04-04-26
John
Sluder was free for a Saturday
hike and we decided on a one way traverse of Rattlesnake Mountain. The
day would start cold but warm up into the 60s by the end. We have not
had many days over 60F so far this year. Add in a mostly blue sky and
it would be a very nice day for a hike. We met at Snoqualmie Point and
I drove us to the Rattlesnake Lake trailhead of the Rattlesnake
Mountain Trail (RMT). Driving up, we saw about a dozen cars on each
side of the road. The first lot was full. The next one was full and we
parked in the next one. There were well over 100 cars in the lot at
7:50 am. There were no signs for an event or large groups. We still
have no idea why
so many people were on the trail to early. We headed around the lake
with others to the start of the trail. Several groups started just
ahead of us. John set a fast pace and I tried to keep up. We passed one
group then another and the next one stopped and we zipped by. We were
then in a place where only a couple fast hikers passed us by. I was
glad to slow down a bit as we still had a long way to go. It did not
take long until the first group passed us going down. We saw quite a
few groups already descending. I guess there were a lot of people up
early for sunrise. We reached the lower ledge and decided to head over.
We were afraid that there would not be any room for us. The ledge was
crowded but we had no problem getting far enough out to look down on
Rattlesnake Lake. We arrived at 8:47 am having taken 52 minutes to
reach the ledge.
Mt. Si had no snow on top but Mt. Teneriffe did. The sky was blue and it was nice to be out in sunshine again. We have not had much so far this year. By 8:54 am we were on our way again. The crowds did not continue. We saw some people on the way to East and West Peaks but not a lot. We took another short stop at the upper ledge. Looking down to the parking lot, it was about full. I took a few photos, as just after 9:00 am is early to fill the lots. We ascended on the nicely graded trail. At an open spot we had snow on the trail. It disappeared a few minutes later as were back in forest. We were in another opening by the old quarry and we had snow on the ground again. There were a few more small snowy spots before we popped out of the forest near the top of East Peak. We had a thin snow cover up to the tower. It was now 10:13 am. We were back in sunshine and took a brunch break. We both brought small saws and did cut out one small log above the upper ledge. We later cut out a couple more on our way down.
Our break was short and we were on our way once again. We took a few photos from the viewpoint bench. It was our best look at Mt. Si. all day. We then went back into forest and the snow disappeared. The hike to West Peak is mostly downhill until the final climb to the peak. There are some ups and downs along the way. The old road reaches a spot where newer trail goes off to the right. This is fine most of the time but this day we stayed on the road to maximize views and sunshine. We slowed a bit because this would be the longest sunny section of the day. There was no hurry to get into forest on the descent from West Peak. We had some good views out to Mt. Rainier. It was very clear. One group passed us in the opposite direction. We were both near the middle of our one way traverses. We both had about 5.5 miles to go. What we did not see were mountain bikes. On a weekend, they are usually all over the bike trails and roads around West Peak.
We finally reached the start of the moderately steep road ascent to the top of West Peak. It had been some time since I have sweated going up a trail. It was still probably only about 50F but it felt quite warm in the sunshine. Near the top I stopped for more photos of a very clear Mt. Rainier. We reached the summit at 11:21 am. We now had views of the Olympic Mountains, East Tiger, Tiger 1, Bellevue, Mt. Baker, Three Fingers Mountain. and most of the peaks from the MF Snoqualmie Valley to near Snoqualmie Pass. There was little wind and it was very comfortable. We had some more food and water and just enjoyed the views. It was warm with great views and we had not reason to hurry down. 1:14 later it was time to head down. It was really nice to spend over an hour on top. We saw one mountain biker go by and no hikers. That is a lot of solitude after the crowds near Rattlesnake Lake. We chose to skip Grand Prospect and take the road down the first part. Early in the year the sun was so low that much of the road down was in shade. Now it was mostly in sunshine. Again, we expected to see bikers along here but just saw a couple of them on the trail above us. None were on the road. On the summit and part way down we had a narrow view of Glacier Peak. The Space Needle rose over the ridge of Tiger 1 but most of Seattle was blocked. We saw a patch of coltsfoot that were beginning to bloom. At the first switchback to the left, we left the road for the short descent to the RMT. Now we had just under 4 miles to go and 7 miles finished.
