siddhartha saha dot net

Weekend again and this time we have set out for weekend of camping and sightseeing in the Olympic Peninsula. A view from the ferry.

hmm.. I am referring to this post: A hike to Mount SI. Lets see what happens.

I went hiking again this weekend. This time it was me only – alone. Hiking alone is sometimes good – if you want some solitude but do not want to be bored at home, it can be wonderful experience.
Anyway, my target was to go to the Granite Mountain – a well known hike around here, with a total elevation gain of 3900 ft in about 4 miles. But the one thing that I did not know is that to park at the parking lot in the trailhead, you need to have a parking permit – and the permit is NOT available anywhere near the parking lot. You have to get it from the ranger office at North Bend. Some stores (like REI) also sell them. The bottom-line is that you need that perking permit before you go there – and I didn’t have that. So I decided to go for Mount Si instead – which is pretty close by.

Directions:
HikingtoMountSi/IMG_4269.jpgFrom Seattle, take I-90 east. Take exit 31 to North Bend. Drive east on North Bend way for about 1 mile, and take another left on Mount Si road. Cross the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Bridge, and continue on the same road. At about 2 miles, keep an eye on your left for the small trailhead opening and the parking lot. I missed it on the first time, because I did not know what to look for. But you won’t. Park your car and go for the hike.

Take plenty of water, as there is no place where you can get water on the way and the trails is not easy. For seasoned hikers it might be nothing, but for occasional hikers (like me) it can get very tiring. I was totally exhausted within one mile. The total elevation gain is 3400 feet, and the one way distance is 4 miles. For most of the time, the trail goes through dense fir trees. There are a couple of places from where you get a moderate view of the outside world through the thick jungle of trees, but the real view is from only at the top. The trail ends at a rocky section. There are some nice views of the Snoqualmie basin, I-90 and of Mount Rainier.HikingtoMountSi/IMG_4279.jpgHikingtoMountSi/IMG_4277.jpg

HikingtoMountSi/IMG_4272.jpg
You can actually go to places where a sharp vertical drop of few thousand feet is only inches away.

The summit is actually called the Haystack. It is a huge rock where there is a place where you can scramble up. It is not very easy – and I heard there have been fatalities. Climbing to the top was easy – but coming down was quite difficult. These are one of the times when I thank God for making me somewhat tall. View-wise, it is not worth risking some injury to climb the Haystack – it is almost the same. But if you want the thrill – don’t miss it. I made a mistake – I did it when I was alone and as an afterthought, it was not necessary. It is always nice to have a friend in a hike like this.

It took me a total of five hours – but I was totally burnt out. I climbed to the top in about 2.5 hours, and came down in 1.5 hours. I was at the top for one hour.

It was a nice experience, but it reminded me, somewhat brutally, that I need to work on my stamina – which I find seriously lacking since I was a kid.

Last but not the least, the photos are available at the gallery. Feel free to have a look.

I finally made it. There were several occasions when I thought of going back. Sometimes I thought I need a helicopter rescue. Well, I am kidding, but it was a relatively long and difficult hike. I started at 1230 and reached the top at around 1500. Two and a half hours for a 3400 feet, 4 mile hike. I font have any energy left now. It would be nice to take a nap. I am hungry too… but there is a subway sandwich in the bag… Good! A very nice lady took a picture of me… I will post that later. It is so nice and quite up here.