We started at the west entrance, up a neighborhood road to the trailhead. We walked up to Bullitt's chimney, had a snack, and looped around back to the car. Not exactly wilderness, but still a nice walk. No snow, no blowdowns, no bugs, no rain. What else can you ask for? Oh yeah, we saw no other people either!

I decided to take advantage of Monday's break in the weather to take a hike on Squak Mountain and check out the condition of the trails after all the storms we've been hit with. Here's a quick summary: Squak Access Trail This well-built trail is in good condition. East Ridge Trail Well built and in good condition. Snow begins around 1500'. Some brush and debris on the trail around Thrush Gap. Phil's Creek Trail The trail is overgrown and recent storms have left a lot of debris on the trail. It's a mess and needs work. Horse accessible section will eventually need ""hardening"" with gravel and better drainage. Bullitt Trail crossover This new trail constructed by the WTA connects the South Access Road with the Bullitt Gorge trail at about the 1200' level. A nice piece of work, in good condition. Bullitt Gorge Trail to Perimeter Trail In good condition, but oversteep in sections, which could cause erosion if usage increases. Valley Connecter Trail Primitive trail needs alot of brushing and log-cutting. There's a good layer of sloppy snow near the top, at 1800'. Bullitt Fireplace Trail from 1600' to 1800'. Miserable. Snow-smashed brush is all over the trail and the tread has eroded to the point of being beyond repair. The steeper sections may have to be rerouted out of the deep trench that currently serves as the trail. Trail N1 (Bullitt Access trail) from 1600' to 740'. In good condition. Some drainage work needed to get water off the trail around 900'.

I love Squak mountain. It is the only basically urban hiking area that I can routinely get lost. I did the Bullet access road, Phil's creek trail, Eastside trail loop with a couple ""uh.. now which way"" side trips resulting in a couple, unanticipated, extra miles. I saw only two other people, and there were no other cars at the trail head - amazing for an early Sunday afternoon. The trails are in great shape. There are just a few blow downs that don't really obstruct passage, the mudslide near the boyscout bench on the Eastside trail and the nettles are starting to get ankle high - ouch. I heard atleast one raven 'squaking' away, saw a whole bunch of funky purple beetles (are those the ""bad"" kind of beetles?) and a cute like brown tree frog. On one of the side trips I walked past a collection of huge boulders that were pretty neat. To top off the afternoon I heard on the radio coming home that the Talis development is 'donating' 400 acres of land between Squak and Cougar mountains. Yes, I'm sure it's in exchange for some zoning exception or something, but I'll take what I can get - I'm sure that the beetles and tree frogs there will be happy.

The purpose of this trip was to survey the remaining trails in the southeast corner of the park. Here is the order: South Access Road #S1, Equestrian Loop (upper access) #S4, Phils Creek #S3, No-Name, South Access Road #S1, Old Griz #C4, Phils Creek #S3, Equestrian Loop (through lower access) #S4, South Access Road #S1 Phils Creek Trail has a few logs obstructing and some muddy and brushy areas between Equestrian Loop and No-Name Trails. The No-Name Trail has some very brushy spots. There are many logs across the Old Griz Trail. Phils Creek is in mostly good condition north of the No-Name Trail. The Equestrian Loop has some very muddy spots. There is a light dusting of snow above 1500 feet. Skies were overcast yielding to scattered clouds. Temperatures were cool to warm depending on location and time.

Spent Sunday morning hiking around Squwak mountain . I started at the Mountainside access point and went up the central creek trail coming back down Phil's creek trail and the Eastside trail, (a very nice loop as described in Mr. Manning's 55 hikes around Snoqualmie Pass book. It was pretty windy and there was some new blow down on the trail. Saw a good sized alder crack and go over just a half mile or so from the trail head. There was still snow from several days before covering the top 400 or 500 vertical feet of the mountain. It was pretty darn sloppy, (read popsicles for toes.) The top was completely socked in, couldn't even see the top of the microwave towers and pretty darn windy up there too. Phil's creek trail was very slippery, a hiking stick would have helped, (or a tobogan...) There is a new, good sized mud slide on the return trip along the Eastside trail, but mother nature slid a nice stump right in the middle to hold on to while pulling you boots out of the mud. This is a very nice loop for a morning or afternoon; quiet, lots of great scenery and close.