A fine day to visit. The road in is in as uniformly good condition as I've seen it in the three years that I've been coming to the Middle Fork trailhead. A number of obstacles that would give a car pause in the mid-section of the road have been smoothed out in the last two weeks. It isn't by any means smooth, but you're not likely to lose a wheel if you exercise ordinary caution. I followed the same route that the previous two trips have, but in the future I might come back by the nearer trail as well - it is steeper, but I suspect that it's a bit less tricky to traverse. The route richly repays bringing trekking poles, as the steep section is rich with root ladders and other features that make the descent a bit tricky. The ground is entirely dry, but the loose, sandy soil can be almost as difficult to get a footing on as when moderately muddy (as it was last year). Great views. The first third of the Butte has two obvious viewpoints to the north, with a boot path off to the south just after the second southern viewpoint that leads to a nice vista including a good bit of Preacher and past it the Middle Fork valley. Following the main path you descend slightly and then climb onto the middle section of the Butte which has one large viewpoint for Preacher and a second narrow but unobstructed spot that's nice for a picture. Beyond this the trail quickly peters out - I saw a clear path for at least a bit further, but the moss there had not been trampled, and my memory of my last trip indicated that there wasn't anything but brush and perhaps a steep descent to greet me.

We enjoyed this hike. It's steep enough to feel like you did something, but short enough to do on New Year's Day after sleeping off a hangover. We took the first turn from the Pratt Trail up to the ridgeline. It's a lovely trail, mossy and lined with trees. We didn't find it hard to follow. Once you reach a saddle/junction with other trail (second turn from the Pratt Trail) you want to head downhill for a minute to catch the proper trail heading up the ridge. You don't need to do the bushwhacking other people mention on their trip reports. Trail up the ridge is steep but not hard to follow. It was icy with bits of frost until on the ridgeline, where the was some snow. We wore our microspikes on the way down only and used poles up and down. View of Garfield is just lovely. Wow. What a mountain! We continued along the ridgeline until the trail completely petered out then backed up to the Garfield viewpoint for our snack. The trail section here is rather brushy in places with some large blowdowns. We took the other trail back to make a little loop at the end. Some old logging cables here. Did a bit of trail maintenance by sawing branches of a downed tree to make it easier to pass and save the moss/ferns next to it from further trampling. If you can bring some hedge clippers and work on the brushy section along the ridgeline that would be sweet (we only had a saw which wasn't much help there). My GPS said our route was 3 miles and 1500 gain, which is more than the 1,000 others state.

This is a short but steep hike to the top of a ridge in the middle of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie river valley. Cross the Gateway Bridge and turn right. In about 200 yards is an unmarked steep trail on the left. This trail follows the ridge line. I took this one up. About 50 beyond that trail is another trail that is a bit easier and will join the ridge trail in 1/2 mi (took this one on the return). The trail steepens at 1/2 mi. At 0.75 mi the trail enters old growth forest. No huge trees but a very nice forest. When you reach the top there is a nice cliff off to the right with views south of the Rainy Creek Drainage. Several yards beyond that is a slot view to the north of Garfield Peak. You can continue on for 0.4 mi on progressively more brushy trail/bush wack. After a somewhat difficult way around boulders and down trees you eventually start to lose a little elevation and will come to a partially obstructed but very nice view of the upper Middle Fork valley. It was interesting to see pine trees and Alaska Cedar at the top. Alaska Cedar usually grows at much higher elevations. RT 2.75 mi with 1000 feet elevation gain. About 900 feet of that gain is gained in just 1/2 mi. Since the hike was so short, I combined it with an old growth romp on the CCC trail (posted separately). I did a fair amount of brushing , especially at the top. There is plenty more to do so don't forget your clippers.

Went out for a short afternoon hike. This is not an established trail but a relatively steep boot path that requires some navigational skills. The route had some compact snow, but no snow shoes or traction devices required. Nice view of Mt Garfield. Saw no one.

I was looking to bring a friend on a shorter summit trip that would allow us to be in Seattle by noon. This short hike is surprisingly popular among NW Hikers likely due to the high visual payoff and low physical cost. As a bonus I would get a look at the new section of the Pratt River Trail, which we left almost as quickly as we met it. On our way through North Bend the fresh snowline on Mount Si was crisp and clear. We followed a faint bootpath along the top of the ridge which became more clear as we climbed. About halfway up we were treated to stunning view of Mount Garfield mostly covered in snow. Near the top Mount Bessemer and part of Preacher Mountain appeared. A few inches of snow covered the ground starting below the false summit. Rainy creek was roaring below steep cliffs to the south. A bit of sunlight made it through the trees before we headed down. On our way down we found a better path slightly to the south. pics and route map @ http://www.jebsjourneys.com/2014/02/stegosaurus-butte-2-2-2014.html