Whittaker Wilderness Peak, Shy Bear — Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025

Eight of us enjoyed a magical snowy hike from Whittaker Wilderness Trailhead to Whittaker Peak (via Gombu Cliffs), looped to Shy Bear Pass, and over Deceiver to Doughty Falls. We had a good 3-5 inches of fresh snow for over 90% of the hike. On the way back much of it was melting or falling from the treetops - most of us put on shells since our down coats were getting wet. Sunshine and snow made for a wonderful adventure.

With the cold temperatures and thaw/freeze the trails could be pretty treacherous in the next few days. On the drive through Issaquah, I hit one patch of black ice that slowed me down about 20 mph. Please drive safely.

We all had poles, waterproof footwear, gaiters, and traction devices. About half of our party members chose to use traction; I only needed one pole on the descent and did not use traction. AllTrails had us at roughly 7.9 miles and 1608 gain cars-to-cars 5 hours with 3-4 sensory pauses, 10 minutes at the summit register, and 20 minutes at the Falls. With the blow-downs, heavy snow-laden limbs, and slick trail in places, our pace was about what I'd expect for 8 in unexpected snow.

We had one person slip (no injury) and one scary moment when, behind us and off about 40 feet, a massive tree split in two and crashed to the forest floor. Overladen by snow. It sounded like a gunshot from which we quickly recovered. Be aware and ready to react.

We had 12 bird species including a hairy woodpecker, northern flicker, stellar's jay, kinglets, and chickadees. Beautiful snow photo opportunities. We only saw two other humans all morning, and plenty of critter tracks in the snow including raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, birds, and coyotes.