Mount Washington — Friday, Oct. 11, 2002

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

This is a trail the guide books suggest that requires a map and the possibilty of getting on the wrong logging road. With a new Green Trails Map in hand, I had no difficulty gaining the top of Mt. Washington. The old logging roads are not difficult to follow and I only once consulted my map to be sure I was on the right trail (road). This occured about 0.4 miles from the Owl Hike spot where the road/trail takes a sharp switch back. An equally good looking trail goes off straight ahead. Other than this I found other hikers had marked the trail with rock cairns and arrows to prevent taking the wrong road. The lower half of the trail is rocky but with a relatively gentel grade. The grade gets even less difficult as you get near the summit with the last 2 miles gaining about 600 to 800 feet. The summit views are great, I saw Mt. Rainer, Glacier, and Baker the I-90 corridor peaks and Chester Morse Lake and Dam. There were some people on the trail up and down with one gentleman (older than myself) doing the top in 2.5 hours (6 miles one way). It took me about 3 hours up and 2.5 hours down. There is a large parking lot for the Twin Falls Trail which is an excellent access point. From the lot go to the John Wayne - Cross State Trail and head West, the trail head for Mt. Washington is unmarked but obvious about 0.2 miles from where you get on the abandoned rail tracks. The trail is on South. Besides great views, fall colors and some remaining flowers are out, lupines and others I could not identify. This hike has better views than Mt. Si and much less hiker use. I also think it is an easier trail gaining less elevation and being less steep although a 12 mile round trip versus the 8 miles round trip for Si.