Bullitt Fireplace Trail, Phil's Creek — Saturday, Mar. 15, 2003

Issaquah Alps > Squak Mountain

Day use parking at the trailhead off SE May Valley Rd is $5.00 - be prepared. Other trip reports have alluded to the vagaries of trail names and the numerous unlabelled paths that are not included on the Green Trails map or have been added since its 1999 publication. We can vouch for that. This is a great place to practice navigational skills since the signposts are non-existent or unreliable. We made a counterclockwise loop from the Equestrian Trail (S4) to Phil's Creek to Central Peak - a 1500 ft elevation gain. Not a horse or a soul. Where is everybody? It's true that there is only a slice of a view from the unaesthetic peak, but everything else is in place - ravines and draws, copses and bowers, Oregon Grape and beards of moss. On the return south from Bullitt Fireplace we had to cross through the tape that had closed a trail for renovation, but what choice did we have? WTA appears to be seriously shoring things up and parts of the trails are looking quite civilized. It would be nice if they were allowed someday to announce their names.