Big Tree Ridge, Red Cedars, No Name, Shangri La, Coyote Creek, Cave Hole, Fred's Railroad, Shy Bear, Deceiver, Long View Peak, Whittaker Wilderness Peak, East Fork, Mine Shaft Trail, Tibbett's Marsh, Protector Trail & Surprise Creek — Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024

A Sunny brisk Sunday in the middle of December was the perfect day for a hike in the Issaquah Alps. The goal of the hike was two fold; assess the condition of the trails on Cougar Mountain about a month after the Bomb Cyclone windstorm and to see progress on the new steps & view landing at Doughty falls and the new bridge that was constructed this Fall.  The hike started at the Big Tree trailhead up to Harvey Manning Trail Head via the the Red Cedars and No Name and Shangri La trails .  There were numerous down trees all logged out and the trails were very passable and generally in good shape. There were a few areas where minor trail repairs damaged by the uprooting of trees. Million Dollar view was amazing. South on the Coyote Creek trail, a short stent on Freds RR trail over to the Shy Bear trail.  There was one down tree that had been logged on Fred's RR that impacted the trail and was a bit tricky but passable.  From Shy Bear, took the Deceiver Trail over to the Doughty Falls trail. The new steps and and rebuilt view point were very impressive and very well built. The most impressive trail improvement was the new low height bridge!!!.  It was amazing and a wonder how the metal decking and structure was transported to the site which is not near a road.  It also involves a hike down a steep trail  a challenge to transport all of the materials to the work site.  After admiring the new trail work, the hike continued back to the Shy Bear Trail, a quick stint up the Wilderness peak trail and then headed back to the Big Tree Trail head via Freds RR, East Fork Tibbets Marsh, Protector and Surprise Creek connecting back up to the Red Cedars trail.  Overall there were many down trees and significant log out work enabling all trails to be open and passable