I hiked a clockwise loop up the Change Creek trail and then via the Great Wall trail to the Mt. Washington summit.  I returned on the main Mt. Washington trail.

Don Gerald's June 16 report has a pretty good description of the first part of the trail.  The beginning of the Change Creek trail leading up from the John Wayne bike trail is quite steep, gaining over 1000 feet in about 3/4 mile.  Unlike Gerald, I continued on the cut-off trail past the pond, making a right turn at the unmarked junction.  This one-mile section of trail is fairly flat but very overgrown.  If, like me, you hit it on a morning after a rain or heavy fog, you are going to get wet.  In my case, both my boots and pants were soaked by the time I emerged onto the Olallie trail, although it was a dry and partially sunny day.

Once reaching the Great Wall trail, I turned left and followed it around the basin to the end of the road.  Toward the end of this road-turned-trail, there is a junction where you need to turn sharply to the right.  This is no longer an issue, since the alternative road (straight ahead) is now totally blocked with concrete dividers and No Trespassing signs.  Once reaching the end of the road, the trail to the summit goes straight ahead, initially very steeply, for the last 200 feet climb to the top.

I measured the ascent at 6.3 miles and about 3100 feet, where as the descent down the main trail was a little over 4 miles.  Despite the extra distance (and the wet shrubbery), doing the loop has the advantage of plenty of solitude and good views up the Snoqualmie valley from the Olallie and Great Wall trails.  After leaving the John Wayne trail I saw no one until I reached the summit.  There were perhaps a dozen or two hikers on the way down.

We ended up starting the hike at 8:30am. about 6 cars in the parking lot but few people on the trail; apparently there was a half marathon taking place on Iron Horse / John Wayne Trail, however, we did not see any runners. Only ran into two other people on the ascend. The trail was pretty steep all the way to the top, minus a brief few flat "breaks". The trail had quite a bit of variety: large boulders, rocky stretches, short flat stretches, dry dusty forests, more typical fern-covering-the-floor-forests. It was a decent journey up, especially since you could hear I90 getting quieter by the step. a huge pro about the journey is it's not one of those hikes where you traverse along the mountains, you really start to enter the interior bowl of the mountains, making it more escape-like regarding the freeway noise. There is nice moving water a little over half way up where I filled up my lifestraw bottle. later, about 3/4 of the way up there was a partial view of Mt. Teneriffe, and on the way down we unfortunately saw plumes of smoke coming from over the mountains at that same spot. At summit, you got probably the best view of Chester Morse Lake you could ask for (and probably a great view of Rainier, if it wasn't for the haze). You could even see a waves on the shore which is cool. I did not realize how central Mt. Washington was in relation to North Bend and Snoqualmie Pass. On one of two lookout points at summit you could see Mt. Si. And the other side showed you Chester Morse and Rattlesnake Ledge.  Something interesting I learned today is that Mt. Washington is actually taller than Mt. Si, by a couple hundred ft I believe. Great morning hike that I will probably never do again.

Dodged holiday crowds by heading up Mount Washington. Most of the trail is covered with loose rocks, large and small. Pretty much continous rock hopping up and down the steep trail. Most of the down trees are not hard to get over. 3 are overhead and easy to smack your head on. Above the Great Wall trail intersection there are some sections that are getting overgrown with berries and  other throny stickers. The view south from the ridge of Mount Rainier is really nice. Seeing Rattlesnake Mountain and Mt Si was also fun. Gaia logged 9.4 mi rt, and 3170 gain. Definitly feel a little sore today.

Parking lot practically empty at 9:00AM. Bathroom well stocked. I saw no one on this hike for four hours - between leaving the car and about halfway back. This is a remarkable thing for a trail so close to Seattle. The tree cover on this hike is almost uninterrupted, right to the top, and welcome on a hot day. Another good thing - probably the best thing about the trip - is the relative solitude. The things I didn't like included the trail condition (enough loose rocks to force me to watch every footstep), the scrubby, uninteresting forest, and the sorry lack of vistas; except for a view of Rainier and Chester Morse lake, a hundred yards from the top, and a view north to Mt. Si from the tree-shrouded "summit," there was little to see.

Mt. Washington might be a reasonable destination for a sunny weekend, when all of the other local destination are likely to be overrun, but otherwise I'll be doing Bandera, or Mailbox, or Teneriffe, or Granite, or even Mt. Si, before I do this one again.

Reached the parking lot at 9:45 AM. There were about 5 cars. Started hiking at 10:00 AM. 2.5 hrs up, 2 hrs down.

The trail was 90% rocky - gravels, stones and a few boulders which made the hike up and down a bit tricky - hiking poles helped keep balance on some of the loose gravel. Most of the hike until the last mile is in the shade with some openings/lookouts here and there. The hike itself is a calf blaster as the grade is relentless; the rocky terrain doesn’t help either. All in all a good workout. Just when you feel that there is no end in sight, the majestic Mt Rainier shows up as you reach the tabletop. This sight alone makes the hike worth it! A few feet above is the true summit. The summit is super unassuming - it’s a large boulder; that’s it. You get a full view of the cascade mountain range (see pics of Mt Si, Mt Tenerife, Mailbox, Glacier peak, Russian Butte, Twin peaks, Goat Mountain, … the list goes on). My dog and I had a quick lunch on the summit, took in the views and headed back. In our way down, we helped a husky who had lost its way, re-unite with her trail runner dad.

This was my first time up here. A few things that helped:

1. Poles helped. Especially while coming down. Plus when you have a dog that pulls in leash, poles are a boon.
2. Keep a topo map (digital or paper) handy with you. There are points on the trail that can be missed easily. There are signs in some places; but are worn out. The arrow marks are washed out. I used Gaia on my phone. Helped a lot to keep on the right trail.

Thank you to all the volunteers who maintain the trail year around! Please consider donating.