Climbing Snoqualmie Mountain outside Seattle

Second day of my July 2023 trip to western US. I climbed Snoqualmie Mountain today. Located in the center of Cascade Mountains, it is the tallest peak in the immediate vicinity of Snoqualmie Pass and Interstate 90, with a very steep approach to its summit.

After yesterday’s hike of Mount Si, today I decided to take on something different but nonetheless challenging. After some research I decided on Snoqualmie Mountain. It’s the tallest mountain in its vicinity, which should offer spectacular views. AllTrails rated it as 4.8km out-and-back with 950m elevation gain, so it’s very steep. With the help of hiking poles I thought the entire route remained within YDS class 1-2 (and it should be class 1 most of the time), with minimal exposure. It’s like climbing a long set of tall stairs, a different flavor of challenge compared to the scrambling towards the end of Mount Si the previous day.

After checking out of the Airbnb, I made it to the trailhead and started my hike at 11:15am. The parking lot was huge for a ski resort nearby in winter. In summer, most of the people used the lot to access Snow Lake.
Here’s GPS tracking:

After a short walk in the meadow, the relentless elevation gain began. The trail was cleared out of dense vegetation/forest, so there was no traction issue, just that it was insanely steep.

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Trail

Flowers along Trail

Trail

Trail

Trail

Trail

Gully

Trail
This was the worst part that required minor scrambling.

Trees along Steep Trail
So steep that the trunk was twisted.

About two-thirds into the hike, the vegetation along the trail became sparser, and various mountains nearby popped into view.

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Denny Mountain

Mountains to the South
Mount Rainier partially behind clouds.

Trail to Snoqualmie Mountain

 
Trail

 
Steep Trail

Ridge from Snoqualmie Mountain

In particular, the steep gradient of the trail meant it had a towering view overlooking the trailhead and the nearby Snoqualmie Pass, bringing a sense of achievement to the relentless physical workout.

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Guye Peak

Trail overlooking Snoqualmie Pass

Trail overlooking Snoqualmie Pass

In addition to that, the Cascade Mountains further east was a pleasant sight.

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Mountains from Trail

Mountains from Trail

Mountains from Trail

Mountains from Trail

Finally, I reached the summit of Snoqualmie Mountain at 1:40pm, almost 2.5 hours after I left the parking lot.
The views were stellar from the top. Unlike yesterday at Mount Si, the top of Snoqualmie Mountain had a proper alpine feeling, with views being a proper blend of pine trees, granite, alpine lakes and patches of snow. I wasn’t expecting snow for this hike so I was delighted to find them not too far away from me (p5 below).

Click here to display photos from the summit of Snoqualmie Mountain.

Summit Survey Marker

 
Ridge at the Summit / Overlooking Guye Peak

Ridge

One that extended to the northeast from Snoqualmie Mountain. It looked rather exposed, but I saw someone scrambling through it.

Ridge

One that extended to the northeast from Snoqualmie Mountain. It looked rather exposed, but I saw someone scrambling through it.

Snow Patch beneath Cliff

From the summit of Snoqualmie Mountain, a ridge led a short distance to the west, the end of which offered views of Snow Lake (slideshow below). It’s not hard to appreciate its beauty or popularity from this angle, the lake was a large body of water, like the stage of an amphitheater with the surrounding mountains being its audience. Its dark blue colors looked enchanting even from such a distance.
In addition, another more exposed ridge (p3-4 above) led northeast. During my ascent I only encountered another hiker that overtook me, who went on scrambling through that ridge, and I watched in awe staying safely behind.

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Snow Lake before Cascade Mountains

Snow Lake

Visibility was great. Aided by PeakVisor, I picked up a number of peaks in the surrounding Cascade Mountains.

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Overcoat Peak and Chimney Rock
A waterfall in the lower center.

Chair Peak and Kaleetan Peak
Two peaks west of Snow Lake.

Wright Mountain before Preacher Mountain

Garfield Mountain

Alta Mountain and Hibox Mountain

Distant Mount Stuart
Highest peak of Alpine Lake Wilderness.

Three Queens Peak

Alta Mountain

Click here to display photos of the slideshow

Overlooking Snoqualmie Pass

Keechelus Lake along I90

Valley to the Southeast

Distant Cascade Mountains to the North

One disappointment was that, there were some bugs at (and only at) the summit of Snoqualmie Mountain. Their annoying presence got into the way of my lunch and my appreciation of such majestic scenery.

In the end, I stayed just over an hour at the summit, before starting to head back down at 2:50pm.

The steepness of the trail meant it’s also physically demanding going down. To make matters worse, the orientation of the trail meant I found less shade from the afternoon sun, without wind in the woods it felt hot.
In the end, I made it back to the trailhead at 5:30pm. It seriously made me wonder how some people could do this hike in half my time, as reported by some AllTrails tracking.
END

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