Dirty Harry's Balcony, Dirty Harry's Peak — Monday, Sep. 5, 2022

Looking for a hike in the I-90 corridor with views at the balcony and a peak with solitude & views, Dirty Harry’s Balcony and Peak has it all.  Taking exit 38, the trail head is at the Far East end of the frontage road and is paved with a pit toilet.  The trail is for hikers and provides access to the climbing areas of Exit 38 east end.  The trail to the balcony was a combined effort of multiple groups and WTA was one of the leaders in creating a sustainable trail replacing what was a host of rough routes to the climbing areas.  It also replaced what was a makeshift trail to the balcony that was the old logging road Harry utilized.  The trail climbs steadily from the start and showcases some awesome trail rock work that WTA spearheaded, as it climbs the initial 1,500 feet to the balcony.  At the junction with the the peak trail, take a right and its a short hike to the balcony. The balcony had plenty of hikers savoring the views and for most, this was their final destination.  Taking a left and the climb to the peak begins in earnest, getting steeper as you go. Its an old road for most of the way, reshaped into a meandering trail that goes along the road bed. Its is rocky and gravely but very manageable.  Solitude was also a reward as there were less than a dozen hikers all the way to the top and back down to the junction with the balcony trail. Towards the top, the trail steepens even more and is a lot narrower.  Once on the ridge line the trail levels out and there are multiple view points that offer great options for a rest stop. The first view point affords views North and East at the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie, the Central Cascades and beyond.  Directly below several 1,000 feet down is Granite Lakes Take the trail to the end as the views there are some of the  best towards the West and South.  Mt Rainier, McClellan Butte, Mt Washington, Rattlesnake Mt, were just some of the views.  Take time soaking up the views and for sure take time coming down as some of the trail footing was a bit loose. There are some view points below the trail to the balcony trail as well, and well worth exploring before heading back to the car