Never mind all the things he's done that are far more epic than Mt. Si. Never mind that nobody can set the requirements for being a "hiker". Never mind all that and the fact remains Mt. Si stares at us every day. Plus, there was a high avalanche risk elsewhere so Si it was!
We started early (do we ever not start early?) and got a parking spot actually at the trailhead. Mt. Si is so popular (100,000 hikers each year) if you're not early you're not parking. In fact, it's so popular the Seattle/King Country bus system has established bus routes to the trailhead!
As is our style, we didn't follow the main trail. It was built to accommodate the massive numbers of boots that the old trail couldn't. Since most people use the main trail, we had a little more solitude on the old trail. Not complete, but more.
The sense of wilderness was shattered when we rejoined the main trail just before the summit basin. So many people had also started early. The rocks were littered with humans enjoying the great views of Mount Rainier, Seattle, and the rest of the Cascades. Mt. Si is definitely a great introduction to the more adventurous routes in the area.
For the boy, though, this was just a checkbox to mark on a day when there weren't better options. Heck. He's already done a bunch of the next steps that logically follow Mt. Si. That means we can jump to the really good stuff!
📍On the lands of the Snoqualmie people.
