Caution: Seemed like some of the smoke from wildfires was wafting over (red sunlight, could see a lot of smoke from summit, possibly smelt it a bit at higher elevations?) but while hiking on the trail, there was no visible smoke. I was having some trouble with cardio today, but that may have been a me thing rather than smoky conditions.
Main parking was full, so parked at overflow. By the time we’d walked over to the main parking, a few spots had opened up there, so might be worth circling once or twice if you’re committed to getting one of those spots.
Took the second Boulder Gardens access on the way up, which is shorter, but also steeper than the first access. I was struggling a bit today, but some of the elevation on the left felt comparable to the moderate-low edge of steepest inclined sections of the old trail.
Trail in great condition, not muddy today, but could see traces of past mud. As always with Si, a bit dusty.
The old trail felt like it kept you in switchback hell for a shorter period of time, but you pay for it with steeper inclines. Virtually no large rock or wood steps as compared to the new trail, instead it’s dirt, tree root ladders, and small rocks. Oddly, there were more flat sections at the beginning (still only about 3 total lol), but again, you pay for it later. This trail did feel a bit more scenic, but can’t quite put my finger on why because didn’t really see more or clearer panoramic views, just felt like the forest was prettier.
Knees started complaining as soon as we began decent, so would recommend hiking poles. Hobbled along with sticks for a bit and that helped. Questioned going back down the old trail rather than looping down the new about halfway down, but did not feel like redoing the elevation to the connection point (:
Comments