Our group of senior hikers from the SVTC began our hike at the Wilderness Peak Trailhead off Highway 900 going up the Jim Whittaker Wilderness Trail (formerly the Wilderness Creek and Peak Trails) to the first junction. We then took the Nawang Gombu Trail (formerly the Wilderness Cliffs Trail) to get up to the summit of Wilderness Peak. Parts of these trails are steep. We hiked the 0.1 mile over to Wilderness Peak that has no view. There is a register (the book was filled up) and a memorial bench. After some snacks we headed down the trail to Shy Bear Pass and took the Shy Bear Trail. At the next junction we took Fred's Railroad Trail to get to the East Fork Trail. This trail heads up hill and passes by the "Green Lagoon" before going back down hill to reach the old "Mine Shaft" which was an air shaft for miners 1,400' below ground during the Cougar Mtn. coal mining days. This was our lunch stop which has a bench, and a kiosk with info and photos of the old coal mines.

After eating it was a short distance down to the Clay Pit Road. King Country Parks has replanted the former clay pit with Douglas Fir trees. There is a kiosk by the pit with photos and info about the former brick works in Newcastle. Clay from the pit was used in the production of the bricks where 25 million per year were made. During the lifetime of the brick works they made over 900 million of them. We then took the West Tibbetts Trail past Tibbetts Marsh to get to the Bear Ridge Trail. Going down this trail (steep in some sections), we passed the "Fantastic Erratic Glacial Boulder." This big rock has been sitting on Cougar Mtn. for the past 15,000 years when it was left after the Cordilleran Ice Sheet melted back north during the Fraser glaciation. The Bear Ridge Trail switchbacks down the hillside, then follows the ridge line before coming to an old road bed, now just the trail. The Bear Ridge Trail trailhead parking lot along highway 900 only has room for about three vehicles.

Only met a few other hikers up by Wilderness Peak and one near the Clay Pit, otherwise we had the trails to ourselves today. Some of the trails do need some brushing out. The only animal we saw on the hike was the tail of a Douglas Squirrel, the rest of it was missing. Our one way hike was 7.1 miles with about 1,470' gain. George

Nice hike for a clear winter day. We hiked a lopsided figure-8 of from the Anti-Aircraft Peak (aka Harvey Manning) trail head, including the Tibbets Marsh trail, Cougar Pass trail, Klondike Marsh trail, By Pass trail, Cave Hole trail, Coal Creek Falls trail, Quarry trail, Fred’s Railroad trail, East Fork trail, Mine Shaft trail, Clay Pit Rd, then the Cougar Pass trail again to the Anti-Aircraft Ridge trail back to the trail head (Total: 8.4 miles). There were a lot of icy patches, for which we were glad to have microspikes (especially on the inclines). However, those should melt as temperatures rise over the next couple days. We chose to explore the Cave Hole trail because it sounded intriguing. The cave hole isn’t actually a cave; it’s a hole that was formed when the mine shaft caved in, surrounded by wire fencing and warning signs. The real reward was the Mine Shaft trail, which includes an interpretive billboard at the air shaft that offers a wealth of interesting information about the local mines. There was a little ice on SE Cougar Mountain Drive near the trail head, and the parking lot was completely covered in ice. Again, though, that will likely melt over the next few days.

I was a very hot day so we looked up a shady, mostly flat trail. Lots of trees in this area but I wish the breeze moving the leaves above us had come down to our level. From the Harvey Manning trailhead, our route today was Shangri La (heading W), Coyote Creek, By Pass, Fred's Railroad, East Fork, Mine Shaft, Tibbets Marsh, Cougar Pass, and Harvey Manning (renamed somewhat recently I gather). The GPS said 4.9mi total that included some detours. We only encountered a handful of trail runners and hikers. Maybe the "real" hikers ventured further from home that day. I listed the bugs as not too bad but they were pretty thick on the East Fork trail. There is a marsh that is not on the map that provided a fertile breeding ground. We just kept moving and took lunch at the Mine Shaft with no bugs around. I was wishing that the mine shaft grate had an opening so we could go down far enough to get some cooler air. Thanks Boy Scouts for the bench and information sign. The shaft is 1200 ft long! The sky was hazy but there were decent views at the Clay Pit and at the trailhead pergola. You can see Mt Baker from the pergola but with the haze it was barely there. It is right in the middle of my crummy phone photo. The hanging baskets at the pergola had the only flowers we saw. Wildlife was one very small frog, one squirrel, and some birds.

My spouse and I went on this 4 mile journey in 88 degree weather, but we came prepared with water and had a great time. The trees provided plenty of shade from the blazing sun, and we only saw two other people along our way. We parked at Sky Country trailhead and almost had the whole lot to ourselves. Plenty to see on the trails, and the mine shaft looked awesome. We saw a couple frogs and rabbits, and heard birds. But it was mostly peaceful, if not eerily quiet. Beautiful hike!

For Spring, the trails on Cougar Mountain were quite dry. I spent most of the day hiking around Cougar Mountain just to experience the area. Still been knew to hiking, Cougar Mountain offers plenty of elevation gain in certain spots to get the lungs going and the blood pumping. 

Jerry's Duck Pond was one destination on my hike. Seeing the launch site and learning about the history out here was another destination on my life. The vegetation was thick in some place, other places it was not. 

There isn't much else to report on these hikes other than Cougar Mountain is a wonderful place to hike around to get away from the city life for a day. The trails are well maintained and the forest canopy above does offer in some light in places. If it's raining, wear rain gear if you'd like to stay dry.