Boulder River

We decided to try out this 8.6 mile trail despite the ominous weather forecast. It is a relatively flat trail that meanders along the Boulder River often 50-100 feet above the river. The first mile is through logged forest but after that you enter the 48,674-acre Boulder River Wilderness and hike through a nice area of old growth. There were many impressive cedar trees and the trilliums and huckleberries were blooming. We passed three nice waterfalls rushing down the canyon wall, all in the first hour of the hike. After the falls the trail became quite muddy and the light rain turned into a more constant downpour. We had misread the trail guide and thought we were headed to a final water fall at 4.3 miles so we were a little disappointed to find out that the trail just ends in a flat camping area near the river. On a sunny day it would be a beautiful place to relax for a while, but in the cold rain we only stopped for a few minutes. There was another nice camping area right before you reach the wilderness boundary. The hike out was cold and wet and the trail had turned into a series of giant puddles and mud pits. All in all, it was nice to get out and we mostly enjoyed the hike.

Tiger Mountain

It was a glorious Seattle spring day so Sarah and I decided to take advantage of it and hit the trail. Unfortunately, our cold spring meant most of the mountains were covered in slushy snow. So we opted for a slightly less wilderness hike and headed to Tiger Mountain about 30 minutes outside of Seattle. Tiger Mountain is part of the Issaquah Alps, an area in the foothills of the Cascades that is managed by Washington DNR. There are lots of trails that traverse Tiger ending a several different summits. We headed up West Tiger #3. It's a 5 mile out and back trail with about 2,000 ft of steady elevation gain. We were definitely not alone with the trailhead parking lot over flowing and about 20 people at the summit. At the top we sat in the sun and looked down upon King county. Poo poo point just a little south of the summit is a popular paragliding spot and on a day like this there were about 10 people gliding through the sky. It was really nice to get out in the sun. This is a good hike for training and getting in shape for summer, but not a place for solitude.

Here's a link to a map of the entire Tiger Mountain trail network.