Mt. Si - (Several dates)
- sarovchandran
- Jun 8, 2021
- 2 min read
Backyard practice hill | busiest hiking trail | Can hike any given day or night 365 days a year | Amazing views | Conditions vary depending on the time and day of the year.
Views: 360-degree views - Mt. Rainier, Seattle, Olympic mountains, and several others.
Area: Snoqualmie Region -- North Bend Area, Washington
Trailhead: I-90 exit 32. Turn left onto 436th Ave SE. Follow 436th to its end at SE North Bend Way. Turn left. In three-tenths of a mile, turn right onto SE Mt. Si Road. Follow it 2.4 miles. The entrance to the trailhead will be on the left.
Pass: Discover Pass
Stats: 8 miles, roundtrip; Elevation Gain: 3150 ft. Highest Point: 3900 ft.
Journey:
I have been here countless times in the last 15 years since I started hiking. This is the go-to mountain if I need to get exercise and also pressed with time. The views on a clear day are great.
The trail ascends steadily, for its first mile and a half. Shortly thereafter, it flattens out as it winds through Snag Flat, a stand of old-growth trees. Most of the hike is under the tree cover. At 3.5 miles, a brief break in the canopy provides your first real views to the south of a valley below. The trial resumes climbing and, a quarter of a mile or so later pitches sharply upwards before reaching a talus slope, providing expansive views to the southeast. Most of the time, this is the turnaround (and lunch spot) for most hikers.
If you are eating lunch or snack, you will have company for sure - The fearless gray jays that won't hesitate to grab a snack from you if you blink for a moment. Please do not feed any animals.
The trail does not end at the lunch spot, though — look towards the right for stone steps cemented into the rock. It winds up and over the rocks, then back into a brief stretch of forest, before branching off to the left to an overlook of the Snoqualmie Valley, Seattle, and the Olympics. There is also a Haystack, Mount Si’s true summit. that few people attempt to scramble on. I have been told it is dangerous and has been fatal for some people. I have never been motivated to even try climbing it :) Some day, shhh!
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