Stegasaurus Butte
Oct. 1st, 2020 06:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tiggymalvern
When I got back from Mexico in early September, I thought, 'Now I have 4-6 more weeks of lovely hiking before the cold and gloom descend!'
Four days later, the smoke arrived because California and Oregon were on fire a lot. A week after that, the rain arrived and got rid of the smoke. But it was another week before it stopped pouring and being windy and miserable, and then I waited another few days for the mud to dry, and then yesterday I finally went hiking!
I wanted somewhere fairly close to home and not too long, so I had time to go after my morning appointment, and I wanted it to be reasonably steep, so I still got good exercise. And I decided to try Stegasaurus Butte, along the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River. The forecast was for a gorgeous day, as it had been on Monday and Tuesday, and while it was definitely warm and vaguely sunny-ish, it was also very hazy, which made for a flat grey sky and flat light and generally not the best conditions for photos.
The start of the trail, and the bridge across the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River.
Views along the Middle Fork. With a blue sky and better light, these two could have been lovely photos!
River confluence and the base of Garfield Mountain.
A quieter section of river as it meanders through the forest.
After walking three quarters of a mile or so along the river, the Stegasaurus Butte trail heads upwards. It climbs 1000 feet as it goes just over a mile, which is definitely hard work and about as steep as I like to go. What the trail description hadn't made quite clear enough is that the first quarter mile is pretty gentle, and the last quarter mile is also pretty gentle as you walk along the top of the ridge. Which means the middle section is definitely steep!
There was a mention that you'd want to use your hands in places. But those were a lot of places. There were times I'd haul myself up only about 30 feet then stop again to breathe for 10-15 seconds before tackling the next section. Coming down was also a hands-on affair, only in reverse, and there were a couple of spots with a dearth of convenient trees, roots or rocks where I sat on my bum to go down.
View of Garfield Mountain from the top of Stegasurus Butte.
And from the other side of the Butte, Preacher and Pulpit Mountains.
Stegasaurus Butte viewed from the bottom. The sheer cliffs on this side weren't what I climbed, obviously, but the back side wasn't that much less steep!
Anyway, I've climbed Stegasaurus Butte, and it was interesting, and I'm glad I did, but I probably won't do it again. The views at the top were fine, but I can get better views elsewhere with less hassle!
Four days later, the smoke arrived because California and Oregon were on fire a lot. A week after that, the rain arrived and got rid of the smoke. But it was another week before it stopped pouring and being windy and miserable, and then I waited another few days for the mud to dry, and then yesterday I finally went hiking!
I wanted somewhere fairly close to home and not too long, so I had time to go after my morning appointment, and I wanted it to be reasonably steep, so I still got good exercise. And I decided to try Stegasaurus Butte, along the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River. The forecast was for a gorgeous day, as it had been on Monday and Tuesday, and while it was definitely warm and vaguely sunny-ish, it was also very hazy, which made for a flat grey sky and flat light and generally not the best conditions for photos.
The start of the trail, and the bridge across the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River.
Views along the Middle Fork. With a blue sky and better light, these two could have been lovely photos!
River confluence and the base of Garfield Mountain.
A quieter section of river as it meanders through the forest.
After walking three quarters of a mile or so along the river, the Stegasaurus Butte trail heads upwards. It climbs 1000 feet as it goes just over a mile, which is definitely hard work and about as steep as I like to go. What the trail description hadn't made quite clear enough is that the first quarter mile is pretty gentle, and the last quarter mile is also pretty gentle as you walk along the top of the ridge. Which means the middle section is definitely steep!
There was a mention that you'd want to use your hands in places. But those were a lot of places. There were times I'd haul myself up only about 30 feet then stop again to breathe for 10-15 seconds before tackling the next section. Coming down was also a hands-on affair, only in reverse, and there were a couple of spots with a dearth of convenient trees, roots or rocks where I sat on my bum to go down.
View of Garfield Mountain from the top of Stegasurus Butte.
And from the other side of the Butte, Preacher and Pulpit Mountains.
Stegasaurus Butte viewed from the bottom. The sheer cliffs on this side weren't what I climbed, obviously, but the back side wasn't that much less steep!
Anyway, I've climbed Stegasaurus Butte, and it was interesting, and I'm glad I did, but I probably won't do it again. The views at the top were fine, but I can get better views elsewhere with less hassle!
