- by Sunday, August 29, 2010 @ 04:25:19 PM
Beauty: 
Difficulty: 
We took this hike with three kids (ages 6, 7 and 9) and a small dog and everyone faired well until we crossed the birdge and headed back on the the Dingford creek trail. It quickly turns into a rock car road....that lasts WAAAAY too long to be interesting.
It is better to eat lunch there and turn back on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Trail.
Comet Falls - by Dave Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 05:52:55 PM
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I did the hike to Comet Falls 8/28/2010, It was a gorgeous day. And I loved the hike. I have to say the last half of the trail is very challenging and quite steep. But well worth it. I encounted an eldery couple who were huffing and puffing just about a half mile from the parking lot. I warned them.
I hate that I did not have the time or equipment to keep going past the falls to Mildred Point.
And I second the prior comment about almost thinking the triple falls were Comet Falls, I almost turned around after enjoying them.
Next time, I will pack better, start earlier, hopefully lose 20 lbs and make it all the way to Mildred Point.
- by Chris Wednesday, August 18, 2010 @ 01:30:56 PM
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I love this hike, the first part is hard, about a half mile of steady incline, then it takes a turn and you have switchbacks most the rest of the way, alot easier so don't give up too soon. Parts of the trail are tight and overgrown, but others are wide open. For all the complaining on here, I don't understand it, if you don't like to hike or be out in nature then don't do it, the lake is beautiful, I actually proposed to my wife up here. Sure there are bugs, but it is the outdoors in Washington, what do you expect!
It'll take you by surprise - by Corrine Sunday, August 15, 2010 @ 10:52:54 PM
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Wow! What a hike. I went with a few friends that had done it before, so I was warned, but nothing will prepare you for how steep it actually is. You think it's bad and then it gets worse about half mile in. It was a hot day and I went through two CamelBaks so be sure to bring lots of water if it's going to be warm. Trekking poles are a MUST in my opinion, but there are always good hiking sticks that hikers leave around to use also.
On a clear day in the summer, you'll have no trouble finding the trail, but just no there is no actual "trail" that you have to follow. We blazed our own for a while. There are 2 false summits, and it doesn't really help your motivation, but once you break out of the monotonous trees, you'll be rewarded with gorgeous views of Rainier (that's when you know you're almost there!... sort of) and the surrounding areas. We were able to see all the way to Seattle and Mts Stuart and Baker. It was gorgeous. Definitely worth it.
Watch out coming down though. I'm no experienced hiker but I've done my fair share of treks and this was by far the worst trip down. I was scrambling the whole way. The best way is to skip/hop down and use trees to stop your momentum. That is, unless you really enjoy having your knees and thighs ache and tremble at the bottom. Rinse off in the stream at the bottom too, it's very clean and very refreshing after a long, hot hike! Bring food too, you'll need it!
Unfinished Hike - by Saturday, August 14, 2010 @ 02:26:39 PM
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I didn't finish the hike due to an asthma attack but I felt I needed to inform other hikers of the flies.... apparently DEET doesn't work on them. I'm not sure if they're flesh eating or what, but they were very persistant in chasing me and my hiking buddy.
Challenging - by Friday, July 23, 2010 @ 04:47:28 PM
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We did Mailbox Peak after work yesterday. Our group was able to meet up at the parking lot by 5 and then we headed up. This was certainly the steepest trail that I have done. With exception to the first 1/4 mile or so, the hike feels like doing the stairmaster at the gym for 2 hours. Constant climbing. As others have said, the wooded area, which you are in for most of the trail, provides little to look at. I'm sure the views at the top would have been amazing, but the cloud cover we ended in was too think to see much more then a couple hundred feet below. I will say though , the wild flowers along the last push on the top of the trail were gorgeous! The mailbox at the top was fun. I was definately glad we brought our doen jacket for the top though..Brr! The decent, was long and steady, and probably the most challenging part...I highly reccommend bring along trekking poles.
