Mount Washington — Sunday, Sep. 24, 2006

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

this hike was chosen as a close hike to seattle that is doable with a late start. that is about all that this hike has going for it. the biggest problem on this hike is that i rarely felt that i had escaped i-90--either with traffic noise or view. the only info that i could find on this hike was an old green trails map for bandera. unfortunately, the mt. washington road trail to 3600 ft on the green trails map is no longer the standard route. the first problem is finding the parking lot and trailhead. take exit 38, and head to the twin falls parking lot. 2/3rds of the way to the outhouse, there is a trail off to the left that leads back to the iron horse road-- a road restricted to bicycles and hikers. note the permanent map here for the ollalie state park--it will tell you where to turn when you are coming back. at the top of the road after it levels off, you will see a sign on the right prohibiting motorized vehicles. about 10 yards further on the left is the unlabeled start of the trail. it is marked only by two large dots with orange flourescent paint on each side of the trail. at a half hour, the trail passes by a rockwall on the right with a big cutaway--a hidden spot for advanced rock jocks, marked by at least 2 hanging bolts and a blue climbing ribbon tied to one of them, to practice climbing on roofs and practice overhangs. this is the BEST part of the whole trail. at an hour into the hike, there is a fork in the trail, marked by a large rock cairn. practice your cairn-reading skills and it points you to the correct side. so no prank messes with the cairn, take the trail to the right. at about an hour and a quarter, you come to another fork. posted to the tree, some good samaritan has left GOOD trail maps plus written instructions inside a ziplock bag plus posted trail signs . be sure to grab one of the maps. to the left is the standard route; to the right is the trail via the washington creek route. both trails lead to the mt. washington summit. since this was my first time here, i chose the standard route. the trail was full of fallen branches--the lint of the forest and signs that there was no trail maintenance this summer. i spent about a half an hour trying to clear the trail since particularly the evergreen branches can be slippery if wet. the trails about 90% better than when i found it. a lot of work went into the trail, and its condition is a result of the deep cuts in forest service maintenance budgets. in another quarter of an hour, the trail unfolds into an abandoned logging road whose start is marked by several cut young trees in the road bed. this old logging road eventually breaks out into the open air, just at a huge deciduous bush that has turned a brilliant orange and yellow. what tired wildflowers are left are blooming here over the gravel-covered road. now i left the old logging road at what i thought was the departure point, had to scramble--read bushwack--thru evergreens and past several small rock fields to attain the summit at eye level with mailbox peak on the north side of i-90, as well as several other peaks nearby on the south side. the good samaritan wrote that the open trail would continue to the top. perhaps i pealed off too early and ended up on a false summit. in any event, there was no tower at the summit i was on, nor could i see any tower on the other two obvious peaks. a small mystery...the views, btw, are in my opinion not great, therefore making the hike not worth the climb. yes, i've seen rainier many times and much better even from my dentist's chair on first hill. close by, teneriffe, mailbox peak, mcclellan butte, kendall katwalk, even mt. si are all better hikes. the hike/scramble took 4 1/2 hours round trip not counting lunch on top. this is solo friendly, trekking poles are recommended, and bring boots with shanks because almost the whole trail is rocky and hard on feet, ankles and knees. i figure it was about 8 miles round trip and maybe 2500 feet net gain give or take.