The trail soon reached the old road section. Here we carried a lot of branches off the road/trail. We were shortly off the road and into darker forest. This side of the mountain had almost no snow left. There was none on the trail. We made pretty good time as the trail is moderately graded all the way down. It also began to be noticeably warmer. I had my polypro and shirt sleeves up. I had not hiked in short sleeves in many months. The trail was pretty quiet as we saw only a few hikers. At the junction of hiker and bike trails near Stan's Overlook, we were within 1.9 miles of the trailhead. We did not see much in the way of wildflowers or mushrooms. Those should be popping up very soon. As expected, we saw more hikers coming up in the last mile. We reached the trailhead at 2:38 pm. We saw folks putting up tables in the morning as there as a big work party repairing bike trails. They had refreshment tables set up in the parking lot. It had been 37F at the start but it was now 65F. With the sunshine, it felt very warm.
This turned out to be a very good choice for our hike. One way trips are more interesting than out and back ones. It was crazy crowded at first but after the lower ledge it was not crowded at all. We had great mountain views from up high and lots of sunshine on the ridge top road/trail. For the day, we hiked just over 11 miles with 3000' of elevation gain. The RMT is moderately graded with few really steep spots. The gain adds up over many miles but it is not a hard hike. In addition to the parking lot being almost full at the end of the day, the road was filled with cars on both sides all the way back to the highway. So many people are riding bikes and the RMT is hiker only so with bikers taking up most of the parking spots the hiking trail is seldom crowded. Usually we beat the crowds at the Rattlesnake Lake end but not this day. All in all, it was a great day to be out on the trail.
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Trips - 2026
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Mt. Si had no snow on top but Mt. Teneriffe did. The sky was blue and it was nice to be out in sunshine again. We have not had much so far this year. By 8:54 am we were on our way again. The crowds did not continue. We saw some people on the way to East and West Peaks but not a lot. We took another short stop at the upper ledge. Looking down to the parking lot, it was about full. I took a few photos, as just after 9:00 am is early to fill the lots. We ascended on the nicely graded trail. At an open spot we had snow on the trail. It disappeared a few minutes later as were back in forest. We were in another opening by the old quarry and we had snow on the ground again. There were a few more small snowy spots before we popped out of the forest near the top of East Peak. We had a thin snow cover up to the tower. It was now 10:13 am. We were back in sunshine and took a brunch break. We both brought small saws and did cut out one small log above the upper ledge. We later cut out a couple more on our way down.
Our break was short and we were on our way once again. We took a few photos from the viewpoint bench. It was our best look at Mt. Si. all day. We then went back into forest and the snow disappeared. The hike to West Peak is mostly downhill until the final climb to the peak. There are some ups and downs along the way. The old road reaches a spot where newer trail goes off to the right. This is fine most of the time but this day we stayed on the road to maximize views and sunshine. We slowed a bit because this would be the longest sunny section of the day. There was no hurry to get into forest on the descent from West Peak. We had some good views out to Mt. Rainier. It was very clear. One group passed us in the opposite direction. We were both near the middle of our one way traverses. We both had about 5.5 miles to go. What we did not see were mountain bikes. On a weekend, they are usually all over the bike trails and roads around West Peak.