Bring oxygen - 'cuz views are breath taking! - by Wendy Thursday, July 8, 2010 @ 11:56:42 AM
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Okay, I just started hiking last year. What have I been missing??? This was my second time up Mt. Pilchuck, and by far my favorite! This hike has everything. Old growth forest, waterfalls, snow, rocky slopes, and amazing views. If you go spring/summer you'll run into snow. This year, second week of July, we were hiking through it most of the way. It was very slippery, and we got very wet but I found that to be fun. My hiking buddy was not so thrilled with the snow, she felt it was not safe. We did pass by some people who turned around, and advised us to do the same. So just a warning, call ahead of time to the ranger station to get lowdown on snow conditions if you are more cautious. We continued on. The views at the top is SO worth the hike. But the hike is pretty sweet also, so what am I saying? You definitely want to go on a clear day, you DO NOT want to miss the spectacular 360* view! Once at the top you probably want to go to the lookout tower first, before it gets too crowded. I love the other peaks at the top (not so crowded), you will not regret exploring those. All that said, we went in running shoes (just fine), shorts (maybe there was snow, but it was hot), and carried lots of water. This is a great day hike. We started at 11:00am and back down by 5:30pm. Slower than most, taking lots of pictures, and spending at least an hour at the top. What's the rush? Enjoy!
Easy climb - by Shankar Monday, July 5, 2010 @ 09:17:21 PM
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Just came back from the climb a few hours back. I was in Seattle over the long weekend and thought that hiking at the nearby Mt. Si would be a good way to end the weekend. I actually wanted to do the normal Mt. Si hike; but as luck would have it, I lost my way and ended up in the parking lot where the Little Si trail starts.
The trail itself is not strenuous and doesn't take much time. I took about ~100 minutes for the entire hike. I'm not a regular hiker, so expect the regulars to take even lesser time. I was alone and did not take a break except for a 3 minute one at the summit. There wasn't much of a crowd; dogs moving about unleashed was a bit scary though.
I wish there was more parking space and clear indications to the start of the trail paths from some distance away (so that one doesn't get lost). Otherwise, it was a well spent 3 hours away from the hotel.
Use Only One Backpack - by Andrew G. Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 08:08:45 PM
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So today, a group of friends and myself decided to climb Bandera. Two bagged on us at the last minute, so it was myself and two others. We arrived at the trailhead at about 8 with probably three cars at the trailhead. We set out on what we thought would be a memorable hike, and it was indeed. One of my friends, who was extremely out of shape, kept needing to stop, even on the almost flat sections, complaining of being dizzy and weak. Well frankly, we were determined to summit under almost all circumstances (we remained smart, if this friend was ready to pass out, we would stop and slowly back down). I had it when we had to stop yet again, so i told him to give me his backpack to carry the last 2.5 miles up the trail. He didn't have a problem with that. So now, i had two backpacks on, one in front and one in back. This proved to be quite adventourous.
Now we could keep going. We finally reached the turn off to Bandera, and let me tell you, that one straight up mile was hard enought, but with two backpacks on, it was pretty difficult. But we made it still ( I even beat the friend who had no backpack because he gave it to me). Trailhead to summit took about 2 hours and 10 minutes. Almost no snow on the south side until about the very top; the north side still had some. We stopped and eat, which was lovely way up there, with the absolutely excellent views. We left to return to the car, and I gave my friend the backpack back; he was fine going downhill, thank goodness. Took us about 1 hour and 40 minutes to desummit. Going up, we saw two couples at the top and that was it. Coming down was an absolute zoo. Think Mt. Si but with a bunch more avid hikers. The trailhead was completely overflowing with cars. Good thing we left so early.
So ultimately, great hike, great weather, great company, only one suggestion to any who want to hike it.
Make sure you only have to wear on backpack.
- by Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 05:05:22 PM
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Just finished this hike about two hours ago. I am out of shape so the trail was a little challenging to me; parts of the trail were a little steep for my taste. The whole trip took me about 3 hours, including my rest at the top of the mountain. There is some really beautiful scenery on the trail.
sign says no pedestrians. - by Ryan Christensen Sunday, June 13, 2010 @ 08:02:29 AM
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We drove out there from Mill Creek and the roads apparently are under new management. There are now gates on all the logging roads. There is a sign that says no pedestrians and "nightwatch on guard". There were 3 cars there so I guess some people went up. All the bullet holes in the explicit signage kinda made us nervous so we went to mt. si instead.
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