Another short loop at Cougar - pouring rain so we chose a short leg stretcher 3.5 mile loop from the Sky Country trailhead - I had not actually been on a couple of these trails or seen the Clay Pit. Basically we took Clay Pit Road to Freds Railroad to East Fork Trail (that was new to me and a pleasant woodsy trail) circling left through Cougar Pass and back to Clay Pit Road. Made a little 3.5 mile loop, just right since we were pretty well soaked by the end. The little woodsy duck pond on the East Fork Trail is cute and had actual ducks in it, the covered mine shaft and interpretive info was very interesting, and the clay pit was much bigger than I expected with an interesting interpretive sign and nice bench overlooking it (note that it is now public access if you want to explore). All trails in good shape, and well marked, with little mud in places. 

We began our loop hike from the Sky Country Trailhead by the former US Army Nike missile base where they had Ajax missiles to protect the Puget Sound area from incoming USSR Bear Bombers during the Cold War. We headed out on the Old Miners Trail passing the A-frame building from former Army guard dog kennel. On the Bypass Trail we saw that the North Fork of Coal Creek was completely dry. We had never seen that before, as there was always water running in the creek on our past hikes. We went south on Fred's Railroad Trail to the junction with the East Fork Trail and took that one to get to Jerry's Duck Pond. When we got to the pond, it still had water in it with lots of Alge, but no ducks. After passing the coal mine air shaft, we got to the Clay Pit Road. We hiked east out to the clay pit and found a big rock for a lunch time seat in the sun. There were views east to the Cascade Mountains, plus "The Snows of Tiger Mountain". You might have read the book and seen the movie. It is snowier now after the Weyco clear cut done this year.

The clay pit was used by the Mutual Materials Company for 50 years in making bricks at the Newcastle Brick Works. The clay pit was last used in 2015 then the brick works closed down. During that time, they made over 900 million bricks at 25 million bricks per years. Their bricks were used in many buildings in the Puget Sound area, like Bellevue High School, at the U of W Kane Hall and Red Square, and at T-Mobile Park (formerly Safeco Field). King County parks restored the clay pit and planted scrubs and trees.

After lunch we hiked down the Tibbets Marsh Trail, then took the Cougar Pass Trail out to the Klondike Swamp Trail. King County Parks has been doing some drainage work on the Cougar Pass Trail, so should help this trail when the heavy rains begin. We hiked the Klondike Marsh Trail north, then took the Coyote Creek Trail to the Clay Pit Road and back to the trailhead parking lot. Made for a nice loop hike.

We could see that King County Parks had been out with leaf blowers getting the leaves off the trails we hiked today. Any fallen trees had been cut out. We met a few other hikers on our trip and had a nice chat with two senior womans hikers at the Clay Pit. The only wildlife we saw were some gnats out enjoying the sun.

Did what ended up being a triple-loop trail (map below) starting from the French cafe at Talus, up via Bear Ridge->West Tibbett's->Mine Shaft->East Fork->Fred's->Quarry->Shy Bear->Fred's->Cougar Pass->West Tibbett's->Protector->Shangri La. Including the sidewalk section it added up to 9.5 miles and just over 2K feet of gain. Weather was great, just over 60F, and started out partly cloudy but ended up being mostly sunny in the end.

The trails have some moist sections from the recent rains but nothing terrible. Bear Ridge has some creek-running-down-the-trail for a short bit, West Tibbett's has a few mud pits and soggy sections, Shy Bear has a good number of soggy bits and the westernmost section of Cougar Pass has quite a bit of mud. All were passable in trail runners with some careful stepping. Bugs were not too bad today as long as you kept moving, but there were a few sections where the background buzzing was constant.

The wildflowers are getting past prime, but there's still a few nice sections here and there. The foliage throughout is very full and lush, so in a few sections the trails feel narrower than even a few weeks back.

Not much crowd today, I passed about one party on each of the longer trail sections.

