Day Hike - Iron Bear & Miller Peak

Meet at the Miller Peak trailhead at 9:30 AM.  It's a 2-hour drive from Seattle without traffic, so factor in morning commuter traffic in your travel time. The leader will help facilitate carpools a few days before the hike.  Note: Miller Peak trailhead doesn't come up in a Google map search but Iron Bear trailhead does and it's right next to the Miller Peak trailhead. The Washington Trail Association's Miller Peak trail description has excellent driving directions too. 

The goals for this trip are to have fun, see wildflowers and hopefully great views of Mt. Stewart.  However, it is a challenging hike at 8.8 miles round-trip and 3200' of gain.  The moving pace will be about 2 miles per hour.  We'll take a few five-minute breaks on the way up and about a 45-minute lunch break at the top.  We should be done hiking by 2:30.  If you haven't hiked much yet this season, ask yourself if you're ready for a hike of this magnitude.

There is at least one stream crossing early in the hike where the water may be a little high (possibly up to your shins). Wear waterproof boots and/or bring water crossing shoes to stay dry.  About halfway through the hike is the last water source, so bring extra water (at least 1.5 liters) and/or a water filter treatment method. 

Leader permission is not required but if you don't have recent Mountaineers on hikes of similar difficulty, I may reach out to you to see if this hike is a good fit for you.