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Snow on trail
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Great hike/snowshoe. Parked by the Stevens Pass Nordic Center. The trail starts opposite the Nordic center. Trail is marked until...
Great hike/snowshoe. Parked by the Stevens Pass Nordic Center. The trail starts opposite the Nordic center. Trail is marked until you get past the power lines. We saw 8 to 10 parties on the trail. The trail not being marked meant that one person's wild hair had become the trail so at one point we got a steep climb and steep descent that would have not been necessary if we had followed the lower shortcut. It didn't kill us so it must have made us stronger. The lake was beautiful.
A big thanks to the Stevens Pass for keeping the parking lot in such good shape and marking the beginning of this trail that is not part of their trail system. |
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I parked at the Mainline Trailhead gate just off Highway 20 for the hike today. There are three different places...
I parked at the Mainline Trailhead gate just off Highway 20 for the hike today. There are three different places you can park to enter the Kettles Trail system. Be sure to get a map because it is easy to get lost in this system. You can download a map at http://www.whidbey.com/4d/traxmaps/fekp.htm, or pick one up at the Fort Ebey State Park office. The main trails seem to be fairly well marked, either with wooden plaques in the trees, or wooden blocks in the ground. However, the smaller trails often are not marked. On the map, the Mainline Trailhead is called North Gate.
I was dismayed to see some fresh graffetti sprayed on a tree at the entrance of the trail, but continued on my way, choosing the Mainline trail. It has a nice gentle upwards slope and I went along it until I got to Boundary Trail. Kettles trails are shared by horse riders, but horses are not allowed in Ebey State Park. Boundary Trail is the trail that skirts outside Ebey State Park. I turned left on Boundary Trail from Mainline (Mainline continues into Fort Ebey) and went down to the Nirvana Trail. This trail is not marked, but I knew where it was from an earlier hike. Previously Nirvana was extremely overgrown, almost impassable and I was delighted to see that someone had cut back the brush along the sides, making this a nice trail now. Nirvana connects into High Traverse Trail, which also looks like it has seen some brush removal work lately. High Traverse is a great trail with many old beautiful Madrona trees. I then took the DC Cutoff over to Bakerview Trail. Probably 10 years ago this trail had a terrific view of Mount Baker, but it has been reduced to a peek a boo view due to the new tree growth. Bakerview has a fairly steep grade back down to Mainline. This hike only took me about 30 minutes, but there are lots of ways to expand this hike by taking a few different trails. I noticed on the gate going out a flyer about the upcoming Mussels in the Kettles bike ride that will be on March 3, 2012, from 9 am to 1 pm. This mountain bike ride started last year as part of the Coupeville Mussel Festival. If you like mountain bike riding, this is a nice activity. Ride your bike, and then go taste some amazing mussel chowder in Coupeville. |
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Blowdowns, Mudholes
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Taking advantage of a break in the weather, I rambled around the Cougar Mountain trails starting from the Sky Country...
Taking advantage of a break in the weather, I rambled around the Cougar Mountain trails starting from the Sky Country trailhead. Most of the trails I hiked were in good condition, with some exceptions. The East Fork Trail has a number of fallen logs on it, and some mudholes that need a heavy application of gravel. Gloppy clay soils are a perennial problem on this trail. The connector trail (C9) from Cave Hole road/trail to Fred's RR Trail (C7) has some flattened drain dips that could use digging out.
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Snow on trail
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It wasn't until we got to the top of Stevens Pass that the rain finally turned to snow and the...
It wasn't until we got to the top of Stevens Pass that the rain finally turned to snow and the temperature dropped to about thirty one degrees. We started in an inch of new snow at 10:30 and the whole hike was done in a light snow that added about another inch. Off trail we sank into eight inches but the track going up was well packed.
After cresting a rise overlooking Summit Lake at 4,810 feet we had lunch and did some off trail on part of the descent back to the parking lot |
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Blowdowns, Clogged drainage, Mudholes, Water on trail
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Decided to celebrate my 36th birthday with a hike, but I got a bit of a late start so I...
Decided to celebrate my 36th birthday with a hike, but I got a bit of a late start so I decided to stay close and visit Lord Hill Park. The park was hit hard by last month's storms but the ongoing efforts of maintenance crews is evident as all of the trails I hiked on today were clear of blowdowns. There were a couple of trees I noticed still hanging over the trails on the Main Trail (see picture) and the Temple Pond Loop trail.
The route I took today included the Main Trail, Pipeline Trail, a bit of the Quarry Trail area, and the Temple Pond Loop. The Main Trail and Pipeline Trail have areas of significant mud and standing water on the trail at this time, but the Temple Pond Loop is relatively mud free and in good condition. The area around the Quarry Trail is in good shape but is not well signed from what I could see and it would be easy to get disoriented here if you do not have a map of the area. I figure my route totalled around 7 miles of hiking. Not a bad way to spend a birthday! |
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Just a note on a Hike of the Week in the TNT a month or two ago. The Lake...
Just a note on a Hike of the Week in the TNT a month or two ago. The Lake Tapps Winter Ramble is not hikable (legally, at least) as the Pierce County Park at the northeast end of Lake Tapps is closed from October thru March.
