[waterlegs]

With a rapidly deteriorating forecast and extreme avalanche hazard, we switched from the mighty and feared Goat Mt/Washington Monument traverse to the overused and always entertaining Mons Si, the beacon of North Bend, the pinnacle near Seattle, the cliffs of King County. An early start meant wonderful opportunity to scale the awesome peak in wintery conditions, so we started up the old trail off the Little Sigh trail. Alas, moisture from the heavens inundated us from base to on high. Alas, the mighty peak eluded us as enjoyment melted away, and we turned around shortly after the two trails meet ner the top. Alas, Liquid sunshine drenched our dreams of summiting, quenched our thirst for the sweet nectar of the apex, soaked the saunter right out of us. So what the heck, we turned back and were home by noon, sipping the mint julep whist soaking in the clawfoot, and munching on clafouti. Dreams of another day seeped into our psyche, longing for lounging satisfying for the present. Dude, it was, like, not a good day to be in the mountains! Thus our report ends, like, verily, forsooth.

[Miss Normandy]

We ran up Si today. Great day for a trail run, but not for viewing. We hit the clouds at the 2 mile mark and they just kept getting thicker and thicker. The rest at the top was fairly unrewarding, but it was a good work out nonetheless. Refreshing drizzle at the bottom too.

[marta]

I went up Friday. It was humid and warm. Decent views at the top although a bit hazy. What a difference a day makes. Or a month. We went up about 4 weeks ago and it started snowing at mile 3. Nice bleeding heart blooming near the start. Trilliums off and on along the way. A few yellow violets. Bear grass just starting to send up spikes. - marta

[Miss Normandy]

I noticed the salmon berry blooms. I'm going to make a point to go back when they ripen.

[marta]

We needed to get some elevation exercise and check to see how our gear (clothing) is going to work for hiking in Patagonia. So we did a trip up Mt Si today. It was just what we wanted and expected. Got a late start and made the trailhead about 10:30am. There was a bit of wind and it was overcast. We were surprised not to see more frost and ice in the first two miles. Especially after seeing a lot of white frost at Issaquah. Started out in two layers of Capilene on the top. The wind picked up a bit and we layered on the polartec vest around snag flat. Around 3 miles the wind really picked up and had to put on the outer shell, gloves and hat. We were toasty all the way up after that. At the top, the wind was blowing pretty good. That is good. We're going to have a lot of it in Patagonia. We hung out on the valley side away from the wind and ate our sandwiches before heading down. Back to the parking lot at 3:00 where it just started a light sprinkle. Two weeks and counting before we leave.

[salish]

I go up Si every January or February, when there is snow on the top. The views can be great on a cold, clear sunny winter day, and the crowds are much smaller. Si is fun, and almost always tiring for me.