Mt. Si Journal

September 12, 1999

One of my bestest friends, Amy, invited me to go with her and her 
family on a trip up Mt. Si, the backdrop for North Bend, WA.  
We left town sometime around noon.  The trail started out flat,
but quickly became steep.  Even so, the pathway is very crowded and 
best travelled on the weekdays if you like (a form of almost) solitude.  
A lot of "city folk" hike up the mountain on the weekends and it is quite
obvious.  With markers every half mile, a person who is not physically
fit will soon realize how slow they are going.  However, trees cover
most of the way making the sun less menacing...when there is sun.  With 
us on the way were 2 adults, a 1-year-old, a 9-year-old, and a 
14-year-old.  Many people brought their young kids along and only 
carried them part of the way.  The elevation gain is 3800 feet in 4 
miles, so we got our work out.  At the half-way point, there is a spot
to rest and we took advantage of it.  Just before this point, the 
trail splits in two where the right fork leads to a small creek.  If 
you use iodine tablets, I'm sure the water would be fine for drinking.  
On the way up we could see I 90, an arial view of North Bend, and Mt. 
Rainier.  The top is all rock - big boulders, small boulders, some as
big as a house.  Also at the top are views of North Bend, Mt. Rainier,
Lake Sammamish, and on sunny days, Lake Washington and Puget Sound.  
Watch out for the steep drop-offs.  On the way back, we jogged most of 
the way, such as we saw many others do.  The total length of our trip
was 8 miles.  I believe we found the car again around 5 or 6...though
since I am writing this 5 months after the fact, I am not quite sure.