Mileage: 8.5 miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: 3250/4450ft
Map: Green Trails Bandera, WA No. 206 and Mt. Si No. 206s
Favorite Eats After Hike: Garlic Crush, Agave Cocina, North Bend Bar & Grill, Chang Thai & Pho, The Commonwealth, Basecamp Books & Bites, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty Please.
My Hike:
4/1/2016
I tend to be a North Cascades kinda girl so this was my first time on this hike, but it was recommended to me by a friend as I was looking for something avoiding the considerable avi risk today. I headed up around 10 am, later than I usually would but there were only about 10 cars in the lot.
I did pass the cairn marking the trail from the gravel road but not by much, it came up fast. The trail was snow free until about 3200ft, with some nice creek crossings and a few downed trees that were easy to go over. Not sure why folks have been choosing to cause damage by going around.
I was glad I had my spikes for the second half of the hike, the snow was melting with the heat of the day and things were a bit slippery. I saw a mix of folks with traction devices and those without but overall not a lot of people.
The view from the first little summit was gorgeous with Rainier putting on a show. I checked out the very top but wasn’t impressed with the road noise and tower so I went back down to a rock cropping and enjoyed lunch in the sun around 12:30pm. I stayed for an hour or so, it was a delight that the others that came up after me were quiet and it felt like I had it to myself. I was glad to have my spikes again on the way down, the snow was melting quickly making some sections like the scree field a bit sketchy. The hole mentioned in the earlier report is significant so watch out for it as it is at a view point and could be a hazard.
Directions: From Seattle drive east on I-90 to exit 38. Turn right, immediately crossing the South Fork Snoqualmie River, and take the first right turn into Ollalie State Park. Follow the gravel road to the end, parking near the bathrooms at the west end of the lot. A Discover Pass is needed.
Click here for more hikes on I-90. A few years later, I did a scramble up to Change Peak which branches off of this hike.
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