Snow starts as you break out of the trees about 800' vertical from the mailbox. There's been some nice work on the mailbox, by the way, and a new register placed there just yesterday. Even though you hit snow, there isn't a lot and some of the boulders are free of snow. Most of the route above is clear of snow on the path. Perhaps in a few weeks the whole route (boulder route) will be bare. Snow starts on Si 1/4 mile from the summit area. Very icy from boots packing it down!

Well, it all started while I was twiddling my thumbs sitting through a boring meeting on Saturday morning. I thought to myself, ""this sucks, let's go hiking!"" (""let's"" being me and my brain) So I did. It's been late December since I went up the Mt. Si trail and I've been wanting to get a good long hiking workout for months now. I've been doing Tiger Mountain probably every other weekend, but needless to say, that was getting old. So I decided to brave the lingering snow, lots of innexperienced people, and the possibility of rain, and I went to Mt. Si I got to the parking lot at around 1:45 in the afternoon hoping to make it back before dark. As always, the first half mile of the trail is in much worse condition than the rest of it. There is a sizeable creek for part of the way. After that, there were no problems on the trail except for the occasional expected mud. By some chance, I met some guys from my Boy Scout troop coming down as I was going up. It was really weird. Anyway, there is no snow to speak of until the last half mile of trail. It is occasionally VERY SLICK AND ICY. I was able to do fairly well because I have a hiking stick. Just find irregularities in the surface and stay to one side of the trail in the less compacted snow. It worked well to use trees to pull me up at times. Just go slow and be careful. I made it to the top of the main trail (that big weird rock garden) and there was very little snow on the rocks so I scrambled up on top of a big heap of rocks and had lots of M&Ms. It was great. It was fairly cold up there and I found myself needing the long underwear and wool jacket I had on. If the sun ever had fully come out, I would have been in sore need of sunglasses due to the glare off the snow and clouds. Just as I started my way down from the top, I passed a couple that was a little uneasy about the snow. I confidently strutted past them and promptly fell right on my ass in the snow. Fortunatly only my pride was hurt and I continued in good spirits proceeding to slip, trip, slide, and fall at least three more times in that snow covered half mile. I never did feel in danger and it was really more comical than nerve racking. As long as you go up expecting and accepting the fact that you will fall on your ass, you'll be just fine. I got to the trailhead easily before dark, but was in quite a bit of pain considering I hadn't hiked more than four miles since December. I still felt good about the fact that I made it to 4000 feet on my own power in March.

I promised myself I'd never go on this trail. It was the closest thing I could think of at 10 am on a sunny wednesday morning. I met two gals working for the WCC with the DNR maintaining the trail. I became suspicious of a trail so civilized that I was passed by mature women with muffs and leopard print hats. The forest is nondescript, with snow starting just above Snag Flats. At the 2 1/2 mile marker, the well packed trail gets very icy. The snow on top is wind scoured and firm. Unbelievable views of areas that used to have trees spread out before me. Climbing the backside of the haystack up steep snow was scary, and not really worth it. I am renaming this Mt. Sigh. The icy sections on the way down were brutal, with several slips, twists, and one full out sprawl. Sore calves the next day reminded me it's the off-season. Eight miles R/T, 3500' gain, and five hours away from the car.

Expected blustery wind with driven snow and instead got light snow fall and a fun day. Washington Youth Conservation Corp doing small jobs on the trail that make a nice difference. Only about 4-5 muddy spots below 1 mile mark. Very light snow started to accumlate at Snag Flats and trail was snowy above there - but less than an inch depth. As it got icier we turned around above 2.5 mile mark to avoid slippery downhill risk. But trail looked very ""do-able"" and our decision was quite conservative. Saw less than 10 people on the trail.

Ok, I could really use some clarification on whether it is December or September. I could not have hoped that this trip would be as much fun as it was. There was absolutly no snow on the trail until you get to some sheltered areas below Haystack Rock. I honestly think the trail was drier than when I did it in May, August, or September. I saw maybe 15 people the entire day. And to top it off, I made it up in just under two hours; very good for the off season. I set out from the Puget Sound Lowlands at about 10:30am in very dense fog which was what I expected to see all day. Just past Issaquah, the fog cleared and I was bathed in beautiful sunshine all the way to the trailhead. I set off up the trail at about 11:30am. Parts of the first half mile of trail are in relatively poor condition but it was still easy to follow. One approx. 100 yard portion of the trail has become a respectable creek and the trail is badly eroded to large rocks and some roots. Do not do this hike in anything but good hiking boots! If you make it through the first half mile of trail without getting your feet wet, do not worry about water for the rest of the trip. I just cannot get over how pretty this day was! It wasn't even hazy like the weather people said it would be. (there was a light breeze for most of the way) For the most part, this trail is not really steep and I was able to make good time. Oh, and did I mention; I saw one bug the entire day and it probably wasn't an eighth of an inch long. I also saw what I think is a ptarmigan. It was mostly brown so I couldn't really tell. When I got to the top of the trail at about 1:25, I had a good look around. I really do think it is strange that most mountains around have a coating of fairly fresh snow, but Mt. Si is almost completely bare at 4,000ft. People are skiing at that elevation right now! I made the climb up Haystack Rock (I did it once before and there were people around so I wasn't too worried). There was very little snow actually on the rock and that was easy to avoid. Honestly, I don't recommend this climb to anyone who doesn't have a little rock climbing experience (any self respecting rock climber is probably laughing right now) because, to me it is a semitechinical rock climb. It is short and has very good hand and foot holds, but is extremely steep, and if you fell, you wouldn't stop for awhile. Whatever you do, don't climb it when it is wet, snowy, or if there is someone climbing ahead (above) of you. (there are some small loose rocks that would really be nasty falling into your face) Don't get me wrong, the view from the very top is better, and you get the satisfaction of really climbing a big mountain. This is definetly worth the climb to a lot of people. You will have to make your own judgement. I set off down the real trail at about 2:30pm. I took my leisurely time to enjoy this unique day in the forest in late December. I got to the trail head at about 4:15pm after the sun had set but it wasn't dark at all. I was in a world of pain (I havn't hiked eight miles in a day since early September), but I was also extremely fulfilled. I got in my car, drove to Isaquah, and had a huge burger and fries (one of my unalienable rights as a hiker) and went home. Go now!! before winter returns.