Christmas Day Hike: Ebey Bluff Loop Trail

I parked at the Prairie Overlook and headed along the Ridge Trail to the Ebey Bluff.

At the bluff, I followed the bluff trail to the west. This is looking back east toward Ft Casey.

Perego's Lake came into view as I continued west along the bluff.

The trail descends to the beach at the west end of the loop. The view is to the east.

This view is west at the base of the trail to the beach.

Looking back to the west as I continued east along the beach part of the trail. Can you spot the switchbacks on the bluff?

Having reached the east end of the loop at Ebey's Landing State Park, I headed back west along the ascending bluff trail.

The complete hike was 5.18 miles. Even on an overcast day when the Olympics, Cascades and Mt. Baker were not visible, it was a refreshing hike.

Guemes Mountain Summit Views

The summit, at about 660 feet elevation, offers partial views from the northeast to the southwest. We spotted several of the San Juan Islands and parts of Fidalgo Island.

Guemes Mountain Trail Views

The well maintained trail is 2.6 miles, round trip, with an elevation gain of 610 feet. We hiked to the summit February 24.

The upper half of the trail had about two inches of snow.

The views along the trail were worth continuing up the slippery slope. The walking sticks provided at the trail head were a plus.

Iron Goat Trail Hike: first Cascade Tunnel

The western portal of the first Cascade Tunnel is at the east end of the Iron Goat Trail. The 2.6 mile long tunnel was completed in 1900 and used by the Great Northern Railway until 1929. The company had decided in the mid-1920s to build a new tunnel at a lower elevation to avoid the harsh winter snow. The western portal of the second Cascade Tunnel is shown below, as seen from the Iron Goat Trail. It was completed in 1929 and is 7.8 miles long.

Iron Goat Trail Hike: the Snowshed

Going through the all concrete snow shed near the east end of the trail was an eerie experience. Great Northern Railway trains passing through were protected from heavy snowfall and possible avalanche until this line was abandoned in 1929.

The shed shows deterioration on the west end.

Iron Goat Trail Hike: trail views

Much of the trail followed along the side of tall snow barriers. This part of the trail is relatively flat, gaining only 300 feet in over two miles.

Mileposts indicate the distance from St. Paul, Minnesota.

We passed by this collapsed wooden show shed. It had been built in 1910 and was left when the line was abandoned in 1929.

The wild flowers were beautiful. Some of the path was overgrown and we fought stinging nettles. 

Iron Goat Trail Hike: the Butterflies

The only animals we saw on the hike were a couple of butterflies.

Iron Goat Trail Hike: the Name

The Iron Goat Trail gets its name from the symbol of the Great Northern Railway company. It follows the railroad grade used by the trains on the west side of the Cascade Mountains from 1900 to 1929.

While the rails are long gone, one can still see evidence of the railroad line along the trail.

Iron Goat Trail Hike: Windy Point Tunnel

We came to the Windy Point Tunnel at the top of the crossover trail. This railroad tunnel was completed in 1914 and was used by the Great Northern Railway until 1929 when a new tunnel was completed.

We hiked east along the side of the tunnel where there was firm footing but quite a drop off.

There are views along the trail of the valley below.

We caught glimpses of Highway 2 and the new rail line,

and the west mouth of the new tunnel, 7.8 miles long, completed in 1929.

The Windy Point Tunnel is a little over 1,200 feet long. This is the east end. The tunnel is closed to hikers because of the inner deterioration. 

Iron Goat Trail Hike: Windy Point Crossover Trail

We began our hike at the Scenic Interpretive Trailhead off Highway 2. What followed was a steep switchback trail that ended at the upper trail. We gained around 700 feet of elevation on the one mile trail. 

We got a few peeks at the Skykomish River valley, the path of Highway 2.

The crossover trail was just as steep going back down as we remembered going up.

Maple Falls

Are there really Maple Falls near the small community with that name on the way to Mt. Baker? We were enticed by the trail near the grocery store. It was a pleasant walk in the woods but were later told it was too late in the summer to expect to see any falls. The area receives about 80 inches of rain a year so looked like a rain forest. Perhaps I'll try the trail again next spring.