This was a wet hike on which I tried to follow the "Black Bear" Loop but missed about 2 miles of the loop (guessing I should have gone down to Coal Creek Falls and then back up to the "Old Man Trail". Lots of puddles on the trails and some mud (much more in the way of puddles). Water Proof Boots and rain gear were required but my pants were soaked after the 3 mile loop I did so this is a hike better done during a dry spell. The big surprise to me was that the lot at Sky Country Trail Head had quite a few cars and there were runners, dog walkers and hikers out. While a soggy hike on Monday, its still nice to get out in the woods and enjoy a Washington Winter. Note: Big Surprise for me was the Beaver Dam on the East Fork of Coal Creek (off Clay Pit Road)! Wow what a magnificent piece of engineering.

It seems when North Bend and Snoqualmie have rain, that Cougar Mt doesn't. We had a great time on a loop trail starting at Antiaircraft TH. We were the only car there at the start and only saw about 6 people on the trails. There was a little mud but most of the trails were covered in pretty fall leaves. It is good to have a map although most intersections were well labeled. Maps can be printed off the King Co Parks website. We started at the Anti-aircraft TH, Shangra La, Coyote creek, By Pass, Fred's RR, East fork, Mine Shaft (lunch here at bench by grated shaft) Cougar Pass, Klondike Swamp, and Lost Beagle. Just over 5 miles.

Did a 6 mile loop by connecting all the trails mentioned in the title. The trails are in excellent condition, though completely covered in leaves. A few muddy spots due to recent rain. The fall foliage is mostly gone. It was an easy hike with constantly changing gradients, good for a quick hike in a nature trail close to home. Mostly ran into locals working out or taking their dogs out for a walk.

Started the hike at the Coal Creek trailhead, made my way through to the Red Town Trailhead and headed into the park. Followed Red Town Trail down to Indian Trail and passed the meadow restoration. Headed up Shy Bear Trail. Headed east on Fred's RR Trail. Stunning. After crossing Clay Pit Road headed further up to Cougars Pass and Tibbets Creek. Slid onto Bear Ridge and passed Fantastic Erratic. Continued on Bear Ridge (ultimate goal was Issaquah TC) with little problems until encountering the boundary marker. the trail suddenly became rock strewn and rooted. it's always a bit disconcerting when you look down at the trail and can't see any boot tracks. However, I wasn't about to retrace my steps to catch the Tallus Bridge trail, because...I'm stubborn. Hiked the slippery, ankle endangering mess of a trail all the way down, only to find a marker almost at the Renton-Issaquah Road that the trail was closed. Not only was it closed, it was a rehabilitation zone. No signage on the King County side of the trail noted this. I made it out of the forest, and on to a four lane busy road, and headed up to the TC. A little cooperation between county and city and a little signage would've been appreciated. Otherwise, a very pleasant, 12 miles.

Went out to Cougar for some mushroom/bird "hunting" (with a camera!). Even on a Friday morning there's a surprising number of runners and dog walkers there… For their safety, the wildlife and the peace of mind of other park users, please leash your dogs… only one dog walker all day had their dog leashed and the gazillion foot leash wasn't particularly effective for anything either and pick up your poo. I saw several poo bags and some fresh unscooped poo too. Enough lecturing. Cougar Mountain has to be one of the most user friendly parks around. Maps are freely available at trailheads. The signage is extraordinary - the signs not only have what the trail is called, but what the trail goes to and the distance to get there. You can string together lots of trails and come up easily with a full days hiking - then you can choose different trails and come up with another different full day. There's no spectacular views here. The waterfalls are so-so, but the fungi! I found more interesting and unusual fungi here than anywhere. I was very surprised. There are lots of birds, you can hear them all around you most of the time, but spotting them… that's a different trick. I managed one not spectacular photo of a wren - they are less shy than the kinglets and bush tits, who I just managed glimpses of. The trails are in good condition. There were one or two uncleared blowdowns, but they could be stepped over. Some of the trails were a bit wet in places, but nothing unmanageable.