Welcome to CIAoutdoors’ first blog! First of all, I would like to say thank you for checking us out. We have a great deal to share; including trip reports, tips, advice, photos and stories. Our post today is a trip report on our journey up Mount Si via the Old Trail. If you are unfamiliar with Mount Si, it is fair to say that it is one of Washington's most popular hikes. And no wonder! The Mount Si trailhead is easily accessible, and is an excellent challenge both for frequent hikers and those that do not get out as often. Mount Si is an 8-mile roundtrip hike, with approximately 3,150-feet of elevation gain. The main trail is well maintained and ends at about 3,900-feet of elevation.
Leaving Tacoma today it looked as if it was going to be wet and windy. We had the honor of sharing the trail with other individuals from the Tacoma Mountaineers Club for a conditioner. We picked up our new friend Kevin and headed out to Northbend, Washington, which is only about an hour away from Tacoma. The four of us arrived at the Little Si trailhead around 9:30 A.M. and gathered around with other mountaineers from Seattle to go over the trail and our goals for the day. Kevin was the only one of us that had been up the Old Trail before and informed the group that it is accessible through the Little Si trailhead. The Old Trail is about a mile less than the Mount Si’s main trail but makes up for it in steepness. This trail definitely means business, but so do we! The group made it up with few stops in 1-hour and 54-minutes.
Overall, it was a fantastic hike. The weather ended up holding out (besides fog and a little hail at the top) and the entire day went smoothly. CIA highly recommends checking out the Old Trail, especially if you enjoy Mount Si but would like to see about a tenth of the crowd on the trail.
