Zig Zag Trail, Hall Creek — Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

Overall 13.8mi RT 1550m ascent. As it had been raining and was supposed to mist and rain throughout the day, there were a few spots where flowing water on the trail had me a bit concerned about impassability in the afternoon. The descending trail from the four-way intersection passed the usual waterfalls without incident, but the first stream crossing was notably swelled and took a bit of work. After ascending the slight uphill, there is another water crossing, which was considerably more muddy. The westward, uphill trail was mostly a flowing stream. After that trail turns south, it takes a bit of route finding to get up the hill to the saddle. (One of the old roads passes north around the draw and eventually leads to the 'Macchu Picchu' trail.) Downpours were scheduled for the day, but the morning was mostly just a good deal of mist; I stayed mostly dry in shorts, tshirt, and a rain jacket until the summit near the dromedary part of Hall Peak. It was very windy near the exposed end of the 'peak'. Around 1100, the rain started in rather heavy; the forecast had been for 1" of rain between ten and one. Having to cross on the south side of the ridge for about ten minutes, I was pummeled with 30kt winds and huge drops of rain, and was thoroughly soaked for the remainder of the hike. This was a lengthy route, but it would make a wonderful loop around to Mt Washington, and could easily include Change Peak. Looping back via Hall Point would require more time.