CHS 1 Hike - Kachess–Domerie Loop

Probably 6:30 AM at Issaquah Transit Center;I'll send details to people who are registered for the hike. I can take up to 3 others from the Greenlake Park and Ride in Seattle to the Issaquah meeting place.

NOT a loop: M'eers requires choosing an existing title and route description from their database and that was the closest--but at least the driving instructions to the trailhead are accurate. The plan:  5 miles and 2300 feet gain north on the Kachess Ridge (Silver Creek) trail # 1315. The first 1.5 miles are very, very steep (but mostly good footing); then level or gently uphill along the creek  before moderate 700-foot climb to the 5 mile mark at the intersection with Silver Creek Tie # 1308.1. East on that  to where it intercepts the Domerie Peak trail at the base of South Peak. This cross-over trail is nominally  2.1 miles (probably a bit more) and additional 700 feet net gain. But it has significant ups and downs , so a guess of 3500 feet cumulative gain for the whole hike is reasonable. In fact, it might be more if you add loss and gain on the return over this section. If Aug 4 turns out to be very hot we can cut the hike somewhat shorter, but ideally I'd like to get to the intersection with Domerie Peak trail.

The trail along Silver Creek is lovely, and we get into flower meadows a bit before the 5 mile mark. Parts of the crossover trail will have views south to Mt.Rainier, north to the Stuart Range, and east to Cle Elum Lake. The Kachess Ridge Trail has a few shallow but wide stream crossings with no bridges and no stepping stones. Might get your feet wet unless you are good at walking on top of and scrambling over logs (I am not), or you can bring water shoes /sandals.

The Kachess Ridge Trail is  used by mountain bikers, but they are polite and safety-conscious. Also, over the past few years they have done a tremendous amount of work to clear blowdowns off the trail, which does not receive any attention or maintenance from the Forest Service. Without their work, hiking this trail would be extremely tedious if not actually impossible.