Busted up Si on a fine sunny afternoon. A fair amount of other hikers but not crowded by any means. Alot of gnats on the summit and haystack. Awsome view of Mt. Rainier. Friendly people. Scads of salmon berries in the first half mile.

At 6:00 AM we started at Rd 9020 intersection with McClellan Butte trail 1015 -- there's room for a few vehicles just up the road. Trying for an early start on a long day of attempting McClellan, Mailbox and Si with no motorized vehicles in between, for a solstice epic. The trail was great where WTA work party had been! Some blowdowns around 2800-3000' then snow most of the way up, with numerous fairly steep gullies to traverse or ascend. Snow was stable on our way up, but ice axes a must. We used mountaineering boots, and took crampons but did not need. The rock at summit was dry and bare. Great views, and warm, sunny weather with a welcome SW breeze. Marmots in the rock. Snow was softening on the way down by 10 AM, with a stream running into one gully under the snow. Several short self-arrests among our party while going down. Early start recommended. From the 9020 road intersection, a switch for most of us to running shoes and hydration packs, then a jog down to X38, up road to the fire training center, and up an unofficial side trail to intersect the Mailbox Peak trail and to the peak. Lots of lupine, paintbrush, beargrass in bloom at the top, where we met 4 hikers with dogs Shadow and Mocha, who have been to many peaks with their lady who gives an Indian call from the top of each one. Trail is dry and decent shape. A snow patch at top for cooling tired muscles. Signed in at the mailbox, and went down the main trail. At the bottom we had bikes stashed, and rode west starting ~5 PM to Mt Si Road and to Little Si parking lot (~6 mi). Took Little Si trail to old Big Si Trail to the haystack, where half the party scrambled to the top while the other half donated blood to mosquitoes. A couple arrived to just enjoy the full moon. Back to the lot at 9:45 PM in the fading daylight, still warm. Total vertical gain ~10,000', loss ~11,000', and 30-32 miles. Tired and happy crew.

Made two trips up SI this week. Once on the 12th (during the week) and one on the 15th (weekend). I'll never go again on a weekend. Must have been over 100 hikers/runner/fitness gurus on the trail, and about 15 dogs. I even started early (0730). The weather on the 12th was much better, the 15th was cloudy down below, and partially clear at the top.

Some mud but a nice day. Lots of people - of course! And someone or someoneS have been cutting switchbacks. I asked one guy to stick to the trail. Oh, yeah, re: aborted Mt Dickerman about a week ago. The 4,000 foot level as the trail turns left was a loss. So we dragged some of the windfall off the trail as we headed back down. I saw KingTV had a segment on trail damage from I gather a combination of wind and snow loading. It will be an interesting hiking season.

The trail is in the best shape I've seen it in in years. All the snow that was there a couple of months ago has long ago melted away. You can still find a few tiny patches of dirty snow in the trees near the base of the Haystack. The view from the summit was spectacular - Seattle, the Olympics, Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, the Snoqualmie River, and of course all of the surrounding peaks were all visible. We left the trailhead at 5:15 p.m. and reached the summit at 7:05 - not too bad considering we were all wearing our 35 lb. packs as we train for next month's Climb for Clean Air on Mt. Rainier. The late afternoon light filtering through the clouds was spectacular. After taking lots of pictures and enjoying a leisurely dinner at the summit, we headed back down and reached the parking lot by 9:30. Photos are available at www.dvandkq.net.