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Trip Report    

Winter Scramble - Section Line Trail

A great winter workout when difficult road conditions make other venues a challenge. Although really a hike, listed as a scramble for vetting future Winter Scramblers (and their gear) on steep terrain.

Dave Morgan Dave Morgan
December 21, 2022
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • Temperature in the upper 20’s at the trailhead, upper teens at the summit.  Fresh snow of ~1 inch in the parking lot and 2-4 inches from ~1000’ on up.  Used boots going up and micro-spikes on descent.  There was a respectable mount of black ice on I-90, plus compact snow/ice covering on/off ramps.

With the recent winter storm (plus more on the way) accessing trailheads can be tough.  This is rarely the case for downtown Issaquah.  By using a variety of trails from E Sunset Way (to reach the Section Line Trail, good map practice) you can get a great workout of ~2800’ gain over ~7 miles (round trip, to West Tiger 3 and back).  Even better, an early start gets you back in town well before noon.

This is a great venue for reviewing the conditioning and equipment of folks considering future Winter Scramble trips.