Old Man's Trail, By Pass Trail, Fred's Railroad, Quarry, Coal Creek Falls, Cave Hole & Nike Horse Trail — Friday, Jan. 16, 2009

Issaquah Alps > Cougar Mountain

Another short loop in Cougar Mountain Park with the daughter. The weather was clear and very sunny (needed my sun glasses on for much of the drive and hike). The first thing I noticed was that while the air temperature was relatively warm, there was frost on the ground. In some places on the Quarry and Coal Creek Falls Trails, the frost was more like ice/mud slick, brown and hard to see. As noted in a recent report, the Old Man, Nike, By Pass and Fred's Railroad Trails are all in good shape with minimal mud (in part due to the cold ground which turned mud into a hard packed surface). The Quarry and Coal Creek trails were icy on the south slope with the Coal Creek Trail going down to the falls quite icy in places. The frost did make for some interesting views of ferns. The falls were great with lots of water coming down them. After the falls the Coal Creek and Cave Hole Trails were muddy with several nice mud holes to step around. The weather made this hike a good one if not great exercise.