Anti-Aircraft Ridge #COUGAR-N7,Cougar Pass #COUGAR-N8,Shangri La #COUGAR-E1,Cave Hole #COUGAR-C3,Fred's Railroad #COUGAR-C7,East Fork #COUGAR-C8,Tibbett's Marsh #COUGAR-N9,Coal Creek Falls #COUGAR-C4,Klondike Swamp #COUGAR-N5
Dec 04, 2004
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Anti-Aircraft Ridge
- Region: Issaquah Alps
- Trails: Anti-Aircraft Ridge (#COUGAR-N7)
- Avg Rating: 2.40
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Coal Creek Falls
- Region: Issaquah Alps -- Cougar Mountain
- Agency: King County Parks
- Trails: Coal Creek Falls (#COUGAR-C4)
- Avg Rating: 3.38
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Tibbett's Marsh
- Region: Issaquah Alps -- Cougar Mountain
- Trails: Tibbett's Marsh (#COUGAR-N9)
- Avg Rating: 2.25
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Fred's Railroad
- Region: Issaquah Alps -- Cougar Mountain
- Trails: Fred's Railroad (#COUGAR-C7)
- Avg Rating: 3.00
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Klondike Swamp
- Region: Issaquah Alps -- Cougar Mountain
- Trails: Klondike Swamp (#COUGAR-N5)
- Avg Rating: 2.75
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Cave Hole
- Region: Issaquah Alps -- Cougar Mountain
- Trails: Cave Hole (#COUGAR-C3)
- Avg Rating: 3.60
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Cougar Pass
- Region: Issaquah Alps -- Cougar Mountain
- Trails: Cougar Pass (#COUGAR-N8)
- Avg Rating: 2.00
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Shangri La
- Region: Issaquah Alps -- Cougar Mountain
- Trails: Shangri La (#COUGAR-E1)
- Avg Rating: 4.25
After enduring months of seeing Coal Creek Falls as nothing more than a trickle, it's invigorating to see it at a more robust flow than at our last visit, in September. Weather: chilly, around 40 and falling, persistent mist, turning to steady light drizzle.
We began about 9 a.m. from the Anti-Aircraft Peak Trailhead; three hikers were coming out as we went in, but very few others were encountered, thanks to the threat of snowstorm looming later in the day.
Entry trails were in fairly good shape, for December. Further along AA Ridge it got a bit boggy and slippery, but easily passable, and my feet stayed dry in tennis shoes. Most deciduous foliage is gone, of course, so Cougar's heavily-canopied trails are actually brighter now, in spite of gloomy skies. Glistening Oregon grape and sword fern were the dominant greenery; the ""grape"" is crowding the narrower trails quite a bit in many places. Many fungi present, but I'm embarrassingly ignorant of mycology. The only wildlife we observed were the usual juncos, chickadees and wrens; not even towhees or squirrels.
We were very pleased to see good flow in the East Fork of Coal Creek where the Clay Pit bypass crosses. Cave Hole Road is not in very good condition: in most places only one rut was passable, the other either too eroded or too muddy. Several clumps of comfrey were evident on the Falls trail -- I hadn't noticed them there before....is that just because of less foliage now, or is this a climate-related change?
Coal Creek Falls were very nice, probably about 10 to 20 percent of maximum flow. These falls are a wonderful place to sit, rest, meditate; and now while the flow is only moderate it's even a good place for conversation.
We returned the same way we entered. I was pleased to make it all the way up the Cave Hole Road grade non-stop; a tough walking hill. We got back to our vehicle just as the weather took a turn for the worse.
For a moderately-long but quiet, easy hike to a nice destination, this is hard to beat, any time of year.
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