Epic Hikes of Washington State - Mt. Pleasant

Mount Pleasant

Date Hiked: August 10th, 2025

Trail Hiked: Mount Pleasant, Washington DNR Trail Systems

Distance Hiked: 8.1 miles

Elevation Gain: 1969 ft. 

Duration: 3h 22m

Mt. Sinai being the first mountain I truly ever hiked to the summit may have spoiled me in some ways.

Not that it was an easy haul to the top, it most certainly was not, even for someone in the shape for hiking such things as I was, but it's not readily apparent how much switchbacks and resting points make a difference in such a climb until one doesn't have them available. 

Mt. Sinai was a well-manicured and maintained trail that was easy to follow, meted out the elevation gain, and was clearly designed for hikers to traverse. 

Mt. Pleasant was a small mountain surrounded by the Olympics in their grandeur, it barely had a trail access point unless one specifically knew exactly where to look, and rather than a trail, it was more like a dirt road that happened to be on a mountain somewhere. 

In other words, it was designed for logging trucks to drive on, not so much for hikers to make an ascent, and good gods did it show. 

Up on the Olympic peninsula, it was easy to be intimidated by the rugged nature of the jagged peaks. While still confident from my Sinai hike that I was getting to the point that I could make these treks, I wanted to work myself up and keep trying to steadily improve, so when I saw Mt. Pleasant in the app being a solid 1900 feet rather than some that were in the 4 and 5k gains, I thought a steady climb with a good view at the end would be the kind of hike that might not be as impressive as others nearby, but a good stepping off point for future, more difficult journeys. 

Instead, I got a lesson on switchback efficacy, as ere stated.

Sometimes, solitude on the trail is a blessing for which I'm endlessly grateful, but others, it's an indicator of not doing enough research on my part. This was one of the latter examples, as looking into what others said about it would've given me enough information to reconsider. 

I still did it, but it was not as pleasant as the name would imply. 

The grade was intense, with nothing but my own switchback-ish abatement of the rise to lessen the impact on my knees. Even with much taller peaks surrounding me in several directions, this felt like getting my penance for making terrible decisions at a time in my life where my impulsivity was overriding my common sense and the pained soul in which I inhabited caused me to believe that opting out and trying something else was some indication of a character flaw and personal failure. 

I saw two other people the entire time, and they were on motorbikes. On a beautiful day like this, the lack of other hikers was not a coincidence or stroke of luck. This climbed sucked.

The view at the end was the only part that made this trek worth it. Otherwise, just pick another trail.

Epic Hikes of Washington State - Mt. Walker

 

Mt. Walker

Date Hiked: August 3rd, 2025

Trail Hiked: Mount Walker Loop

Distance Hiked: 8.1 miles

Elevation Gain: 2126 ft. 

Duration: 3h 14m

 

With the previous day's hike traversing a hidden gem in the Seattle Metro, this conversely took me to the Olympic National Forest in the other direction from base. Cougar was a return trip, Walker was a first-timer, not just for the mountain itself, but being the first time I'd ever hiked anywhere near there. Cougar was bright and sunny, this fog was "the owls are not what they seem." Cougar is now a graveyard of memories I wish I could Eternal Sunshine from my overactive brain, Walker is... a sign of the potential further hikes I could've done if my focus had been otherwise. Life is weird.

 

Mt. Walker is certainly not the hardest hike in the area. Even on a foggy day, I could see other mountains that were probably a tougher climb, but given that my first real mountain summit was a week prior, I felt it might be a good idea to start with ones in the two or three thousand foot range and maybe work up to the Rainiers and Bakers of the world? Weird thought, I don't know, maybe I'm onto something. 

 

With the heavy layers of fog covering the canopy, the dew on the greens and ferns felt particularly flavored to the Pacific Northwest, which would be obvious had this summer I spent there not been overwhelmingly sunny and dry. The ascent is immediate but not ridiculous, and I only saw two or three other people the whole time, at least before I got to the top. It's probably not fair to Mt. Walker to judge it against the majesty of Mt. Si, but again, not much from which to draw at this point, in that Mt. Walker was a reasonably hard climb but not the more arduous sections of incline that Si challenged me with. 

