0:50.

The trail conditions were great; I wore trail runners and took microspikes in case packed snow or ice became a problem, but they were not needed. Shoes were a little muddy, but my feet stayed dry without Gore-Tex. There is still snow in the meadow, after 3.5 miles, but it's easily traversable.

Weather conditions were not ideal - cloudy with a bit of hail at times (friendly, soft hail). The view at the top was nonexistent, but reaching the summit was still gratifying after a long uphill slog.

After carefully considering the haystack, I decided to ascend to the summit. This definitely called for ditching the pack and putting on extra layers, a hat, and gloves. Especially when rounding the corner to the highly exposed final pitch, the wind was quite strong and cold. I ended up methodically making my way to the top in about 20 minutes, and took slightly longer to descend (remember that it's almost always easier to get up than get down as you assess whether you're comfortable continuing to the top).

A note about the haystack, since I wondered this myself after reading other accounts: Yes, a misstep can be fatal, however, I found that with due consideration given to finding and testing appropriate footing and handholds, the ascent route is quite stable, even though the rocks were damp and/or had frost on them. Take away the sheer drop offs and I would put it at a low class 3 solely based on difficulty.