I wanted to go out on for a longer hike and it had been a few years since I had done Mount Si so I made a whole loop of it. As such, I did several trails and will try to offer a quick review of each.
Little Si is a cute, short trail that most everyone will be able to do it. I saw a large number of families, some with very small children. A special hello to the small child who said I looked, "like a princess lady."
Boulder Loop is pretty but I don't think it's worth trying to make sure you go around the whole thing. This starts to have some elevation gain but still pretty decent for most everyone.
Next I did the Old Mount Si trail. This was brutal. It was surprisingly steep and never offered a break. There are two spots with trees that have fallen over but still quite easily to get around. I found the hike to be beautiful and enjoyable. I did not see one single other person during that entire hike.
When I reached the connection to the Mount Si trail, it was packed with people. I was in shock at the number of folks. Mostly college kids with loud music playing. There are a few false trails around the upper area and I watched as more of these happened with people having a picnic directly on the trail, it forced hikers to leave the trail to get around them.
I took this trail back down most of the way. This is one of the first hikes I did in Seattle years and years and years ago with a boy I madly loved. He is married now and living on the East Coast but it was fascinating to see how the trail had changed and not changed during that time.
It's hard to express how different the old trail is to the newer one. The lengths are not that far off but the steepness... worlds apart.
I then cut over and did the other two smaller trails before heading back to the boulder garden to complete the loop.
Stats:
Total Milage: 14 ish?
Number of Dogs: about 10
Snacks: protein bar
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