Rattlesnake Mountain
May 13, 2012
by
earthkwaque
—
last modified
Dec 27, 2012 09:39 AM
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Rattlesnake Mountain
- Region: Snoqualmie Pass -- North Bend Area
- Agency: City of Snoqualmie and DNR
- Avg Rating: 3.64
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: East Peak-Rattlesnake Trail
- Region: Snoqualmie Pass -- North Bend Area
- Be Aware Of
- Mudholes
- Snow on trail
Started off at Snoqualmie Point at 7.30am; first car at the trailhead. The plan was to hike up to East Peak (5.9 miles in) and back.
The weather was beautiful and the trail was clear and in great condition all the way up to the Grand Prospect lookout (about 4 miles in) with a few small patches of snow on the trail in the last half mile or so. Fantastic views of Mt Si and Little Si from here on a clear sunny day!
The trail past Grand Prospect looks rather daunting (there's a bunch of snow on the trail and downed branches), but it's actually just about a 0.2 mile patch that clears up as you get into denser tree cover. The trail was completely snow free and great for another mile or so after that; just a few avoidable mudholes here and there.
The last mile to East Peak, however, is completely covered in packed snow (I estimate about 5-10 inches), but it's been fairly heavily traversed and so it's easy to follow the trail and not too difficult to hike. We didn't have any special equipment (poles, boot spikes) and did just fine. And it was very warm: only put on my fleece at East Peak when we sat in the shade for a bit to rest and snack.
We only encountered two other groups the entire way there: one from behind when we stopped to see the views at Grand Prospect, and a couple at East Peak who hiked from the other end of the trail. Quite a bit more on the way back, but the parking lot was by no means full by the time we got back around 12.30pm. The sun was bearing down quite a bit by then though so we were glad to be ending and not starting. Definitely recommend getting an early start.
The weather was beautiful and the trail was clear and in great condition all the way up to the Grand Prospect lookout (about 4 miles in) with a few small patches of snow on the trail in the last half mile or so. Fantastic views of Mt Si and Little Si from here on a clear sunny day!
The trail past Grand Prospect looks rather daunting (there's a bunch of snow on the trail and downed branches), but it's actually just about a 0.2 mile patch that clears up as you get into denser tree cover. The trail was completely snow free and great for another mile or so after that; just a few avoidable mudholes here and there.
The last mile to East Peak, however, is completely covered in packed snow (I estimate about 5-10 inches), but it's been fairly heavily traversed and so it's easy to follow the trail and not too difficult to hike. We didn't have any special equipment (poles, boot spikes) and did just fine. And it was very warm: only put on my fleece at East Peak when we sat in the shade for a bit to rest and snack.
We only encountered two other groups the entire way there: one from behind when we stopped to see the views at Grand Prospect, and a couple at East Peak who hiked from the other end of the trail. Quite a bit more on the way back, but the parking lot was by no means full by the time we got back around 12.30pm. The sun was bearing down quite a bit by then though so we were glad to be ending and not starting. Definitely recommend getting an early start.
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