Snoqualmie Mountain — Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016

Snoqualmie Region

If you plan to hike this trail late fall, or at a winter time, you may have to expect it to be more than just an ordinary "scramble trail", it is a muddy, snowy and slippery scramble trail. Still want to try? A couple of notes from us, a group of four: 1. Exposed tree roots on trail surface are very slippery under wet weather --- Slow and steady. 2. Windy and cold at the top --- equip yourself with a layer of hoody hiking outfit and a pair of warm glove. 3. Snow Cornice --- Make sure you stay a few feet way from the edge. 4. You will need to use your hand to make headway, both up and downhill. 5. Do some homework forehand. Download a trail map (e.g., from alltrails.com) if you don't have a GPS route. 6. Pay attention! About 3/4 mile from trail head, it splits to two trails (there is no sign and the left trail is quite vague). You need to take the left one. The other one leads to Guye Peak. 7. From false peak to the true peak (about 1/4 mile in distance), the trail has already been covered with snow. It is not easy to stay on trail. About 1 to 2 feet thick at the summit. 8. We would recommend not to hike alone on this trail at this time of the year. You will probably be the only party all along. I am not discouraging you from this trail. Just need to be a little bit more prepared to fully enjoy this wonderful trail, like we did today. It is truly amazing! I will say, weather forecasters will never get it right here. We experienced almost all types of weather in a mere 3.8 miles: raining when we stepped into the trail; without even noticing, it turned to be foggy and cloudy; then at around half way (after about 1500 feet elevation gain) rain/snow mix moved in. When we were reaching the false peak, it was freezingly windy and snowy. The last lag, from the false peak to the actual peak, it was clear and sunny...but we knew it's only because we stood on the top of a magnificent 6300-foot mountain!