Trail Pair already gave a good review of our trip. I'll add that it was a great workout with minimal avalanche danger and close to Seattle. The road/trail was a little hard to follow in a few places with all the snow, running water, and small trees in the old road bed. It is gently graded and at 11 miles with 3400' gained a great winter workout. The small snow loaded trees were a pain to work through but there are no serious obstacles on the route. I have posted 28 photos at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to ""Trips-2006"" on the left margin.

My original intent was to summit Granite Mt., but when I arrived at the trailhead there were many cars. Normally this wouldn't dissuade me but with my dog's recent aggressive behavior I thought better of it. I also wasn't too thrilled with the prospects of using a trail that I was sure was more glare ice than snow. I bactracked to the Fire Training Road and parked before the gate. I know the gate has a closing time of 4 pm and I knew I wouldn't be out in time. I walked the road to Dirty Harry's Logging Road and was happy to see some nice snowcover over the intial unpleasant rocky portion. There is a worn boot track that takes you all the way to the summit making snowshoes useless. I had a 3pm turnaround time but I was so close to the summit I waived it and summitted around 3:15. I knew there was a full moon and the skies were clear so I knew I would have enough ambient light. I made it out just before five carefully negotiating some very slippery areas where the run-off was now freezing to the bare spots of the road. I was quite happy to hit the safe walking of the paved and sanded road. Well that was short lived as after taking about five steps I hit some ice rolling my ankle which was accompanied with a loud snapping sound. As I crumpled to the side of the road screaming in pain, I thought it best to get up and walk before the swelling began in earnest. I was able to hobble to the car with only minimal discomfort. I am upbeat today it is very swollen and stiff but not painful.

We were not in the mood for soft snow today, so decided on Dirty Harry's Peak. The trail is in good shape thanks to whoever is maintaining it. The last mile is fairly steep, making this a good conditioner. There are patches of snow at the summit, but it will probably be melted in a few days. The view from the summit is OK, but not as good as from Mailbox or Bandera. This hike is a nice alternative to Mt.Si. We did not see Dirty Harry's ""museum', so what is up with that? Elevation Gain: 3400ft. Distance: 11 miles RT Time: 2 hours up, 1.5 hours down

Dirty Harry's road shows what the combination of Northwest weather and bad drainage can do. Much of the road has turned into a creekbed, but things have gotten so bad that it's becoming good. In many stretches of the road, there's now a deep gully in the middle of the road that captures all the runoff. Hikers have created a relatively rock free trail along the side of the road. In constrast, the middle section of the road to the Balcony has good drainage and is covered with smooth dirt and pine needles, pleasent to walk on. The other good news is that volunteers have cut many trees out of the road. All in all, its not a bad hiking experience, much better than it was a few years ago. From the trailhead (elev. 1380'), the road ascends a peaceful forested side canyon that blocks I-90 noise quite well. After 1.5 rocky miles, the road passes the side trail to Dirty Harry's Balcony; the junction is well marked with ribbons and cairns. I continued on up the road, enjoying the sun and warmth of this exceptionally fine spring day. Museum Creek was running vigorously (elev. 3000') from snowmelt. It's a great place to rest and has a good view of McClellen Butte. But the high country beckoned and I continued the climb. The road was free of snow up to the Talus View junction at 3400'. Above the road is a huge talus slope that offers a nice sunny viewpoint if you climb the rocks a little. Snow-phobic people should stop here, because at the next switchback at 3800' serious snowpack begins. I waded up through the semi-consolidated snow, following some old footprints. These gave out at about 4000', and it was tough slogging up the final few hundred feet to the summit of Dirty Harry's peak, 4680'. The deep snow up here will take a month to melt, at least. Great views from the summit, of course, although the wind was strong, and my hat nearly took a thousand foot free-fall down to Granite Lake; luckily a fir branch caught it at the brink of the cliff. Maintainence needs: Somebody needs to hike up the road with some tools and dig drainage dips in the road to get the water to run off. Some lopping and cutting of branches would also be great.

Always a fun trail, we hiked it in the rain this time. Despite being cool and wet, it was a lot of fun. There was a light dusting of snow at the top, but no accumulation at all. The trail is in noticeably better shape than it was last year. Bring waterproof boots, even on a nice day, if you don't want your feet to get wet because this trail does run along a few small streams in places. Oh, and despite wandering around where Manning points on the map, we were not able to find Dirty Harry's Musuem.