Four of us enjoyed the entire ridge traverse from NW to SE as part of the Mountaineers' Conditioning for Hiking Series class (2.4 mph pace). We parked 3 cars at Rattlesnake Lake then took one to shuttle the team to the NW end to start the trip around 7:40 a.m.
Even on a hot summer day (it was mid-80's at the cars by 1:30 p.m.) this trail has lots of shade except for one segment that has been logged. Get an early start to avoid the heat.
On the northwest part of the path, the parking gate was still closed when we left our one car at 7:40 a.m. Maybe they unlock it at 8? We saw one mountain biker starting at the same time, and a pair of hikers followed us up and turned around at the Grand Prospect, then another single hiker near East Ridge and a trail runner, but most of the hikers on this mountain stick to the lowest Rattlesnake Ledge. In my opinion the best view is at the third ledge. Definitely worth going higher than where most people stop.
We enjoyed 23 bird species on the morning, and at a 2.4 mph average pace, we could even stop for a few photos of the views toward Si, Little Si and Teneriffe, and south to Mt. Rainier and beyond. We also saw daisies, fireweed, foxglove and bleeding hearts in bloom. So pretty.
This is one of the loveliest quality trails in terms of springy loamy dirt tread - our feet were very happy until we tacked on 1.2 miles of cement travel to extend our mileage to the July specifications for Conditioning for Hiking Series with the Mountaineers.
If Mt. Washington turns you off because of rocks and the prospect of ankle rolling, give the traverse a try, or visit Grand Prospect out and back. Most of of the crowds stick to the lower ledge (4 miles round trip). I only found one dog bag and one stray water bottle, awesome job hikers!
To get 12 miles and 3000' elevation gain we added a stroll around a portion of the lake and found the ONLY running water (oh my, so nice to dip a neckerchief or hat in that stream!) on the east side, plus nice views of the steep ledges we'd just hiked. There are NO running streams or creeks anywhere on Rattlesnake right now (July 8) so bring at least 3 liters if you're doing the traverse.
A lovely surprise -- I won't simply drive past in the future! Now that I've been there, it's quite an impressive stretch to walk along.
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