Wilderness Creek, Wilderness Peak Loop — Saturday, Jul. 2, 2011

Issaquah Alps > Cougar Mountain

I decided to try a different side of Cougar Mountain and avoid the usual weekend crowds at the Red Town trailhead. No luck-the parking lot at Wilderness Creek was full when I arrived around noon and I had to wait a few minutes for a parking spot. The trail itself is a fairly steady uphill climb to Wilderness Peak with some switchbacks. The trail is also in great shape and the creek can be be heard bubbling down the mountain almost the entire way up. There are bridges across the creek and a couple of benches along the trail as well. At the intersection of the Wilderness Creek and Shy Bear trails, I decided to take side trips to Long View Peak (misleading name)and Doughty Falls via the Deceiver Trail (nonexistant at this time of year). I backtracked to the intersection and came down via the Wilderness Peak and Wilderness Cliffs trail, thus completing the loop trail. All of the trails I hiked were in great shape. The beauty of Cougar Mountain is that a a hike of almost any length can be created with all the connecting trails. I would suggest bringing a map of the area with you if you hike here. Here is a link to a map from the King County Parks website: http://your.kingcounty.gov/ftp/gis/Web/VMC/recreation/CM-bw_2009.pdf