Jolly Mountain — Friday, Jul. 13, 2001

Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway

I decided to do this as a loop hike -- up the Jolly Mountain trail, cut over to Paris Creek on the Jolly Mountain Spur, come down Paris Creek, and back down on the road to the starting point. I was a bit nervous when I saw that both mountain bikes and motorcycles were allowed on the Jolly Mountain trail, and feared for the worst. However, this appears to be largely a theoretical rather than real hazard. It turned out to be a lonesome hike, even though it was a sunny Saturday in the middle of July; I ran into only one other party, and that was on my way down Paris Creek. Not only did I not run into any bikers, there is no sign of any actual bike usage (motorized or not) that I could detect. And frankly, the trail is steep enough that I'd be impressed by any mountain biker who went to the effort. I can't say the same about horses; the Jolly Mountain trail shows signs of significant use by horses, with the tread pretty chopped up in some areas. A significant stretch (1 mile+) of the Jolly Mountain trail is through an area that has been logged a while ago, with regrowth just starting. It makes for a shadeless hike, but with nice views back across the valley. Other than the horse wear, the trail is in excellent shape. The Jolly Mountain Spur does have a few minor blow-downs. All are easy for a hiker to pass, and probably wouldn't cause any trouble for a horse either. This is good, since several of them appear to be years old, and given the scarcity of users, I doubt that any blowdowns will be removed in the foreseeable future. Note that this trail is *very* steep, with only half-hearted switchbacks, in sections on both sides of the ridge -- no matter which direction you come from, you're going to pant heading up and trash your knees going down. This trail is starting to get a little overgrown in places, but not enough to pose any difficulty in finding the trail. The final crossing of what I believe is the middle fork of Paris Creek is bone dry today, but it clearly gets a rapid torrent at some times that would be difficult to cross; the creekbed looks almost like a bobsled run with rocks and dirt piled up on both sides. If approaching from the Paris Creek side, the turnoff to the spur is not very obvious; there are rocks and branches pointing *away* from the spur (and on up the Paris Creek trail), almost as if the spur is abandoned. There is a sign nearby, but it only points up Paris Creek and back to the road, with no mention of the spur. The Paris Creek trail also passes through a logged out area (again with regrowth now starting). The trail itself follows an old logging road for a goodly stretch, though that's not clearly marked. If coming up Paris Creek, just follow the road the trail dumps into, taking the right (downhill) road where it forks; when the road comes to an end, look around and find the trail continuing on. If coming the way I did, follow the road through the fork and look for a trail branching off to the left when the road heads up shortly past the fork. There's a flimsy sign now, but I wouldn't count on it being there. Other than the road stint, the trail is very pleasant, with Paris Creek rushing along below. All in all, this makes for a good loop hike -- strenuous enough to get some good exercise, lonesome, with a mix of forest, logged areas providing vistas, a rushing creek, and even a few meadows with wildflowers.