We finally reached the start of the moderately steep road ascent to the top of West Peak. It had been some time since I have sweated going up a trail. It was still probably only about 50F but it felt quite warm in the sunshine. Near the top I stopped for more photos of a very clear Mt. Rainier. We reached the summit at 11:21 am. We now had views of the Olympic Mountains, East Tiger, Tiger 1, Bellevue, Mt. Baker, Three Fingers Mountain. and most of the peaks from the MF Snoqualmie Valley to near Snoqualmie Pass. There was little wind and it was very comfortable. We had some more food and water and just enjoyed the views. It was warm with great views and we had not reason to hurry down. 1:14 later it was time to head down. It was really nice to spend over an hour on top. We saw one mountain biker go by and no hikers. That is a lot of solitude after the crowds near Rattlesnake Lake. We chose to skip Grand Prospect and take the road down the first part. Early in the year the sun was so low that much of the road down was in shade. Now it was mostly in sunshine. Again, we expected to see bikers along here but just saw a couple of them on the trail above us. None were on the road. On the summit and part way down we had a narrow view of Glacier Peak. The Space Needle rose over the ridge of Tiger 1 but most of Seattle was blocked. We saw a patch of coltsfoot that were beginning to bloom. At the first switchback to the left, we left the road for the short descent to the RMT. Now we had just under 4 miles to go and 7 miles finished.
The trail soon reached the old road section. Here we carried a lot of branches off the road/trail. We were shortly off the road and into darker forest. This side of the mountain had almost no snow left. There was none on the trail. We made pretty good time as the trail is moderately graded all the way down. It also began to be noticeably warmer. I had my polypro and shirt sleeves up. I had not hiked in short sleeves in many months. The trail was pretty quiet as we saw only a few hikers. At the junction of hiker and bike trails near Stan's Overlook, we were within 1.9 miles of the trailhead. We did not see much in the way of wildflowers or mushrooms. Those should be popping up very soon. As expected, we saw more hikers coming up in the last mile. We reached the trailhead at 2:38 pm. We saw folks putting up tables in the morning as there as a big work party repairing bike trails. They had refreshment tables set up in the parking lot. It had been 37F at the start but it was now 65F. With the sunshine, it felt very warm.
This turned out to be a very good choice for our hike. One way trips are more interesting than out and back ones. It was crazy crowded at first but after the lower ledge it was not crowded at all. We had great mountain views from up high and lots of sunshine on the ridge top road/trail. For the day, we hiked just over 11 miles with 3000' of elevation gain. The RMT is moderately graded with few really steep spots. The gain adds up over many miles but it is not a hard hike. In addition to the parking lot being almost full at the end of the day, the road was filled with cars on both sides all the way back to the highway. So many people are riding bikes and the RMT is hiker only so with bikers taking up most of the parking spots the hiking trail is seldom crowded. Usually we beat the crowds at the Rattlesnake Lake end but not this day. All in all, it was a great day to be out on the trail.
 Crowded Trail |
 Yellow Violet |
 Hiker Descending |
 On Lower Ledge |
 Mts. Si & Teneriffe |
 Rattlesnake Lake & Ledge |
 Full Parking Lots |
 Snow On Teneriffe |
 John Sluder On Trail |
 Snow On Trail |
 Dusting Of Snow |
 East Peak Just Ahead |
 Out In The Open |
 New Growth |
 Olympic Mountains |
 Rainier Coming Into Sight |
 Sunshine On The Road |
 New Growth |
 Middle Peak |
 West Peak In Sight |
 Mt. Rainier Behind Us |
 Rattlesnake Ridge |
 Hinman & Big Snow Mts |
 Chimney Rock |
 Mt. Baker |
 Three Fingers Mountain |
 Bellevue |
 Glacier Peak |
 John On West Peak |
 East Tiger & Olympics |
 Tiger 1 & Mt. Constance |
 Mts Si and Teneriffe |
 SF Snoqualmie Peaks |
 West Rattlesnake Lake |
 East Tiger & Tiger 1 |
 Heading Down Road |
 Coltsfoot |
 Yellow Flowers |
 Off Trail |
 Mossy Arch |
 Mossier Arch |
 Salmonberry Flowers |
Trips - 2026
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