Bear Ridge, Cougar Pass, Klondike Swamp, Cave Hole, Military Road, Sky Country, Clay Pit Road & Shangri La — Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021

We were promised 3-8 inches and that's what we got! My car was snowed in so I chose something I could walk to and ended up doing about 9 miles at Cougar Mountain, slowly meandering about for most of the day.

I kind of hate how there's an individual entry for each little trail section in some of these parks. I love just wandering around the Issaquah Alps so I end up hitting up a lot of random trails every time I go out... I did my best to pick all the trails I was on today, but basically what I did was start on Bear Ridge and traverse Cougar Mountain, coming out Red Town Trail to check out North Fork  Falls, then re-entering Cougar and taking a slightly different route back the way I came. There was snow the entire way, obviously, but it was so fresh that booting it was fine. Some people were out in snowshoes or even skis, but it's really not necessary when it's this fresh and not that deep. The only thing I regretted was not having my trekking poles (trapped in the trunk of my car under a bunch of snow, lol) because there were some slippery rocks and roots hidden underneath the snow. Overall, nothing too crazy though.

I saw a handful of people, mostly around Red Town & Sky Country trailheads, but mostly I was alone for a lot of the day. Lakemont Blvd was being plowed as I was walking by, but both trailheads I passed were fully snow covered. A few brave cars in each lot, though! It was actively snowing all day and by the time I got home, I was pretty soaked and my hat and gloves were starting to freeze solid. Haha. A fun day, super pretty, and nice to see a familiar place looking unfamiliar!