Hex Mountain — Monday, Jul. 27, 2015

Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway

Bikes? no Deer? yes -- on the quiet Monday that I hiked to Hex Mountain. Make no mistake – even in the absence of bikes, this is a heavily-used ORV trail. That means ruts, loose rock and gravel, and generally difficult footing. The map in Dan Nelson’s book on day hikes in the Snoqualmie region is more accurate than Green Trails, which does not show the two trails near the top. The steep one to the left is used mostly by bikes. The more gentle one angles around the southeast side of Hex, losing some elevation, and intersects Sasse Ridge Trail # 1340.1. From there it climbs west to the top. I took this trail less-traveled on the way up. Where it reaches the crest of Sasse Ridge and intersects Trail #1340.1 the view north is awesome. You look down 1600 feet into the West Fork Teanaway, up to Elbow Peak and Jolly Mountain on the far side, and beyond to the Stuart Range. You don’t see this view from the other trail. Hex has two bare summits. I thought the higher one to the west was a bit risky with the trail between them crossing a narrow gravelly spine. On a windy day, this section was too exposed for me. From there, the trail skirts the west summit, which looks to be a scramble up a very steep open slope.