So many loops and trails in Cougar, makes for nice rambles. Today we did what I call my 2-waterfall loop at Cougar, starting from Sky Country trailhead and going counterclockwise, using the 9 trails listed. I like this counterclockwise direction better than clockwise because you end flat or slightly downhill instead of a final uphill along the Cave Hole trail. First waterfall is Coal Creek Falls which was running lighter than I expected given all the recent rain. Second is Far Country. Lunch at Far Country Lookout. Sometimes I add Deceiver Trail/Doughty Falls for a 7.5 mile loop 3 waterfall but today just the shorter version. Other additional loops certainly possible. Trails were in good shape with surprisingly little mud. Fun to see the long skinny boardwalk through the marsh on the Shy Bear trail. Probably saw around 20 people in assorted sized groups. 

This ended up being 6 miles and just under 900 feet of gain. Starting raining right when we were finishing. 

This was a guided moonlit hike with the Issaquah Alps Trails Club. The moon wasn't visible through the clouds, but we were lucky that the rain held off for the duration of our hike. 

We started from the Sky Country Trailhead at 6 p.m., heading past the former Nike missile base to the Cave Hole Trail. We turned left, heading downhill to Coal Creek Falls. We could hear a trickle of water but didn't see any running. We crossed the bridge and continued until we turned left onto the Quarry Trail. Here we saw several bats swoop in front of us to catch bugs. Then we took Fred's Railroad Trail to By Pass back to Cave Hole Trail. When we were back by the missile base we saw some deer bedded down for the night. The trail is in good condition, but stretches of the Cave Hole Trail are closed due to construction. 

Very fun to see this familiar area after dark!

#Gratitude

Today in the Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, we did a 2.5mi multi-trail loop hike to Coal Creek Falls via the Sky Country Trailhead. This area is easy hiking on wide trails with low inclines. It was a great day to be outside and there were some spring wildflowers in bloom! We saw white trilliums (Trillum grandiflorum), Pacific bleeding hearts (Dicentra formosa), candy flowers (Claytonia sibirica), and salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis). Trail Hazard: There is some stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) growing along the edges of some of the trails, so watch where you step!

The waterfall and its bridge were nice, too. There are some bugs in the stream and the wet areas around the waterfall, but they aren't too bad until you stop moving. As of this writing, there's a small cedar tree that has fallen across the lower part of the waterfall. The tree isn't blocking the flow of water, but it is masking most of the view of the waterfall. Hopefully it will be cleared soon so we can see the full view of the waterfall.

To get to the waterfall from the trailhead, we made it a loop in this order:

• Sky Country Trailhead
• Old Man's Trail
• Cave Hole Trail
• By Pass Trail
• Fred's Railroad Trail
• Quarry Trail
• Coal Creek Falls Trail
• Waterfall
• Cave Hole Trail
• Nike Horse Trail
• Sky Country Trailhead

I arrived at the Harvey Manning trailhead around 11am and was one of two cars in the parking lot. It was a perfectly cool spring day for a spontaneous hike. I ended up doing a 6.6 mile loop; I'll show the map below. All trails I hiked on were in great condition, only one had a small alder tree across it that wasn't difficult to cross. Overall, I didn't notice too many invasive plants which brought me hope, but as I neared the top of Wilderness Peak, I started to see some English holly trees growing that would be easy to take out.

If you're expecting a view on this hike/at the top, you'll be disappointed. The best view is at the trailhead, at the viewpoint. However, this trail is a great practice in the life lesson, "it's all about the journey, not the destination." Trilliums, salmon berries, bleeding hearts and more are all blooming. Devil's Club is just starting to leaf out and there is lots of it on this trail. The birds were out singing at the top of their lungs, and I even came across three deer--we said hey before they dashed off the trail. I also loved reading all the historical boards along the trail about mining and logging in the area. 

Very cool hike, and very worth it!

Sunny but chilling morning. However, I warmed up quickly on this trail loop. There's many ups and downs. The trail is in good condition with a few muddy patches. It look me a little over two hours to do the 6.77 mile loop. There were few people.