Did a 4.0 mile or so loop starting from the sky country trail head. Condition of the trail was very good overall. Was a little confused in the beginning of the trail where there is a lot of intersections between the clay pit road and old man's trail. Started hiking from the Old Man's trail and to Fred's Railroad trail - then on to the East fork trail. Saw the Mine shaft ventilation hole which was grate covered (this part of the trail was dense with trees and swamps around). You cross the clay pit road and then reach the cougar pass trail - you can see the huge clay pit at the end of this road. Then did a loop around Klondike Marsh - saw few joggers along the way. Again crossed the clay pit road to go to the cave hole trail - according to the map there was a cave hole (point of interest) in this route, which I somehow missed :( - looped back to the parking lot via the Nike horse trail.

A short Monday hike with the Issaquah Alps club which wandered over parts of trails I had taken a week earlier. Trail conditions were a bit drier and less muddy. There are still spots which are quite muddy, particularly on the Klondike Swamp and Coyote trails where recent horse activity has chewed up some places. The day was cool, most people started out with gloves, but no rain for our walk. A good stretch of the legs and fun company.

A lot of trails for a 4 mile loop (approximate mileage) in Cougar Mt. Park, three of us, Alpine Art, Loren and Joani started from Sky Country Trail Head on a pleasant walk on trails and the Clay Pit Road. In general the trails are a bit muddy after recent rains but for most of our hike we had only drizzle if with mud holes. The East Fork trail was quite muddy at times but this is not unusual for this trail. My only misdirection on the hike was a short trip up Coyote Creek Trail rather than hiking Clay Pit Road to Klondike Swamp Trail. Other than the mud the walk was great. Lots of dogs, runners and others out prior to the predicted arrival of rain in the afternoon.

This was a short loop and reconnaissance hike to see the condition of trails after a week of warmer weather a melting. In early January all of the trails in the area had snow, ice and slush present. Snow was hard to find on this date but mud, water and general muck were on most of the trails. A WTA party was working on the Mine Shaft Trail raising the bed in places and adding water drainage. The East Fork Trail is in need of work including better drainage - water was running down about 1/3 of the trail bed. The other trails were in better shape but muddy due to the recent snow. Saw deer and bear tracks in the mud.

After working on the Cougar Mountain Trails more than a dozen times, I found a day to go and hike the trails for fun. I started at the trailhead at the Anti-aircraft Peak parking lot and followed the Shangri-La Trail down to the Bear Ridge Trail. I hiked it searching for the Eratic Creek Trail descibed in the IATC guide to Cougar Mountain. This trail connects Bear Ridge to the West Tibbett's Creek Trail which I hiked to the clay pit. I walked through the clay pit and felt my boots get heavier with every step. Yes there is clay in the clay pit. From there I took the Mine Trail to look at the big hole in the ground (with a rebar grate over it) and then on to Wilderness Peak via the East Fork and Shy Bear trails. I returned to the parking lot by Fred's Railroad, Cougar Pass, AA ridge, Tibbett's Marsh and Shangri-la Trails. There are so many trails packed into Cougar Mountain it's like being in a maze. There are also many unmarked trails and a lot of historical artifacts that can make a visit to Cougar Mountain a real adventure.