 

I am certain that the views from Walker's top are considerable. When I reached it, not only did I see climbers and other tourists taking in the Pyramidhead-esque surroundings (benefits of there being a way to drive to the top), but there were also a lot of signs and placards explaining to me what all these gorgeous icons in the landscape were and how awesome it was to be there. Akin to my (first) trip to Great River Bluffs State Park bragging about the breathtaking views, I'm sure they're fantastic... if I could've actually seen them. 

 

One option to return back was to go the way I came, and the other was allegedly a loop, and I suppose technically it was. However, rather than a trail, AllTrails decided the road was the fun way to go down, and while it started slowly revealing more layers of the surrounding Olympic National Forest, I didn't enjoy  dodging those who took the motorized way to the top. Not that I have anything against trail tourists, but... okay maybe I do just a little bit, particularly against their vehicles being near me. 

 

It is what it is, and foggy Mt. Walker's good. 

Epic Hikes of Washington State - Cougar Mountain

 

Cougar Mountain

Date Hiked: August 2nd, 2025

Trail Hiked: Whitaker Peak and Shy Bear Loop Trail to Doughty Falls

Distance Hiked: 9.5 miles

Elevation Gain: 2162 ft. 

Duration: 3h 49m

This mountain is a graveyard of memories for me, and it has nothing to do with the trail itself. 

I didn't know when I was doing this hike that it would (likely) be the last time I ever set foot on these grounds. At the time I was traversing these heights, it was a return to conquer something upon which I'd given up at a time of much lesser endurance than I now possessed. It was a place of sentiment, the subject of many stories, and one where something (once) significant took place that helped shape several years of my life. 

Now, to reflect on it, it is one of morose, of buried emotions that lay dormant amongst the tombstones with names fading into the obscurity of the past. Writing about it is one last journey through moss and a canopy of trees upon which my eyes will never gaze again, and that is a shame because this is a beautiful place within decent proximity to the metro area. 

When my hiking prowess was much closer to the novice level, at a time where I didn't even think to bring a water bottle or proper footwear, I explored this place with Redacted without realizing just how far up we went. The screams of a barred owl only heightened the mystique of this place that created the illusion of isolation despite being mere minutes away from the main drag in Renton. Funny enough, this was my second choice of a location for adventure on this pristine Saturday August morning, after an attempt to revisit the Melmont Ghost Town trail was unsuccessful due to trail closure. Thus, going from Bremerton to Carbonado was a waste of time, and Cougar Mountain ended up being as close to a sentimental callback as the former was intended to be. I'll write about Melmont another time, once I can conjure its similarly dead place in my soul. 

Having completed the summit of Mt. Si a mere week earlier, the immediate slope upward didn't seem as difficult as it had four years prior. But, the trail gives no illusions of gentle ascent, for once one leaves their car in the tiny parking lot (assuming one even finds a spot), the upward climb begins immediately and doesn't let up for a while. Cougar Mountain is a mere third of the height of Si, but confronting that incline first thing into the hike definitely gets the output juices going within the first few minutes of arrival. 

The giant rocks with mossy coats give way to shadowy cavern-like crevices, making it appropriate to throw on some Howard Shore and imagine one is descending into the hidden paradise of Rivendell. How one can be so close to a main road and experience such calming silence is as Washingtonian as one can get in such endeavors, but after a few hundred feet of hanging out with corvids and waterfalls, it's easy to forget the surrounding activity. 

It's beautiful. I hate it now. 

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! 

Epic Hikes of Washington State - Cushman Trail to Tacoma Narrows Bridge

 

Cushman Trail to Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Date Hiked: July 27th, 2025

Trail Hiked: Cushman Trail, Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Borgen Loop, Grandview Forest Park

Distance Hiked: 25.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 1877 ft. 

Duration: 7h 13m

The day before this, I hiked Mt. Si to the top, which is another story for another edition of this series, but mentioning it now is to put this in context: The day prior I set my AllTrails record for elevation gain in a hike and highest point reached. For some reason, I decided that the day after doing that would be a great time to go for my longest distance and time duration spent hiking. 

Is it obvious I wasn't in my right mind this summer? 

