This is our 7th Sunday in a row to hike and we finally got to hike Little Si. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked it after climbing Big Si 8 weeks in a row last summer to train for Mt. Hood. The book says it is 5 RT but the signs on the trail say 4.4 RT. We took the side trail, Boulder Garden Loop Trail, offered fairly early on the trail and added 1.5 miles to our hike today. It was beautiful and glad we did. It was up an up hill climb then down so taking the loop on the way back would be opposite. The entire trail bottom to top was pretty mucky and the dogs (2 Dachshunds) got pretty wet and muddy but made it no problem. It finally started to snow after arriving to the top and due to the fog, we were not able to enjoy the views but will be back soon to check it out. It is a single person trail some of the way but widens rather large in others. There are bathrooms at the beginning but NO map but luckily we had our maps from REI so we knew about the extra loop option. Disappointment on lack of trailhead map since this is a heavily used trail. Other than that, loved it!

Trail still closed.

Recreation alert posted by DNR: Little Si and Mount Si Trailheads closed for airplane crash investigation DNR has closed access to both the Little Si and Mount Si Trailheads near North Bend because of an accident investigation from an early morning airplane crash in the Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area (NRCA), which is managed by DNR. Mount Si Road is also closed to everyone but residents in the area. Once the King County Sheriff’s office has completed its part of the accident investigation, which involved fatalities, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will need to come in to conduct their own investigations. The area is closed until further notice—several days—while the investigation continues. We will let you know when the area reopens. Check the status of the area.

Little Si is an easily accessible off-season hike that gives some elevation gain. In the ten days since we last did this hike, the trail has become dry and mud- and snow-free, and all fallen branches and trees have been cleared. The day was beautiful, clear, and sunny, with blue sky, 50°F, but very windy, particularly strong at the summit. We didn't see or hear any birds or other animals. There were about two dozen people on the trail but lots of parking spaces.