Mine Shaft Trail, Cougar Pass, Shangri La, Fred's Railroad & Anti-Aircraft Peak Loop — Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016

Issaquah Alps > Cougar Mountain

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.