Cedar Butte — Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013

Snoqualmie Region > North Bend Area

We decided on an early morning hike. The weather was perfect but cold. There were a few small patches of snow/ice on the trail but nothing requiring the use of any gear other than hiking boots/shoes/paws. From the parking lot we headed up toward the Iron Horse Trail (east from the parking lot; the trail begins just behind the bathroom area) - then turned left onto the wide gravel trail. We traveled in that direction until we crossed the short bridge over Boxley Creek. The turn onto the trail up Cedar Butte is a little less than a quarter-mile past the bridge, on the right-hand side - there's a small sign on the tree with an arrow pointing to the right. The trail is relatively easy to climb and we got warm pretty quickly (wear layers!!) but as we climbed the temperature definitely got cooler and the air was very nippy. The sun was shining, an owl was hooting somewhere, the trees were swaying - it was truly a great hike... until we decided to stop at the summit to drink some tea, give the dogs a small meal and take a few photos. Yeah... prolonged exposure to wind will definitely make you lose feeling in your hands. BRRR!! The view was great though! The views were magnificent even though there weren't that many - it was the perfect amount for a short and easy hike. We didn't see a single soul until we were almost back down (close to 11am) and it was nice to not have to try and navigate through crowds.