We explored Taylor Mountain today starting from the Carey Creek Trailhead off SE208th in Hobart.  There is ample parking on both the shoulders of the road.  Watch out for horse poop!  There are no toilets facilities here so plan to Green Door.  This is a King County Park access so no parking passes required.  It was 48 degrees with mostly cloudy skies when we started up the trail at 9:30. Our route followed Road G, right onto Elk Ridge, right on Hermit trails to the end of the Hermit trail at just under 2000’. A  King County County Park crew was out closing and old road spur with new plantings and wood debris near the intersection with the Sherwood trail.  The  Sherwood Trail is temporarily closed undergoing a serious upgrade and reroute.  Our out and back loop came in at just under 8 miles.  We had the entire trail system to our selves  with the exception of the trail workers. We took a lunch / rest break at noon and celebrated Linda’s 75th Birthday!   A sign posted at the beginning of the Elk Ridge trail indicates the trail is closed over the winter through April 15th to prevent erosion. We were 2 days early but experienced no real muddy spots and the trail had minimal debris down.  It was very evident that horseback riders had been on the trails recently.  Carey Creek trail was also posted as closed due to a bridge wash out. We did not explore that route. Animal scat (deer, elk and coyote) was spotted in several places but we had no sighting on our hike.  3 deer crossed the road 1/3 mile before the Th as I was driving up.  Many bird species were flitting about - junco, chickadee, wrens, robins, crows and a hawk.  Coltsfoot was the only wildflower in bloom, but several others will be blooming soon - miner’s lettuce, bleeding heart and trillium.  Another fantastic day out in nature with friends.

A sunny, warm but not hot hike in the Taylor Mt. Forest/Seattle Cedar River Watershed.   The trails we hiked are horse trails and prone to the normal things such trails involve such as using care where you step.  My own experiences with the large animals is mixed but the ones encountered on this day were friendly (obviously well cared for).

The Elk Ridge trail is in excellent shape.  It is a wide people/horse friendly tread that was in the process of being brushed out by some King County workers {Thanks!!}.  Most of the trail has forest scenery but as the top of the ridge is gained there are views [through the trees] of Tiger Mt. (south peak).  We ambled up the 2.8 miles or so to the Sherwood Trail.

The Sherwood trail is slightly steep and rocky at its junction with the Elk Ridge trail but quickly improves in 200 feet and begins to widen.  On both trails and Road G, lowland flowers including phlox, California golden eyed grass, and foxglove were in abundance.  

We spent about 5 minutes on Road A which is active [two King County maintenance trucks passed us]; my guess is that logging or another such project is going on in the KC forest beyond where were hiking. 

Trail was in generally good condition with a few muddy places.  Needs brushing in places.  Beware of nettles.

Wanted to stay out of the clouds and rain today. We managed the former, but we had our rain jackets on and off 3 times in mostly light rain. We parked over by the Elk Ridge side of the mountain with a couple horse trailers and two cars. We started up Road G and onto Road A. Road A looked newly adorned with crushed rock and very flat. No mud to be found here. We meandered a bit and turned around where Road H leaves the forest. There were some views below the fast moving low clouds. We could even see out to Puget Sound - maybe Des Moines..? Came back down H and onto Elk Ridge which is pretty muddy, but nothing too deep.

This was a nice trail for a quick 'beat the rain' hike though we did get a little wet near the end.  The trail twists and turns along the ridgeline through a nice second growth forest gaining a moderate amount of elevation.  Lots of moss and mushrooms but not much else other than a plethora of 'No Trespassing' watershed signs.