This little clockwise ramble from the Harvey Manning Trail/Anti Aircraft Peak included twelve trails, totaling 6.7 miles, and 900 feet of elevation gain. We started by descending the Shangri La Trail, diverting onto Surprise Creek and No Name, then looped/climbed to the Clay Pit, enjoyed the view a bit, then kept looping clockwise via Mine Shaft/East Fork to Fred's Railroad, then used Clay Pit Road, Coyote Creek, and Lost Beagle to return. Some of the forest in here is a little more open than other parts of the Issaquah Alps, and there's a nice view south from the Clay Pit to take some advantage of the gorgeous clear weather. You could call it a bit of a history tour, too, with Anti-Aircraft area (1950s), the clay pit (the source for the red bricks of Red Square at UW and other built features), and the deep dark mine shaft (thankfully covered with a steel mesh) on the mine shaft trail, dating from around late1800s to early 1900s.
Anyway it was a nice mellow hike on a sunny winter day and another example of the myriad of loops possible in the Issaquah Alps.
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