Hike With Me - Mt. Si

Mt. Si 

North Bend, Washington

Trail Hiked: Mt. Si Trail

Distance Hiked: 8.68 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,228 ft. 

Duration: 4h 20m

I treated this hike like an epic solo quest of personal redemption. Just me and the Twin Peak(s), I’m gonna kick your ass even worse than last time when my mental state was the opposite of its improved status, when I struggled and had to take plenty of rest breaks but now have another year’s endurance and several thousand miles behind it. Just you and me, mountain… who the hell are all these other people? Black Lodge escapees? Transplants from Camel’s Hump to remind me how much more training I need to be a true blue blood long-distance hiker? Inception-like projections before I drop my totem in the moss to make sure I’m not supposed to swan dive off the top to get back to reality? 

Or I’m just not the only person who doesn’t mind hiking in the rain, but that’s not nearly as ridiculous and hyperbolic, now is it? It’s not anything truly unforgivable, like not wanting to dodge horse-based scatological landmines on a Hiking Club trail, but it’s in the conversation. (Sorry to keep picking on you, random person commenting on my Fort Ridgely review, but it’s the most random thing I’ve ever been called out for.)

I was more prepared for this hike than any other I’ve ever done. I had snacks, motivation, my expiring Washington State Parks pass that I’d gotten to use all of once before my life blew up.  I had the motivation to redeem myself for reasons created only by the antagonizing, self-depricating villain in my own head. Fuck the rain, let’s beat this thing like a superpowered fist with BOB’s face on it, and film it!

Of all hikes to forget the damn holster screw, really?!

Guess I’ll see how much balance I’ve gained after another 2500 miles in a year? Turns out, quite a bit, it only fell once. Not bad for someone who almost always almost falls.

This trail sets unreasonable expectations for other mountain hikes. Extremely well-maintained, perfectly-designed switchbacks, rest areas to stop off and wonder why you’re doing this to yourself on purpose... But it’s also like growing up near Gettysburg, going on a field trip there every year, and then thinking “oh, all historically-preserved battlefields must be this amazing!” Oh, Naive version of me I only made up for this anecdote, you’re so silly.

The last little bit of boulder clinging to get a real summit view is no joke, even if I still did it to have even less of a view of nothing than the first time, but I also look legit enough that younger hikers now ask my advice by saying “listen to the professional.” 

Or I’m old. Who knows?

Now, did I get near the bottom and go back up a few hundred feet just to beat my elevation gain record also? 

I didn’t not do that. 

Even “professionals” gotta be unnecessarily ridiculous sometimes. It’s good for ya. A little “but did you die?” for the road, it’s healthy in moderation.

Epic Hikes of Washington State - Mt. Sinai

 

Mt. Sinai

Date Hiked: July 26th, 2025

Trail Hiked: Mt. Si Trail

Distance Hiked: 8.13 miles

Elevation Gain: 3182 ft. 

Duration: 4h 9m

Saturday morning started with an awkward encounter that would be over by the time I descended the mountain. Somehow that was the strangest part of the hike to the Peak of the Twin variety.

Ascending through the fog on a brisk morning, it barely felt like a daytime excursion at all. The canopy of giant trees, of which I'm sure Special Agent Dale Cooper would love to know their names, coupled with the thick, Silent Hill-esque haze to create an eerie atmosphere of isolation. Dare I say, it was downright Lynchian. 

I'm a relative newcomer to the works of David Lynch, only discovering them when Redacted took me to Snoqualmie Falls and talked to me about Twin Peaks. Two years and an autistic need for dedicated research later, I was in North Bend when the news came that he'd left this plane of existence to transcend. The Double-R Diner was covered in a candlelight vigil, an image that will stay in my mind far longer than the circumstance. 

Originally intending to hike Mt. Storm King from a suggestion, I opted for Mt. Si instead because at no place in the reviews was there a mention of needing to use a rope or any areas that were not maintained. Heading up this mountainside early in the morning was a blessing, as both those going up and coming back down were the real hikers who knew the codes of the trails. The descent later would be filled with tourists who didn't, but fortunately that one was significantly quicker. 

Thank merciful Tehlu for switchbacks. Not all my Washington mountain hikes would be so fortunate, but this one would also be significantly more populated. Laura Palmer's theme played in my head as the relatively repetitive views of tall trees and misty mountain hops prevailed throughout the landscape. Trekking poles were also a practical blessing, as one slip could've meant a disastrous sledding hill with only the smothering comfort of ancient ferns as a stop-gap. 

One thing I found quite surprising, and perhaps that's due to the relative isolation of the winter Hiking Club speedrun only months before, was the encouragement from those on the descent. Appalachian Trail-esque, dare I say, were those who didn't have to drive two hours to make the climb, and therefore got an even earlier, pre-tourist adventure. They not only were appreciative of the code, but offered sincere support on the 3000 ft.-plus elevation gain. "Keep going, you're almost there!" is something one could take as condescension in many other circumstances, but somehow on this dreary July morning, it provided the extra verbal assistance necessary to continue. 

As the trail leveled out, a view above the clouds presented itself briefly before giant rocks replaced the dirt path I'd traversed to that point. Would I climb a few hundred more feet to sit on top of the world and enjoy a Luna lemonbar to celebrate my first true mountain summit? Just call me Will Ospreay, because baby, I was elevated!