I was in the area & decided to check it out & discovered the closed gate. No parking signs are posted in the small parking areas outside the gate so obviously hikers/walkers are not welcome in the winter in the park. I also drove north on the main road on the east side of Lake Tapps & found another small parking area also posted w/ towing signs. I parked along the side of the road & walked Dike 4 up to a gate (a little under a mile). This is also property of the Cascade Water Company & posted so. This is a nice area to walk & the clouds parted enough to see the snow-covered foothills & partial Mt Rainier. Might be worth checking out after April 1. Also - I contacted the Tacoma Mountaineers who post the hikes in the TNT. They were very good to talk to & gave me the name & number of the person responsible for listing the hikes in the paper. She got back to me & informed me that the correction on the TNT's website has been made. I do want to mention that this is the first time I had this sort of problem with one of the TNT hikes. Happy Hiking. |
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Mudholes, Water on trail
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Soaring Eagle is a park hidden on the Sammamish Plateau but well worth the effort to get there and walk....
Soaring Eagle is a park hidden on the Sammamish Plateau but well worth the effort to get there and walk. The Park is hidden in suburban developments and was difficult to find for us (thank ST. Steve and his I-Phone) but we did make it without to many problems once I talked with Siri.
The park is a wooded area with no real views but lots of solitude and a fair amount of mud in some sections. Our group hiked the part perimeter including the Double D, Sleigh Ride, Northwest Passage, Blue Jay Way (this trail has some nasty mud hole sections near the 'swamp', Devils Slide, Lighting, Bear Way, Creek Bed, Camino Espinosa and Pipeline Trails. The trip was about 5.5 miles in total and enjoyable for the most part. No real rain fell during our walk. The map I downloaded shows numbers at trail junctions. These numbers relate to posts which show directions to other posts on the trail system. These are very helpful in finding your way around. I was completely turned around at several junctions and was happy for arrows pointing the correct direction. This is a good hike for early in the season or fall when the maples would be in full color. Lots of fairly level hiking, but do get a map of the roads in the area if you are not familiar with Sammamish (like me). |
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A 14-mile hike with two summit destinations joined in a loop trail. Snow coverage for Mt. Si and Mt....
A 14-mile hike with two summit destinations joined in a loop trail. Snow coverage for Mt. Si and Mt. Teneriffe currently is everything above 3000’ elevation.
I took the regular Mt. Si trail up to the haystack. Needed to put on Katoolah spikes at about 3000 as the trail was hard pack snow and ice from there to the top. Very windy at the for the last mile up and at the top with gusts hitting 35 mph or more. One brave soul had climbed to the top of the haystack and reported when he came back that the wind was "extreme." I took his word for it. After a short rest at the bench at the haystack, I took the ridge connector trail across towards Teneriffe Road. It was a few feet deep with snow, but there had been enough traffic to compress it so I didn’t need snowshoes. Once at the road junction, I turned left and followed the snow trail up the road that was broke in already and eventually got to the road-end where the ridge trail to the summit of Teneriffe starts. Following the ridge trail, it is a steep climb, but the snow was solid enough to use the previous tracks for steps. It was also ice crusted under the tree cover. Wind was again considerable as you headed farther up the ridge. The last push to the top is even steeper and the wind was even fiercer. At 4700’ elevation I turned back due to sunset approaching and the wind was bitterly cold. I wasn’t prepared for the final open ice/snow scramble at the summit and decided I’d come back another time to sit on top. The one place I didn't want to be after dark was on the upper ridge trail on Teneriffe. The trail back was quicker and easier, but the wind was still blowing and branches were occasionally falling. Once on the Teneriffe road I followed it all the way down, past the ridge connector trail with Si, to about 1700’. It was totally dark by now and navigation was by headlamp. Snow ended on the road at 2800’ leaving about 1100’ to descend on the “not-too-pleasant” rocky road surface. There were a few blowdowns across the road, but all could be passed around, under, or through. At 1700’ I found the connector user trail across Roaring creek (just a step across stream currently) and then connected with the Talus loop trail. Took the Talus Loop lower half trail back to the regular Si trail with no trouble. All blowdowns were cut out and nothing blocking. About 14 miles altogether with a few side trips here and there. Total hiking time was 8 hours 11 minutes. Total gross elevation with the ups and downs and snow cover came in at 5600’ if my Suunto altimeter was accurate. Start early enough to get off the final Teneriffe ridge before darkness sets in. There is no real trail and the tree cover is heavy with sharp drop offs on both sides if you wander off route too far. Bring a headlamp as it is may be dark by time you get back even if you start at 8 or 9 am this time of year. Poles and traction needed. Snowshoes if we get more snow. Ice ax only needed for the final summit block. Best part: you are likely to be the only person on the trail after you leave the Haystack at Mt. Si. Most challenging part: distance and elevation gain. |
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Beautiful day at Carkeek Park. This is actually a weekly hike sponsored by the City of Seattle Parks &...
Beautiful day at Carkeek Park. This is actually a weekly hike sponsored by the City of Seattle Parks & Recreation Lifelong Recreation Program. These hikes are designed for the age 50+ crowd - but everyone is welcome. Hikes averge three miles and accommodate beginners as well as intermediate hikers. Meet at the Eddie McAbee entrance (100th Place NW & NW 6th Ave - behind the Holman Road QFC). Hikes depart at 10:00 am every Wednesday and last approximately 1.5 hours.
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Snow pretty much solid right form the parking lot. The trail is packed and easy to follow all the way...
Snow pretty much solid right form the parking lot. The trail is packed and easy to follow all the way to the summit of Pratt as well as Talapus Lake. Great hike. Although this hike is relatively free from avalanche danger one still needs to exercise caution.
7 hours car to car. |
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