Hi, We're the Mountain Goats (Terrence) with a special guest Evan, and today we climbed Dirty Harry's Peak. We originally wanted to do Lillian Lake but due to the god-awful traffic heading East on I-90, we decided to get off at Exit 42 and do Dirty Harry's Peak.
By the time we got to the trailhead around 11:30 AM, it was already starting to drizzle. This trail doesn't pull any punches; after crossing the South Fork of the Snoqualmie you began the unrelenting ascent. After about a mile the trail begins to skirt around cliffs with mini trails going off to various rock-climbing walls. This part of the trail is quite rocky and a bit tricky to navigate on the descent.
The trail then goes through a series of steep switchbacks before flattening out as you head NE traversing the lower slopes of Dirty Harry. We were greeted with brief breaks in the fog allowing us to gaze upon the valley below and the traffic going East on I-90.
The trail then heads back into the forest before turning NW and beginning another steep ascent. 3.5 Miles in and at about 3,100 feet you'll cross a creek. This is the one and only spot to pump clean moving water so use it if needed. After crossing the creek, the trail begins to get a bit overgrown, this was quite annoying due to the copious amount of water on the foliage. Luckily this part only lasted for about a quarter of a mile.
The final mile up to the summit is an ass-kicker as you gain 1000' vertical feet in a little over a mile. The true summit is a bit tricky to find as it is not directly on the trail. Unfortunately, there weren't any views, but it always feels good to summit a mountain.
Overall, this is a great training hike for those who don't want to deal with herds of people who head up Mount SI and Mailbox. Words of Wisdom from Evan: Thank mother nature and father time for now we begin to climb. Happy Hiking!
Final Stats: 8.2 Miles - 3,300' Elevation Gained - 5:15 Car to Car
Comments