I didn't set out on the hike to break any records. Mostly, I wanted to distract myself from the gaping void in my stomach, as well as the bizarre set of circumstances from the previous few days. Everything about my life seemed to be crashing in on itself, so why not jingle some keys toward my physical well-being and hike until my limbs rebelled against my entire system? It was easier than thinking about the mental pain for a while, if nothing else. 

I was the loneliest I've ever been, wandering as if I'd never again find the correct path to be following. The Cushman trail was a relatively boring, paved trail likely meant more for biking than hiking, but I didn't care. Along the way were some Geocaching Adventure Labs to knock out, and those small boosts of serotonin helped out a bit. The fact that it has a lot of road crossings and barely seems to fit the definition of a trail was annoying, but the point at which I was supposed to turn back was noticeably close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which had not only an Adventure Lab but was, obviously, a bridge, and one that I learned that very day had a walking path next to the cavalcade of vehicle traffic. I love bridges, I am autistic, what a great combination. 

One more annoying road crossing later, the gentle but noticeable grade of the walking section of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge led me to some amazing views over the waterways, and possibly even my first sighting of an orca in the wild, but the bridge was too high to get a decent confirmation. It also added a solid four miles and a few hundred more feet to the elevation gain of the journey. If my consciousness couldn't be happy, might as well add measurable stats about which only I give a shit, right?

As the return trip on the Cushman Trail was coming to an end, I noticed that I was approaching my distance record, though the remaining time on the Cushman itself wouldn't end it. Taking a small diversion to the Borgen Loop was little more than an excuse for extra distance and time, just as the Grandview Forest Park was an excuse to complete an Adventure Lab, but it added up.

Pacing back and forth on the first hill of the Cushman after all that, I hit for time, then passed 22.4 for distance, and then thought "why not go for a 25er too?" Maybe not the best decision, but it certainly was a decision. 

Epic Hikes of Washington State: Introduction

 

Epic Hikes of Washington State

Introduction

Do I ever leave the state of Minnesota, where elevation gain outside of the Iron Range is something more likely to be found on a Stairmaster than the terrain? 

As it turns out, yes, and not just because I'm incredible at making terrible life decisions, but at least I left with some wonderful hiking stories amidst the chaos.

While it would be easy enough to continue writing essays of my experiences with Minnesota State Parks and the Superior Hiking Trail, I would be remiss if I ignored the misadventures of my glorious mistakes in the summer of 2025, the context for which I'll leave in the unmentioned portion of the stories. Let's just say that, despite my best intentions, I always end up learning the most painful of lessons the hard way, and while I may still be digging myself out of those fatal errors of reason, I still find myself wanting to write about the one thing at which I didn't fail on a considerable level: my Washington state hikes. 

Despite my Discover Pass now gathering dust in my glove box, I pushed myself to considerable new heights and limits during my summer in western Washington. Though I was collapsing from within on a loop of sadness normally reserved for watching my Cleveland Browns attempt to play the game of football on Sundays, all of my previous hiking records were shattered in grand fashion in the process, so at least I have some cool photos and verified complete badges as a consolation prize. 

I don't have to tell anyone who would be reading a hiking travelogue that Washington state is in a league of its own for choice and grandeur. Even the lower-rated adventures still dominate the proverbial landscape better than the best of many other states in the union. I got to experience many, but not nearly enough, of them over the weeks of my stay in a tiny apartment I never should've rented in a place I never should've tried to live near people who never felt the way I did about them, but at least when my boots hit the quickly-elevating trail system, I could forget about that gaping wound in my heart for a little while. 

Unlike my other two series, this one will not follow any particular system or sequential sections of a trail, and even though I will still be continuing those adjacent to these one-off pieces, there are too many hikes I completed in this small window of time that I can no longer leave on the shelf. For instance, in one weekend, I shattered all my records with two hikes in two days. One was the highest point and most elevation gain (by over a thousand feet) that I'd ever made, and the very next day, I completed my longest and farthest, because I am amazing at balancing rest and recuperation with my numerous quests for statistics and photographic opportunities. 

I love hiking in Washington. Unfortunately, Washington doesn't love me back.