Began my hike on Squak Mtn. on the Bullitt Fireplace Trail to get up to the East Side Trail. The East Side Trail has been logged out except for one spot where several trees still need to be cut out. The fallen trees begin at the junction with the Old Griz Trail where the log out started. The Old Griz is still impassable do to all the blown down trees from the November windstorm. It is going to take some time and a lot of work to get that trail back open for hikers.

I hiked the East Side Trail from the junction with the Old Griz Trail heading for the East Ridge Trail and going to the bridge at Crystal Creek at 1,143' elevation where there are three large Glacial Erratic rocks left from the last Ice Age about 12,000 years ago. Along the way I met one guy doing trail maintenance by getting small fallen limbs of the trail and doing some dirt work. About halfway before getting to the big switch back on the old roadbed I came to the one spot on this trail where the fallen fir trees have not been cut out yet. It looks worse than it seems as I had to get under one big tree, then climb over another. When I got to the big switchback in the trail at the junction with the Phil's Creek Connector Trail that goes up and crosses over Crystal Creek at the waterfalls to get to the East Ridge Trail near Thrush Gap I could see many fallen trees. Some of them have now been logged out, but many more to go.

I continued down the East Side Trail where many more fallen trees have been cut out. At two big trees the trail now goes around the big root balls. I went as far as the bridge over Crystal Creek and then headed back up the trail the way I had come. Except for the one spot with some fallen large fir trees this trail is in very good shape. When I got back up the to the big switchback at the junction with the Phil's Creek Connector Trail it was time for lunch. I found a log for a seat and while eating another guy who came by carry a large crosscut saw. He was heading to the East Ridge Trail do some work for WTA who had some crews coming in for three work projects to remove large root balls off the trail. He had cut some of the fallen trees on the Phil's Creek Connector Trail.

After lunch I hiked back down the trail which has had a lot of work done since the November windstorm. Only saw one Douglas Squirrel and a few skeeters flying around. On part of the East Side Trail, I had views to the north and could see Mt. Pilchuck, Bald Mt., Big Four and Mt. Baker, plus many more peaks. Made for a nice hike on Squak Mtn. This year marks my 72nd year of hiking when I started at age 4. George

A lot of work has been done but Old Griz trail is still a mess! The trail is currently closed. On Saturday, Issaquah Alps Trail Club and Washington State Parks led a volunteer work party to cleanup some of the debris from the November cyclone. Massive tree fall with logs jumbled in piles and gaping holes where trees were uprooted will make trail restoration difficult. State parks has been busy chain-sawing a path through the downed trees. The volunteer work party cleared smaller debris using hand tools. We made significant improvements but there is a lot more to be done. 

Hi everyone, Jeno and I did not hike all the trails I listed but we saw a sign dated 1-13 in one of the kiosks up there this morning that showed the status of those trails so I listed them. (See my photo).   We're not sure what SMAT is referencing.  We wondered if they are referring to the Sycamore Access trail?  Bottom line plan accordingly if you're on the east side of Squak Mt. given some of the trails are closed.

As for our hike we made a short loop going up the Bullitt Fireplace trail to the fireplace and then down to the Central Peak trail which we took back to where it connects with the Fireplace trail.   

When we started at 6:00 AM it was a frosty 28 degrees.  We ran into our friend Mike and his three dogs within the first 1/4 mile up the trail then didn't see anyone for a long time.   Both the Fireplace and Central Peak trails are clear of trees with everything cut up and pushed aside.  The latter looked to have had more damage from the storm based on what we saw.

We saw one runner on Central Peak who upon seeing us turned around and took off in the other direction.   Jeno said we must look scary and I said or we smell.    :)   

Other than the runner and Mike we only saw one other hiker this morning on our return to the cars.  Trails were in good shape with some slick spots (very minor) in places. 

Stay safe everyone.  See you on the trail.   SR 

What a mess! The Old Griz Trail was heavily damaged by the Nov 20 wind storm. The trail is closed but I wanted to see how far I could get safely. The first eighth of a mile or so has been logged out. It looks like this small section was a monumental effort. Beyond this it looks like a war zone. Big trees snapped off or toppled over from their root ball. We didn't make it to the ridgeline but it looks like in that area almost all the trees have fallen down. It's now potentially a view trail.. if they can ever make their way through all that remaining windfall. 

Definitely do not walk on this trail if there is anybody actively working on it. It would be dangerous for both you and the workers.

All of the other trails that we took today including the Central Peak trail, Bullitt fireplace, and Chybinsky were all clear of windfall.

Impassable.  C1-Central peak trail (the one connecting to the north junctions), approximately 0.25 MI North downhill of the radio tower, hill is too steep to go uphill or downhill and around. Met a couple later indicating they had come up that trail and aborted. 

Impassable.  Old Griz, close to the upper junction is blocked by a 200 ft tree with 50 ft width. It may be possible to go around several hundred feet, but with that trail following the ridge I suspect there are spots we're getting around is very dangerous. 

Difficult.  West peak trail, some downed trees obscure the trail, it is necessary to navigate around and back onto the trail. Some places require climbing down through trees, and with branches on top of roots footing is more difficult than usual. 

Medium.  There is one tree to climb up through on the way to the fireplace. There are several between the fireplace and Central peak that require small climbing or routing around. 

Easy.  A few downed trees toward Debbie's view, easy to get around but at least one is 2 or 3 ft in diameter and requires a hop. 

There is a new viewpoint between the fireplace and the radio tower, enormous trees completely uprooted on the north side of the saddle. Weather was quite beautiful today; avoided all rain. 39--49F, dark when it should have been dark, and sunny later in the morning. A few spots with a little bit of mud, but nothing crazy. No snow on the ground.

9.85mi 940m