Grand Ridge #TIGER
May 21, 2005
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Grand Ridge
- Region: Olympics -- North
- Agency: Olympic National Park, Wilderness Information Center
- Avg Rating: 4.50
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Grand Ridge Park
- Region: Issaquah Alps
- Agency: King County Parks
- Trails: Grand Ridge (#TIGER)
- Avg Rating: 3.33
- Be Aware Of
- Mudholes
May 21, GRAND RIDGE MINING HIKE A 30-minute lecture followed by a three and a half hour walk, well worth the $5 contribution to the Issaquah Historical Society. We met at the old railroad depot in Issaquah. Our guide was Steven Grate. He covered the history of coal in the area beginning with prehistoric forests, using maps and photographs to pinpoint the mines around Issaquah, and finally describing the relics still to be found on Grand Ridge.
We had so many questions the lecture lasted much longer than half an hour. Then we walked on Sunset toward I-90, walked under it and along a wide trail going north. Lots of freeway noise. We passed some giant, stylized metal sculptures of local floral, painted a garish orange. Passed a bicycle/pedestrian tunnel which Steve said was part of original trail and so was required to be integrated into new construction; this tunnel turned out to be important.
There was only one signpost along the trail, but Steve knew the locations of mine entrances, airways, moss-covered concrete bases that had once held up heavy machinery, etc. As the group was ready to turn back, Steve said that the trail we were on continued up to the top of Grand Ridge, cut through an upscale housing development, and re-joined the trail we were on, making a loop. Don and I were ready for a longer hike, and we were prepared with lunch and full packs. Steve showed us the loop on the 2005 Green Trails map of Tiger Mountain, and we took off. The trail up to the top was in excellent condition, except for a few muddy places. Someone has put a lot of work into trail building. We ate our lunch near some big trees. Soon after we came out on a road at the top of the ridge. There was a trail on the other side, but no signpost; we weren't sure that this was our trail; it seemed to go off in the wrong direction. We walked toward the houses. We thought we could ask someone, but no one we asked knew anything about a trail. We knew where I-90 was, at the bottom of the hill, so we started walking down. We passed some ""Info"" offices, but those were sales for the development. We passed a fire station, but it was all locked up. We continued down. We came to an area named ""Trail Vista"" where we found a stylized map of present and future trails, including a tunnel under I-90. We continued down. We came to some bicycle lanes, and we figured those would go under the freeway, so we followed those down and down. Eventually we saw a couple of those garish orange metal sculptures, and a sign pointing to Sunset, through a tunnel. When we came out, we knew exactly where we were, and walked back to get our car at the depot in Issaquah.
Altogether we walked 9.15 by our fairly reliable pedometer. I now understand that if we had taken the trail on the other side of the road on top of the hill, we would have walked a little further but ended up at the same tunnel. If I ever do this one again, I think that when I get to the road at the top of the hill, I will turn around and come down through the woods again.
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