I arrived at the trailhead at 10:30am and the parking lot was nearly empty! The weather was overcast with a slight chance of rain, so I'm not surprised, especially with the winter storm warning from the day before. Thankfully there was no storm conditions today.
I took the Mount Si trail all the way up, which took me about 2 hours. It's muddy in places but not hard to cross. The summit has a light dusting of snow, though not enough to need any gear. I attempted to climb the Haystack but it was so cold, wet, and slick and I didn't want to risk it--I got about halfway. The clouds rolled in and out with the wind, so despite hiking inside a cloud most of the way, I did get some views. The top is frigid, especially when sweat cools, so bring lots of layers. The temperature difference between the bottom and top is stark. I wore a merino wool base layer, fleece, puffy, and raincoat with gloves and a beanie. The Canada Jays (or Camp Robbers) flocked me while I ate lunch but don't feed them! I know they're cute...but...don't ;)
On the way down, I decided to take the Talus Loop Trail. This is definitely the road less traveled, as many spots were overgrown and one spot had a small tree across it. The light really started to fade at 3pm which took me by surprise, so I started speed walking back to the trailhead so I didn't get caught out in the dark.
Overall my moving time was around 4 hours, and was out for about 5 hours. 8.03 miles and 3,284ft elevation gain.
Comments