May 11, Wednesday: SVTC*: Change Creek, etc.

Distance: 12.8 km (Source: Snoqualmie Valley Trails Club*)

Weight: 20-pound backpack
Weather: Clear, 60s
Elevation gain: 2,800 feet from trailhead (SVTC) My altimeter indicated parking lot at 1,275 feet and highest point reached at 3,919,  (compass bearing of roughly 330 degrees on Little Si) for a total gain of 2,644. Link: Change Creek Trail.
Accumulation elevation gain for 2016: 39,388 feet. (Using my altimeter figures)
Accumulated distance hiked: 279.57 km
Notes: Leader Ralph Owen described the hike as being at a "moderately slow" pace, but the steady ascent presented a challenge. The hike started near I-90 exit 38 with a steep and narrow, picturesque trail that zig-zagged through numerous switchbacks and over ground that varried from hard packed dirt to skree adjacent to a steep bank. Close to the top there were views of McLellan Butte, Mailbox Peak and Mount Si. At times the hike took us through brush in order to reclaim the trail. The downward slope involved walking on hard-packed ground or a rocky trail that tested knees and feet. We started at approximately 9 a.m. and were back at the cars at 3:12 p.m.
Concern: Platypus leaked a bit in car. I had less than 1/2 cup left when I got home. Forgot to bring 12-oz can of V-8, I could have run out of water and had to call up my emergency bag and filter -- and hope to find water.

Ralph Owen, our leader, adds the following information in an email:

I want to thank you all again for your company & patience on last Wednesday's loop hike. I measured 8.6 miles with 2760' elevation gain with my GPS and Suunto summing altimeter on Wednesday. I downloaded the track from my GPS onto my computer and drew a map and profile of the hike using the TOPO program. This came up with 8.31 miles and 2777' gain. Pick either of these "exact estimates" for your statistics.

I am attaching the TOPO map and profile that was drawn into this email. You can reference back and forth between the two as I have included a set of Waypoints that show up on both drawings. I have included Hall Point and Jay's Landing which were near our route and which some of you have been to before. I also included the Waypoint "LOST" to show where I lost the trail in the down trees and branches. I have also included a Waypoint for our LUNCH spot. Our route up is shown in RED and the Route down in BLACK and then in BLUE.

I Have included the mileage, measured from our parking spot in parenthesis at a number of spots along the route. Most of the old roads and trails that we hiked on are also shown on the Green Trails Mount Si NRCA #206S map. The parts of Whitebark's Change Creek Trail from the John Wayne Trail up to Hall Point and the shortcut up past the Change Creek Pond are not shown on the Green Trails Map.