Snoqualmie Pass Run/Scramble

Okay so I finally got COVID and am really bored so I figured I would write about one of my semi-recent runs on here. Snoqualmie Pass in Washington has tons of interesting peaks, fun trails, and gorgeous lakes. Despite the abundance of options and tons of information on the area I still went for the adventurous approach and stitched together a 17 mile on/off trail run without doing too much research. So join me on this experience!

Bear Grass in full bloom!

Trip Logistics

Alright so this time I actually am not going to tell you were I went. I am sorry but I ended up on some fragile surfaces so I figured it is best to keep this one a bit quiet. Based on the description and the area I provided one could likely guess the route that I took but I am going to make you do the work to figure out exactly where I went :)

Trip Statistics
17 miles
6200 ft of elevation gain

Trip Report

So I arrived at the trailhead at around 7:15 am and was off by 7:30 am. Only in Washington near Seattle will you get to a trailhead with a huge parking lot that is already almost full even before 8am. 

 

 

My first little bit was spent on the road. I made my way down a paved forest service road watching cars one by one drive towards and past me. I enjoyed watching all the passengers heads turn as they passed, confused on what the hell I was out there doing.

Eventually I made it to the trail and this is where my first big climb would begin for the day. This trailhead was almost completely full by the time I arrived. I continued upwards passing hiker after hiker on the long but thankfully not to steep ascent. I was happy to have brought my poles for the endeavor as I had not been doing much trail running so I was honestly just a hiker with a really small backpack at that point.

Looking off into the fog

The fog opening up and so did the trees

As the climb ascends the trees become more and more sparse. The trail becomes occasionally rocky and the fog begins to dissipate. Views into the I90 corridor open up and long looks into Bear Grass meadows become obvious.

Eventually the terrain opens up and the distant route to the summit becomes a little more apparent.

Continuing towards the rocky area on the left

Soon the well trodden trail disappears and the scrambling begins. A huge quantity of boulders appear following a ridge line. The ridge was at no point ever harder than class 2 and it was easy enough for me to run. I stuck as high as I could but generally just followed the easiest path.

Looking along the ridge. You might be able to guess where I am :)

I scrambled my way to the summit. Eventually I jump, skipped, and hopped my way all the way to the top. It was a bit windy so I layered up and downed a bar and applesauce. Eventually I decided to move on and continued the off trail portion of the day. I descended on the other side of the ridge veering towards the next peak on the ridge. This required a bit of descent and re-ascent.

Here is where the day got a bit more complicated. I knew not many people went this route so I figured I would wing it. Because of this, I think I took a non optimal route and ended up doing some bushwhacking. The descent was slow, eventually throwing me off the rocks and into the bushes. I eventually bottomed out off the ridge and started to move back upwards. On the way up I tripped once and ripped my trail runners a bit. Twas a said moment as I loved my gorgeous purple Salomons but I guess gear is meant to be used.  After a bit of ascent I ended up back on rock and made my way to the next summit. 

 

The ridgeline. I stayed left

I ended up dropping to the lake on the left and making my way up towards the right eventually.

 After some awkward scrambling and route finding I eventually made it to the summit of the next peak. It was fairly unremarkable but still kinda cool. Based on the summit register it was obvious not many folks head up this way; I signed and moved on. The next goal was to follow the ridge and drop to an established trail.

This was easier said then done. The ridge was wooded, steep, and loose on the way down. This is the slowest I went all day, sheepishly jumping from rock to rock and doing my best to find my way down. 

These big blocks are very loose

Heading towards the lake

Eventually I hit the treeline and exited the boulder fields. I was excited but I should not have been. The brush became extraordinarily thick and I was forced to push through it in shorts. My legs were continuously scratched and the mosquitoes started to come out and say hello. After what I thought was way to long I was spit out onto the trail and my off trail adventure came to an end. After a quick second to put on bug spray I took a right and continued onward.

Super fun bushwhacking

A great view!

At this point I continued past a few lakes, did one final big climb, and one final descent to the trailhead. Not too many details to add (as I'm not telling you where I am) so relive it in photos!

The first lake I ran into!

Lovely views of forest

Another quiet lake

The most popular lake of the run

A nice stream on the final descent.

So yeah, Snoqualmie Pass is a good time! Definitely some good trail running and even a bit of fun scrambling but pan better than me. Otherwise you might do some bushwhacking.

Happy running!

-m