I was able to take advantage of a sunny January Saturday, with temperatures in the mid. 40s F. and super clear skies. I hiked to the Raptor Ridge viewpoint, starting from the North Chuckanut Trailhead. By 9am most of the parking lot and street parking was full. I hiked a loop, see details below, just over 8 miles and about 1,551ft of elev. (overall elev. gain was about 1,920ft), lasting about three hours.
There were a LOT of people utilizing this beautiful day on the mountain. People hiking, trail running, and mountain biking. Lots of dogs, most off leash, but they were all well behaved.
The trail is muddy in places and not bad. Overall the trails are in good condition. It is a little slippery in places, particularly due to mud and leaves at the steeper spots. A few large (12-18”+) blowdowns at varying levels, one on the ground, one at neck level, and another at forehead level. No snow or ice. No bugs. Wildlife observed: a slug, three gray squirrels, heard lots of birds chirping, as well as a heard a frog croaking.
The only cons for me were you can hear the freeway for at least half the time, and the other is the large number of people trying to enjoy the forest, like myself.
The biggest pro for me today, amongst many and very much enjoying this loop hike, was being able to see Mt. Rainier from Raptor Ridge! (In the first photo, you can see the small very distant mound to the right of the sun.)
My loop hike details:
From the North Chuckanut trailhead you’ll start on the Interurban trail. About 0.3 miles in there is a beautiful waterfall running well right now. Not long after I connected to the Chuckanut Falls Trail and followed that trail to the Hemlock trail. Note, I did not go down to the beautiful Chuckanut Falls, since I did that last week. Once to Hemlock I continued south until I got to the Huckleberry Trail. I hiked the entirety of the Huckleberry Trail and really enjoyed and highly recommend it. Huckleberry ends at the Raptor Ridge trail. I took a left and 0.1 miles later I was at the Raptor Ridge Viewpoint. About 3.9 miles and +1,551 ft. from the trailhead. After throughly enjoying the view I headed back down the Raptor Ridge trail, which I also really enjoyed and found to be a fun descent down to the North Lost Lake Trail. I stayed on North Lost Lake until it terminated into the northern section of the Hemlock Trail, then back to the Interurban trail, and finishing at the North Chuckanut trailhead. What a great day for a hike!!
Comments