Mount Si

Forty-five minutes east of Seattle is the town of North Bend, and rising above North Bend is the massive shape of Mount Si -- the crumbling remains of an ancient volcano, rising out of flat pasture land just before you reach the Cascade range.

I climb Mt. Si virtually every year, usually in the spring as soon as the snow melts. This year, the snow melted late. But here we are in June, and today I made my climb. My achievement is hardly remarkable around these parts; Wikipedia estimates that between 80,000 and 100,000 hikers visit the mountain annually.

Which is not to say that they all reach the summit. A well-maintained trail leads to the top, but it's a steep trail and it goes only up. And up. The trail is 4.0 miles in length, with an altitude gain of 3,500 feet. The summit elevation is advertised on trail signs as 4,167 feet above sea level.

The trail follows an endless series of switchbacks upward, passing through beautiful and very mature second growth timber that gradually becomes less dense as you climb. At the top, you break out of the trees onto a boulder field, with views all the way to Puget Sound and Seattle to the west, and -- on a clear day -- Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams to the south. This year, moreover, many of the surrounding hills stood out sharply, still covered with snow.

But I do this climb less for the scenic beauty -- although that's certainly appreciated -- than as a conditioning tool to prepare for other hikes during the summer. I also surreptitiously keep track of my time -- just to see if I "still have it." I made the climb in 1 hour, 40 minutes and the descent in 1 hour, 20 minutes (crowds of fellow climbers coming down slowed my descent). I'm thus hiking as well as I ever have -- at least on Mt. Si -- so I'm pleased.

Above the summit boulder field is "The Haystack" -- a rocky dome that can be climbed only by a rather tricky scramble. I've scrambled to the top with friends lots of times with no particular concern. There have also been times, however, when I've unpredictably melted into a state of acrophobic panic about 2/3 of the way up, and -- shamefacedly -- slithered back down without reaching the top. The scramble is steep and exposed in places, and one slip could quite possibly be fatal. I was hiking alone today, and had no intention of doing the scramble without someone else along to keep an eye on me.

Today was supposed to be Seattle's warmest day of the year to date, and the sky was clear when I left home. By the time I reached the base of the mountain, however, the sun was obscured by a high overcast. (The overcast was high enough that Mt. Rainier was clearly visible beneath it.) I arrived at 10:30, thinking I'd beat the crowds, but for the first time ever (for me) the parking lot was jammed. Lots of folks going up and down -- and lots of dogs going with them -- but people-watching is half the fun on Si. No one climbs Si for a solitary wilderness experience.

So I'm happy that lots of people -- including lots of folks under 30 -- still enjoy vigorous hiking, and I'm happy that my strength and endurance still seem good. I'm also happy that Rainier, reigning majestically over all the lesser peaks, consented today to make herself visible.

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Photos, from top to bottom:

1. Mt. Si from the town of North Bend
2. Mt. Rainier, viewed from the top of Mt. Si
3. Climbers beginning the scramble up the Haystack.
4. Hikers on the trail, near the bottom
5. The Haystack, from the boulder field below