A great short hike! It only took me 50 minutes to get there from Lake Forest Park and since it's a weekday, only a few cars at the parking lot this morning. The trail starts out somewhat steep and rocky, but only for about 5-10 minutes. After that it's easy going for a while. Then a little steep towards the top, not bad though. The view was nicer than I expected. It took me 50 minutes to hike up, spent about 15 minutes enjoying the view, and 45 minutes to hike down.

Went up the old Mt Si trail for the first time as a conditioning hike. Nice change of pace from the new trail. Very steep in places but nearly a mile shorter than the new trail. We parked at a half-full Little Si lot and headed up. The Little Si trail was snowfree as far as we went and is likely snowfree the whole way. For the old Si trail keep going past the first turnoff on your left and take the second turnoff. It will have branches laying across it. Note the intersection of this trail and the new trail near the top for your return trip - it is easy to miss in the snow. The big-Si trail was snow covered for the last 3/4 of the way up and deep at the top. Snowshoes are not needed but some kind of traction device (I used YakTrax) make things much much easier. We went down into the little valley by the haystack to escape from the brutal wind that was blowing up there. Very strong wind chill. Also we ran into a black lab up there with no apparent owner in sight. We tried calling the number on its tag with no luck, so another party agreed to walk him down and hopefully reunite him with his owner. More trip photos: http://www.pbase.com/billcat/hiking/

I arrived early (8:00 am) and the parking area and trail were frozen solid. I didn't have any traction for my shoes so I had to pick my way carefully up through the ice. It was my first time on the trail since they built this trailhead and I enjoyed the views climbing up from the parking lot. I also hadn't been on the trail since a memorial bench for Doug Hansen was built. It was a much more enjoyable hike than I remembered. The section at the base of the wall on the northeast side of Little Si is my favorite part. The last section on the way up was steep and still icy. There were about 4 to 6 inches of snow at the top. The views included looking up to Big Si and across the valley to Rattlesnake Ledge. The trail was still frozen on the way down and I didn't want to fall so I was moving real slow. I'm glad my 10 year old son wasn't there because it was too slippery. I think I'll pick up some yak trax for future winter hikes. Where it wasn't frozen, it was muddy. The parking lot was full when I got down. Alot of people seem to use the start of the trail as a place to walk their dogs so watch out for dog poop.

Did our first time hike on Little Si yesterday. It's a good choice if you're short on time or get a late start. The views are really nice for not much effort...you can see most of North Bend, Teneriffe, and Rattlesnake. We figured there would be a lot of hikers since it was a sunny Tuesday, and there were probably 20 or so. That was OK, since we were expecting it. There was a well-marked yellow jacket nest about 2/3 of the way in, and several people were stung that day. Luckily, we ran through that part and did not encounter any until the lookout (no stings, though). The thing that was really quite gross was the amount of dog feces and the stench and flies that go with that for the first 500 yds up the trail. Apparently, people are using the beginning of the trail as a short dog walk, without bothering to clean up after their pooches. I stepped in one pile on the way up and watched a dog owner let their dog defecate in the middle of the trail when we were on the way down. Maybe they need a sign at the parking area reminding them that if they bring a dog they need to clean up after him!

On a weekday that felt more like June than February, how could I turn down a chance to get some views? This was my first time here since the establishment of the new trailhead (you can still read my brief report here from the previous trip six years ago). I timed it just right with my 2:30 PM start; I encountered four or five people coming down on the final push up Little Si, but by the time I got to the top I had it all to myself. With all of the clear weather lately, the trail was in perfect shape.