Silent Swamp Loop — Saturday, Mar. 28, 2015

Issaquah Alps > Tiger Mountain

Overall 9.9mi RT 480m ascent, plus 1mi for Raging River. I intended to start at the Raging River trailhead and head south to East Tiger 7300 (road). Unfortunately, the creek crossing was questionable and led into a steep incline of underbrush, mostly thorns. While I could have added spikes to cross the one reasonable log in the creek, it was partly submerged and surrounded by deep pools on the far side. This crossing would be reasonable in the absence of possible rain throughout the day, and when the water is generally lower. Unfortunately, that suggests summer, when everything is likely to be coated with insects. It was, therefore, only appropriate to drive to the next accessible trailhead. Most trails around Sleepy Swamp are targeted to mountain bikers, given that the primary access is via state park gravel roads. As such, the bulk of the distance in this hike was road walking to and from the various forest trails. Based on the few bikers I saw, I suspect most park at the East Tigger TH on Hwy 18, bike in the direction of the summit, then descend on Rd 5500 to reach these trails. Some may choose the Northeast Forest Trail, but that would make these smaller trails mostly uphill, which is likely not desirable when on a bike. The Sleepy Swamp trail was a reasonable hiking trail, but it does connect to the middle of nowhere. Most of the foliage is rather green and bright, but there are lots of fallen logs and underbrush off in the distance. The trail itself starts farther up the road than expected from the map, and doesn't follow the expected track. There are some minor bumps and slight hills (we're talking 6--18" here) along this trail, but it is fairly wide in most places. The uphill end of the Sleepy Swamp trail presents two choices at a rather large bridge. The Totally Hard trail heads toward Rd5500 and was something of a mudslide/puddle. I saw two bikers coming down this trail, squeeking up a storm with their brakes. The Preston RR trail was signed as closed for renovation.