Summer on Bare

Introduction

In the last 5 years the month of July has been a total nightmare for me in terms of hiking. Trying to line up people for a hike was more like pulling teeth from Bruce Lee. Everyone seemed to have their own agenda and no one seemed to have the same days off. Most of the time I seemed to be lucky if I could get two hikes during the month of July. Well for this year at least I managed one and it was the one I have been trying to get for a good five years.

Out of desperation this year I decided to do something new and that was to start up a meetup group on Meetup.com. My first hike was Stegosaurus Butte which was a good repeat hike. I only had one other person on the hike but it looked to be the start of something special. The next hike just three days later was Bare Mountain, a hike that twice I was driving over there and something happened to stop me along the way. Well this year is going to be different and I finally am going to get Bare Mountain.

Heading Up through the nasty vegetation

Through my meetup group, I was able to meet 5 other excellent hikers. The hikers Louis, Richard, Ariel, Wen, and Amit all decided to join in on this awesome hike. We carpooled from the Issaquah Park and Ride and both Louis and Amit had the vehicles to handle the rough drive on iffy, pothole filled gravel roads. Because it has not rained in this region since mid-June the road were very dusty and not very scenic. After the rough drive we arrived at the trailhead.

The trail started out at a good grade but it was full of pebbles and it was hard for us to get speed on the trail. We crossed over a couple of small streams and traveled through the forest what used to a hard gravel road. With a mile we ran into the first stream crossing. We went across the less than sturdy log over the creek and then sat down to take pictures of the beautiful waterfall next to us.



We then crossed over another bridge which is starting to look like worn down. A little after that bridge we entered the real fun of the trip which is the thick vegetation field. In fall this would be a photographers paradise but on a hot summer day this would be a nightmare. Luckily though it was not very hot day but the sun still was having an impact, especially on me who was drying out much faster than I realized going up through the fields. We soon started the "46" switchbacks. The higher we went the more scenic it got. But the sun kept glaring on us and the paced slowed as we continued to head on to the summit. The wear reminded me on how long it had been since I have done a decent hike.

On The Summit

After the famed switchbacks we got to the ridge where excellent views await of a nearby lake along with the first real shot of the true summit of Bare Mountain. There were at least four more swichbacks to get there. We took a slight break and then headed over to Bare Mountain. Richard and Amit were the first one to the top followed the rest of us. Not realizing how dehydrated I was I sat down. That was a big mistake because within seconds I began to cramp real bad. While on top I drank about a liter of water, had some food and took an Advil. Within a couple minutes I was much better off and ready to head downhill.

The view from the top of Bare Mountain was excellent. From the top one could see hundreds of mountains including Glacier Peak and Mount Rainier. Nearby Lennox and Canoe were also showing off their luster. After about 45 minutes we were ready to head down.

Heading Down

We thought it would take less than two hours to get down off the mountain but with a water break along with fighting with some of the thick vegetation and an enticing waterfall it actually took us much longer. The temperature was not bad but the sun was really doing a number in the fields. We also had to be careful with what was under our feet because there were large spring holes that popped up throughout the trail. By the time we hit the stunning waterfall many of us were throwing the cold water on our head to cool ourselves down. It felt great to be in the sun but even felt better to be out of the sun.



Once past the waterfall we made decent work of the rest of the trail and soon we were back at the trailhead. We were hungry and we were tired. But all of us were to enjoy an excellent day in the mountains. Unfortunately though we had another hour of crappy gravel roads though until we got back to civilization. But both Louis and Amit were able to take on that adventure head on and soon we were in the town of North Bend where we enjoyed an excellent meal.

Conclusion

I honestly could not ask for a better group of people to hike with. It was great to talk to Amit and Richard who have aspirations to do far higher mountains in the near future. Ariel and Wen were excellent as well. When I was cramping both Ariel and Amit gave me some water and the others offered as well. I will never forget that. Louis and I also spent a lot of time talking all the New England hikes that we had done. Louis as been on a couple of great hikes this year and I am very lucky to have met him. I also want to thank Amit and Louis for driving that rough road. All of them were awesome and I look forward to seeing everyone in the future. Hopefully soon there will be more and better mountains for all us to climb.

Images

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