THE LONE TREE PASS TRAIL had never been our idea of a good time. Having hiked that steep, rough trail on a hot day years ago, we vowed never to return, despite spectacular views of Whitehorse Mountain. The descent was a farce of sliding or falling down steep slopes of slide alder, brush, mud and mossy rocks.
It was, we concluded, a place best left to climbers who don't mind such unpleasantness on their way to challenging summits.
Now we were back to try it again, after a failed attempt to locate another trail nearby.
October 26, 2000
The days are growing shorter, but that doesn't mean you should hang up your hiking boots. Just an hour from Seattle, several short yet rewarding hikes in the Snoqualmie Pass area are ideally suited to the constraints of late-season hiking.
Some of the routes are within "the checkerboard," an area riddled with clearcuts and logging roads. But despite the clearcuts, many trails survive as part of the Mountains to Sound Greenway, and there are many sections still wild and scenic enough to nourish the soul.
October 19, 2000
You'd better hurry if you want to hike to the Mount Fremont Lookout for some final glimpses of fall in the Sunrise area of Mount Rainier National Park. The Sunrise day lodge already is closed and the road will be closing for the season Oct. 22.
The Sunrise Visitor Center remains open, and yet the end of the hiking season is near. A snowplow is stationed along the road, ready for business. The chipmunks and squirrels are scurrying to and fro on urgent food-gathering errands as temperatures drop, and the skeletal stalks of summer's flowers rattle in the breeze.
October 12, 2000
If you're planning to hike in the windward Olympics or along the Pacific Coast, it's best to make a weekend of it. It takes considerable time to get there, whether you take a ferry or drive around. There are no shortcuts.
Fall can be a challenging time to plan hikes in the Olympics, especially near the rain forests, where precipitation is a given. If you hit the weather right, it's worth the gamble.
Even if you hit it wrong, you still can have a good time by exploring some of the shorter trails that are sprinkled along U.S. Route 101.
October 5, 2000
It is hard for me to imagine Commonwealth Basin without snow.
Situated in the Alpine Lake Wilderness, the basin is better known as a snowshoe destination. I'm so used to going there in winter, I almost threw my snowshoes in the car, even though it was August.
Instead I carried sunscreen, bug juice and extra water.
The easiest way to get to Commonwealth Basin is to take the Pacific Crest Trail (No. 2000), from the trailhead just north of Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass. The trail enters the wilderness in 2-1/4 miles and at about 2-1/2 miles there's a junction.
September 21, 2000
Slate Peak lookout is a short, easy hike the whole family can enjoy for its history and dramatic views. Forest Road No. 600 leads from Harts Pass to a gate one-quarter mile short of the lookout. Interpretive signs along the trail illustrate the history of the area, including a gold rush in 1894. At the lookout, signs identify the surrounding peaks. In the 1950s, Slate Peak was the site of an early-warning radar system. Later the radar building was placed on a tower for use as a fire lookout.
September 14, 2000
Suddenly it's here -- the prime hiking season in the high country. Everyone's going hiking. So if you're seeking solitude, this is an excellent time to pursue trails that are not featured in hiking guides or on Web sites.
Trailheads along state Route 20 and in North Cascades National Park are crammed with cars, but we found several trailheads between Rainy Pass and Bridge Creek virtually deserted. Even in midsummer one can find solitude here.
August 31, 2000
You could easily spend a week exploring the trails on the Sloan Creek Road (Forest Service Road No. 49), which leaves the Mountain Loop Highway 17 miles from Darrington and climbs into the mountains, scattering trailheads along its way.
You can take an easy stroll or a strenuous hike -- the choices are many.
Here's a sampling:
The trailhead for North Fork Sauk River Falls is at milepost 1, elevation 1,500 feet. The trail drops 200 feet through a forest of alder and maple to the base of the 45-foot-high waterfall.
August 24, 2000
I'd like to tell you that the view of Mount Constance from Fifty-Fifty Pass is the best view of that peak I've ever seen, but I'd be lying. What we actually saw from Fifty-Fifty Pass, on the eastern slopes of the Olympic Mountains, was wildflowers sparkling with raindrops . . . and a bowl of clouds.
We hung around for a while but, alas, the sun never came out.
August 10, 2000
