Hex Mountain Snowshoe, Hex Mountain — Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009

Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway

Sasse Ridge Trail 1302 to Hex Mountain and continuing on Trail 1340 to a ridge below Point 5159. Hex Mountain is hiked mostly as a snowshoe hike in the winter in order to avoid the motorcycles. There are hardly any reports of summertime hikes. However, it can be hiked midweek without too much vehicle traffic. Although Hex Mtn. can be accessed from three trail heads, only one trailhead (1302) is marked by a sign from the county road 903 along Lake Cle Elum. The current trail numbers of the three trails are 1302, 1340.1 and 1343. The WTA database associates this trail with No. 1203, but that seems to be an old or wrong number. Old maps (including 1996 Forest Service road map and MapCard downloads) call this trail still Tail 1340 instead of Trail 1302. The Forest Service announced a new edition of the Okanogan-Wenatchee N.F. road map to become available in late 2008. We'll have to see what number they assign then. The second trailhead for 1340.1 is further east on FR 4305. Many motorcycle riders make a loop out of this. The trail head for Trail 1343 is on Spur 116 (not marked as such where it leaves SR 903) on private land. Our hike today on trail 1302 took us through open pine forest and after 0.3 mi (3790 ft.) comes to the first view down to Lake Cle Elum. There will be many more viewpoints on this hike from where the lake can be seen. At 0.6 mi ( 3840 ft.) the trail crosses a logging road, at 1.0 mi. (4000 ft.) another and at 1.5 mi (4120 ft.) a third road on a wide landing. The second and the third road may actually be the same road. The trail now gains enough elevation to see the tip of Mt. Rainier. At 2 mi. (4340 ft.) it leaves a clearcut and enters mature forest. At 3 mi. the trail emerges on a bare ridge above a steep rock-lined, vegetationless gully. Following the bare ridge up to a barrier intended to keep out motorized vehicles one comes first to a lesser summit and at 3.3 mi. (5040 ft.) to Hex Mtn. proper with great views of Mt. Rainier, the Kachess Ridge, Red Mountain, Mt. Hinman/Mt. Daniels, Mt. Stuart and the Jolly Mtn./Yellow Hill ridge we had hiked many years earlier. Looking for additional challenges, I continued hiking on Sasse Ridge on trail 1340 north toward Sasse Mtn., but that would be another 7 miles so it was a little out of range for a day hike. It would have been nice to at least reach point 5159 halfway along the ridge to Sasse Mtn. At 3.6 mi. there is a junction with Trail 1343 Hex Mtn. Trail. The continuation of Trail 1340 is closed to motorized vehicles, although there was evidence that a motorcycle had traveled this trail less than a week ago. The trail has several ups and downs and at each saddle I hoped that this would be the last elevation loss before beginning the ascent to Peak 5159 in earnest. It offers several nice view points where you can walk to the edge of a cliff. In the forest there is an old 5-mile marker but that was the only one seen along this trail. I don't know from which end the miles were counted. It could be the distance from the 1302 trail head where I had started. The trail has hardly any blazes on trees and would be hard to follow in the winter in high snow. R. T. Distance (per my pedometer) 12.6 miles Elevation gain: 1580 ft. up to Hex Mtn., 800 up and 890 down in continuing on Sasse Ridge, 150 ft. up on return hike. How to get there (all driving distances from I-90): Drive 10.5 mi. from I-90 (Exit 80), take SR 903 through Roslyn and Ronald to the signed junction with FR 4305. Take FR 4305 to the right, uphill to a sign Sasse Mtn. Tr. at 12.9 mi. (3310 ft.), take spur 118 left to trail head for Trail 1302 at 13.9 mi. (3620 ft.). There is parking for 10 cars at the trail head.