Another short loop at Cougar - pouring rain so we chose a short leg stretcher 3.5 mile loop from the Sky Country trailhead - I had not actually been on a couple of these trails or seen the Clay Pit. Basically we took Clay Pit Road to Freds Railroad to East Fork Trail (that was new to me and a pleasant woodsy trail) circling left through Cougar Pass and back to Clay Pit Road. Made a little 3.5 mile loop, just right since we were pretty well soaked by the end. The little woodsy duck pond on the East Fork Trail is cute and had actual ducks in it, the covered mine shaft and interpretive info was very interesting, and the clay pit was much bigger than I expected with an interesting interpretive sign and nice bench overlooking it (note that it is now public access if you want to explore). All trails in good shape, and well marked, with little mud in places. 

iked one of my go-to loops at Cougar - I call it the Three Waterfall Loop– today done clockwise:

Start at Sky Country trailhead. Up Clay Pit Road to Fred’s Railroad, right on Freds Railroad to Shy Bear trail/Shy Bear Pass. From Shy Bear Pass onto Long View Trail (where there has been some recent clearing of downed trees, thank you!) which turns into Deceiver Trail. Past Doughty Falls (which was running a bit more strongly than usual it seemed) to Shy Bear Trail, left on Shy Bear Trail, which turns into Far Country Trail - divert to Far Country Overlook to have lunch on the bench there. Down to Indian Trail past charming mossy Far Country Falls, right on Quarry Trail for a well graded 350 foot ascent, left on Coal Creek Falls trail past the falls which were running quite nicely today (looks like the bridge there has been recently repaired/rebuilt). Climb out of the Coal Creek valley to the Cave Hole trail, take a right and uphill on that, then left on Nike Horse Trail and back to the car.

Trails were all in great shape and well marked but definitely take a map! One this winter weekday we saw one trail runner, and a total of 6 other hikers. I like Cougar for the somewhat more open forest than other parts of the Issaquah Alps, the smooth trails, and the options for so many loops. Stats for this loop: 12 different named trails, 6.6 miles, and about 1200 feet of gain with the ups and downs.

We found some gloves at the trailhead - did you lose some?

Started my hike up to the summit of Wilderness Peak from the Sky Country Trailhead. It was foggy as I headed out on the trail through the old Army Nike missile base. When I got up to Fred's Railroad Trail I got out of the fog for a while and even saw the sun for a moment. But when I was hiking on the Shy Bear Trail the fog was back. Gave an eerie look to the forest as I got to Shy Bear Pass. At the pass I took the "new" Wilderness Peak Trail. The old trail is now abandoned and covered with old trees and limbs. I had been up to Wilderness Peak last year on the old trail before the new one was finished. The new one is much better to hike with a less steep grade. After a few switchbacks I arrived at the junction with the Wilderness Cliffs Trail. I stayed left and hiked up to the viewless summit where there is a nice memorial bench which I used for a snack break. The old loop trail from the summit is no more, as King County Parks has closed it.

So, after having my snack I headed back down the way I had come up and took the East Fork Trail off of the Fred's RR Trail going to Jerry's Duck Pond. There were five Mallard ducks swimming in the pond.  When I arrived at the old air shaft from the coal mining days it was lunch time, so I used the bench built as a Boy Scout Eagle project several years ago. After eating I hiked down to the Clay Pit Road, then took the Tibbett's Marsh Trail to the junction with the Cougar Pass Trail. This one had some muddy areas before getting down to the Klondike Swamp Trail. I took the KST out to the Clay Pit Road and walked it back to the parking lot. Along the way it crosses the North Fork of Coal Creek with a cement concrete box culvert. I took the short side trail out to the big beaver pond that covers Klondike Marsh. The beavers have built a huge dam over the creek and flooded the marsh. Then it was back to the parking lot to finish my hike.

I only met a few other hikers on my trip, some with dogs on leashes, plus two trail runners. So made for a good hike on a foggy day since there is no view from the summit of Wilderness Peak and I got to hike a new trail. George

We completed a 6.5 mile loop on Cougar Mtn from the Sky Country TH.  Four cars were in the lot when I pulled in at 9:10AM.  It was a frosty 31 degrees with mostly clear skies.  The Porta Potties were clean, open and stocked with supplies. Our route followed Old Man’s Trail, Cave Hole, Coyote Creek, Shangrila, Tibbetts Marsh, East Fork, Fred’s Railroad, Quarry, Coal Creek Falls, Cave Hole and Nike Horse trails in a clockwise direction.  All the trails are maintained with a few recent branch and trees blow downs (all easy to step over) and good drainage.  Orange surveyors tape was hung on branches on the Quarry trail indicating side drainage to be dug out soon.  There were only a couple muddy spots for short stretches on our entire route.  Coal Creek Falls are back to their usually winter run off after the last 4 months of basic drought.  There is still snow on the ground in a few places that don’t receive sun at this time of the year.  King County park employees were out surveying the downed trees on Shangrila trail, which they said would be removed by the end of the day.  Trail traffic was super light, we saw less than 10 other people the entire time we were out.  Ten cars were in the Sky Country lot when we walked back to our vehicles at 12:40.  Another fantastic day out in nature with friends!

Began my loop hike on Cougar Mtn. from the Red Town trailhead. Only half full when I arrived. I headed out on the Wildside Trail and made a stop at the closed off Ford Slope Mine entrance. This shaft went down an incline of 1,740' and dropped 850' vertical. It was 310' below sea level. This coal mine was used from 1902 to 1926. In 1916, 600 tons of coal was coming out of the Ford Slope Mine per day. Coal was mined under Cougar Mtn. from 1863 to 1963.

I hiked the Wild Side Trail to get out to the De Leo Wall Trail, then a short distance out to the Indian Trail. I could hear a chainsaw running from a King County parks crew cutting fallen trees off the Indian Trail. I hiked south and took the short side trail out to the top of Far Country Falls. No big roaring water yet. I then got to the junction with the Shy Bear Trail and hiked it up to the Far County Viewpoint. I stopped here for lunch since there is a wooden bench. As I was eating the sun came out while I had a nice view out to the west. After lunch I continued on the Shy Bear Trail going east. I started running into some snow on the trail and found a dead maple tree had fallen onto the trail. I then met a young hiker going the opposite way. When I got to the old logging artifact next to the trail (side frame from an old steam donkey) I saw the King County Parks history sign about it was missing. Even the wood post was gone. Further along there was more snow on the trail. After passing the junction with the Deceiver Trail I came to a large Red Cedar that is laying over the trail and blocking the way. I had to go around it and through some limbs to get back on the trail. Next was the snow-covered narrow bridges over Shy Bear Creek in a swampy area. The snow was hard packed on the bridges, so you need to watch your step, so you don't slip off into the water. As I was heading uphill to get to the junction with the Fred's Railroad Trail, I met another hiker go downhill. I had a nice chat with her about other hikes. I then had one more icing bridge to cross over Shy Bear Creek.

Once up to Fred's Railroad Trail I headed north on the snow-covered old roadbed. I then turned left and went down the By Pass Trail to meet up with the Cave Hole Trail to get back down to Red Town. The upper part of the Cave Hole Trail had snow on it but petered out as I got lower. Going down the Cave Hole Trail I could see three more old coal mine entrances. When I got to the junction with the Coal Creek Falls Trail, I met a guy who seemed to be a bit lost. He thought he was on the Clay Pit Road. I told where the Clay Pit Road was located. Then it was down to the Red Town Trail and back to the parking lot.

This made for a 6-mile loop hike with only a few trees down over the trails I hiked. Looks like King County Parks is getting out to remove them. George