I’ll start with the fact that I’m a 61 year old novice hiker who most often hikes alone because I can’t find others to hike with me.  Spending this morning in the woods alone was empowering! I proved to myself that I could read the trail maps and find my way, all the while feeling quite safe.  So if you happen to fit my demographic, come here and hike!  I arrived on a Thursday morning (during LWSD spring break week) a little after 9 AM.  There were many available parking spaces but I was glad to see people in the parking area just setting off on their treks.  The walk out Clay Pit Road was mostly flat with just one area of incline.  My non-hiking friends could manage it easily.  There was a nice bench at the end, perfect for a snack stop.  Next I followed Mine Shaft back out to Clay Pit then turned left onto the By Pass Trail across from Klondike Swamp.  From there I hiked Old Man’s Trail back out to Clay Pit and then to the parking lot.  When I got back to my car about 1130, there were still at least a dozen car slots open, and all of the horse trailer spaces were empty.  On the whole the hike was mostly level, and not too muddy.  And the historical signage was wonderful.  (Note, the bugs were out, and landed on me but weren’t biting.)  This would be an easy stroll for new parents or a great outing for visitors to the area.  I can’t wait to explore the other trails at the Sky Country Trailhead.  

Began my exploratory hike from the Sky Country Trailhead. While hiking the Old Man's Trail I saw the King County Parks had put in new fence posts and railings at the old mine shaft openings and where the trail comes out to the road. Once up to the Fred's Railroad Trail, I turned left and hiked up the Clay Pit Road. At the pit I turned right by the wood bench and followed the trail up an old roadbed that is south of the former clay pit. Parts of this trail are wet and muddy. After getting to a grassy area, I took the trail along the ridge line and hiked out to a viewpoint high above the old pit. I could see over to Issaquah, and if it were a clear day, you could see some mountains, but not today. I was looking for the start of the old Blackwater Trail that ran south to Wilderness Peak. Did not see anything here, so backtracked down the trail, then took the connector trail over to the West Fork Trail by Jerry's Duck Pond. This trail comes out by the "Keep Wildlife Wild" sign, I saw one male mallard duck in the green Algy pond with some frogs croaking. Hiking south down the West Fork Trail I came to an unsigned side trail heading off uphill to the left. This was the old connector trail that hooked into the Blackwater Trail. This trail has been brushed out in some areas and there are a few fallen trees to step over. About 50 yards up the trail is an old King County parks "Horses Prohibited" sign on an Alder tree. A little further along the trail leaves the old roadbed and turns left continuing uphill through a mixed stand of trees. It then turns right as it heads toward Wilderness Peak. This was now the Blackwater Trail. It made a big curve to the left and then back right where I came out to the Wilderness Peak Trail about 0.1 miles from the summit. I turned left off the Blackwater Trail and passed the now closed former Whittiker Trail that has been rebuilt in a new location. The old Whittaker Trail is covered in logs and brush, so you have to use the new one.

I hiked up to the summit of Wilderness Peak that has a fairly new bench and had a snack break. I then hiked down the Wilderness Peak Trail to Shy Bear Pass and saw some of the new sections of the Whittaker Trail. From the pass I hiked the Shy Bear Trail to where it meets the Fred's Railroad Trail. I took Fred's back to the West Fork Trail, then past Jerry's Duck Pond (the mallard duck was now asleep on a log in the pond) and down the Mine Shaft Trail to the bench by the old air shaft covered in rebar since it is 1,200 feet deep. After lunch I hiked back to the trailhead to complete my hike.

I had read about the Blackwater Trail in the book, "Hiking and Strolling Trails of Cougar Mountain" by Harvey Manning & Ralph Owen from 1995. Harvey had first hiked the Blackwater Trail back in 1976. There is a large fold out map with the book that shows the Blackwater Trail. Today's Green Trails and All Trails maps do not show this trail. I had a fun time exploring this old trail. This trail is not for everyone, as some people might get lost. George