Wilderness Peak Loop — Friday, Jan. 25, 2002

Issaquah Alps > Cougar Mountain

Wanted a taste of snow in the 'Alps' so headed for the backside of Cougar and the always enjoyable Wilderness Cliffs / Creek semiloop. Small amounts of snow at bottom, perhaps 6"" on top, the trail usually stomped all the way down to the mud. Very pretty with salal and misc underbrush all flocked w some very wet sticky snow. Sometime during this hike apparently the lowlands got a lot more snow than we saw falling, although was hard to tell what was sky snow and what was being flushed from the tall trees by the wind. Mixture of dark mud and white snow made for kind of a 'mudd pie' appearance to trail, easier (and more fun) to go through mudd than around into the snow almost all the time. Top of Pk was windy and only there was the mudd unthawed. On the return down Wilderness Ck, the part of trail w the boulders and planks is pretty flooded, best tactic is to again stomp through the middle of trail/creek combo in almost foot deep water. Better tactic, that is, than trying to go round side and grasping at the underbrush for balance, since the underbrush happens to be the Devil's Club (horribulum!)