Sunday morning and the area was bathed in low-hanging clouds. The weather forecast was for the clouds to burn off by afternoon so I expected good views from Dirty Harry's Peak. I left at 8:15 and saw only one other soul on the way up, another solitary hiker whose black lab startled me as I came around a bend. At 3200' the trail is completely covered by a rock slide. Certain individual rocks are still precariously balanced as I found out while crossing. I saw a large pile of coal-like scat in the middle of the trail at 3400' and was unsure of its provenance. Sections of the trail that intersect with creeks were covered with water, the combination of wet slippery rocks and the steep climb made it a difficult hike at times. I saw the first sign of snow at around 4000' but there were very few shallow patches. I reached the top at 10:30 and hung around for a couple of hours, hoping for the clouds to clear, but no such luck! At times I could see gaze down the impressive northeast dropoff to the Granite Lakes below. I left the top at 12:30 and was back to my truck at 2:15, having had the hike almost entirely to myself. Directions: From I-90 Eastbound, take exit 38. Turn right at the exit and follow it along the river, crossing back underneath the highway. Drive through a yellow gate that is locked at 4pm, and over the river again on a one-lane bridge. At a point where the road bends to the left, the trail is off to the right. A small meadow across the road is another indication of the trailhead. At 2500' a trail off to the right is indicated by a rock cairn and blazes, this leads to Dirty Harry's Balcony.

Crystal clear skies prompted me to bag Dirty Harry's Peak. Patchy snow begins above 2000 feet and some ice. Pass Dirty Harry's Balcony junction (marked by a cairn) and head west uphill. About 3200 feet, a rock slide blocks the way, but you can easily climb/work your way around it. After the rock slide, in a few minutes you will note a road cut on your left. The old road forks here...real easy to miss (I kept straight and soon the way becomes flooded with water and is over-grown). Take the left fork and head uphill to a large talus area at a switchback. Keep left at all junctions. At about 3800 feet, snow becomes more continuous and there is lot of deer sign and some elk sign as well. Snow was maybe about 2 feet deep up on top, but you don't need snow shoes yet. Nice views of Granite Lakes below and surrounding mountains. Oh, I saw some Cougar tracks just before the summit...not surprising given the amount of deer and elk sign in the area.

Looking for a spring hike with some altitude gain, low enough to offer some distance before snow, close to Seattle but less teeming than Si and less brutal than Mailbox, so I tried Harry's. I-90 to exit 38, follow fire training ground signs, go through gate and look for big concrete barriers on the right. If you like rocks, you'll love the lower trail. Leave the trekking poles at home; they don't work well on the rock and catch on the brush. Found what I thought was the sidepath to the balcony, marked with orange ribbon, but either I was in the wrong place or the balcony consists only of a couple peek-a-boo views of I-90. Anyway, I wanted to see how far I could get up the peak. Continuing up the trail starts to co-exist with the stream, gets muddy, and the brushing stops; orange ribbons mark the way. Around 3500' (maybe less) snow begins in earnest, deep enough to posthole but not deep enough to obscure the brush. To make matters worse, you tend to posthole onto Harry's old rotting logs, which don't provide solid footing. On the plus side, the clouds were high enough that all of McClellan and the ridge behind it were visible. (BTW, the word 'Balcony' is inconsistently spelled in prev reports, making searches not match.)