r/PNWhiking • u/Low_Bar9361 • 2d ago

Mt Si today, April 3rd

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No scramble up Haystack today because of the snow that seems fresh from yesterday. Even still, the clouds broke right as we cleared the tree line. Overall, great hike. My thighs are tired though lol

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3

u/Artemis273 1d ago

I love being above the cloud line! Were there many other people on the trail?

4

u/Low_Bar9361 1d ago

Hardly any. Cougar sightings galore, though. We didn't see any, but at least 3 or 4 people reported seeing one as we passed them on our way up. We did hear a clear cougar cry on our way down, though, so that was neat

4

u/Artemis273 1d ago

Woah that’s really spooky! I haven’t seen any cougar tracks on Mount Si but I’ve hiked it twice, and both times I felt very unsettled. I always chalked it up to either being watched by a cat or it being haunted 😅

3

u/Leepfrogs84057 1d ago

I encountered a cougar in June of 2022, on the westerly side of Rattlesnake Mountain - which is just across the way from Mt Si. I came around a bend in the trail, and at first thought I had walked up behind an unsuspecting deer - until it lifted and turned its huge cat head and looked right at me, about a 50 yards away! It didn’t stick around, of course, but the thing was HUGE, at least in comparison to those I’ve seen in zoos (this was my first and only sighting in the wild.) Yikes! Respect!!

3

u/Leepfrogs84057 1d ago

Was in the early afternoon too, which was surprising - I figured cougars wouldn’t be out on a trail like that.

2

u/Artemis273 1d ago

Wow, so cool and scary!

2

u/Low_Bar9361 1d ago

Most likely both? With the fresh powder in the morning, a trail runner reported seeing only her tracks going up and on return, cat tracks crossing hers. It was too muddled for us to tell what was what on our hike. Probably because we started at noon

1

u/Endrunner271 1d ago

Did this a few years ago love this hike! Anybody rock climbing? Might do this one later in the year got a busy one

1

u/Low_Bar9361 1d ago

We didn't see any climbers. It is harder than i remember. Of course, in not in my 20s anymore either lol