Preston-Snoqualmie Trail, Snoqualmie Valley Trail, Boulder Garden Loop, Douglas Fir, Mount Si, Roaring Creek, Mount Teneriffe, CCC Road: Lower Section, Granite Creek Trail to Granite Lakes & Mailbox Peak — Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019

With a perfect trail running forecast, I decided it was time to expand on running from my front door to local peaks, and head from Issaquah to the North Bend area.  

Started out my front door in Issaquah at about 5 AM.  I had originally thought I would hop onto the Issaquah/High Point trail as quick as I could but last minute, I decided I wanted to run through a quiet, early morning downtown Issaquah, so I followed the Rainier trail to Sunset and then took Sunset east to where it linked up with the Issaquah/High Point Trail.

No surprise I had the trail to myself as I made my way east.  There was a heavy fog which lent an eerie quality to the miles as they floated by quickly given the relatively flat nature of the trail.  Soon I found myself going through Preston and curving north on the Preston Snoqualmie Trail.  I was a bit surprised to find this portion of the trail pavement, so I slowed my pace to minimize the beating my legs would take from the hard surface. 

I crossed Preston Fall City Rd and found myself shortly after climbing a series of tight switchbacks before getting back on the smooth trail.  Shortly I came across the Deep Creek trail, which is well marked and cut my way south on this trail, gaining some altitude as daylight arrived.  This trail dropped me off at a small park, where I continued on Douglas Ave SE until it intersected the paved path that parallels Snoqualme Pkwy.  

As I followed this path east, I was surprised to still be in heavy fog and even found myself being hit with occasional raindrops.  So much for the forecast calling for clear skies!  Overall, I really didn't mind but it would have been nice to have some views of the mountain I was headed for in the distance.

I took a right at 202 and followed this through Snoqualmie.  A fun little downtown to run through.  I then made way to the Snoqualmie Valley trail via 2nd and SE park Street.  I was ecstatic to leave the pavement behind at this point.  The miles melted by on this very flat, straight trail but I enjoyed moving through a golf course, and small residential areas before meeting up with the intersection of the Mount Si Road.  A left here, a minute or two of jogging and I was finally at the Little Si Trailhead.  Finally!  

The Little Si trail was crowded but once I turned right on the Boulder Garden Trail, I left the crowd behind and had the beautiful, misty forest to myself. I turned onto the Douglas Fir trail and followed that to the Mount Si Trail, there I took a right and jogged down it until the junction with the Talus Loop trail and Roaring Creek trail  (I think that's what it is called).  Throughout this section I had almost climbed out of the fogbank that was covering the valley and the sunlight beaming through the trees was incredible. 

At the junction with the Teneriffe Trail, I took a right and headed to the old trailhead.  From here I continued on to the CCC trail, making good time on the gravel road that makes up the majority of the first section of this trail.  Again the interplay between the fog and sun made for some incredible forest lighting.

Off the CCC trail is the Sitka Spruce trail, I took this smaller un-maintained trail to it's junction with the Middle Fork Road.  The trail is rough and muddy in spots but was in much better shape than I anticipated.  I even managed to keep my feet dry! 

At the Middle Fork Road, I hung a left and made the short journey to the Granite Creek Trailhead and climbed this newer, buffed out trail to the junction with Granite Lakes Trail.  I took another right here and floated down this trail to it's trailhead.  Another quick road jaunt and I finally found myself at the base of my mountain objective for the day, Mailbox Peak! 

I was 35 miles into my journey at this point but feeling strong as I climbed up the new trail towards the summit.  Again, the foggy forest was a sight to behold.  I was surprised by the lack of traffic on the trail for a Sunday afternoon but wasn't complaining.  Eventually around 1,800', I broke out of the clouds for good and was treated to nothing but sunlight streaming through the forest canopy.  At the second clearing as you wrap around the north side of the mountain, there are sections of the trail that are covered in hard packed down snow and ice but I found plenty of traction given all the dirt and mud that was on top of the snow/ice.

Breaking out of the treeline was incredible as a sea of clouds blanketed the valley below and the surrounding mountains looked like islands in a sea.  The temperature spiked as well and it felt like May on the mountain and not January.  The talus field was free of snow and I had no issues without spikes climbing the final 500' to the summit despite there being a mix of packed snow/ice on sections of the trail here.  Some folks were wearing spikes but you are going to either take them on and off a few times or if you keep them on, wear them down quicker with all the sections of bare rock. 

About nine and a half hours into my run, I was at the summit of Mailbox.  I took a 15 minute break here, taking in the views, having a snack and looking back at just how far my legs had taken me.  Then it was time to jog back down and catch my ride so we could get some nachos in North Bend.

An unforgettable experience and I will be back for the other North Bend Peaks! 

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://www.strava.com/activities/2108274891