A good size parking lot with an outhouse. Discovery Pass is need here (maybe part of the Olallie State Park). Quite a few cars. The mountains are mostly green, with dust of snow only on the upper reach. We left snowshoes in the car. The trailhead map shows a climbing route with eclectic names like Squishy Bell, Shangri-La, Grit Scone. I took this bad photo on my way out, with flash light. Another curious point on the map is Dirty Harry Museum, which we decided to check out.
A short connecting trail to walk over a road and bridge over South Fork Snoqualmie River. The water is green and clear. The first mile of the real trail has access to the climbing rocks. A lot of freshly made signs for the trail and the climbing spurs, as well as later, the cliffs (or rather the viewpoints). I like the 4th on Gaia. It's the 2nd obvious side tracks that merit a cliff sign, about 1.5 mile in, ~2400'. From then on, it's mostly flat in the woods, a bit ups and downs. A bit of snow now. The trail is rocky or muddy this time around. The Balcony itself is a side track with clear signage. Quite a bit snow here, even though only ~2600'. I didn't like this as much as the previous viewpoint.
Feeling fine, and still early, we decided to look for the "museum". Didn't see it on our way or down. Snow became consistent soon after the Balcony. The trees were dropping snow incessantly. Didn't bring my umbrella:( There's one section where a creek flowed over the trail. If you want to keep your boots dry, needs some dexterity. Later, from what I read, this is probably the turn off to see the Dirty Harry's Museum, where he had abandoned a truck and some logging equipments. This little creek is probably "museum creek". Oh, well, next time.
2 more viewpoints over some clearing. None as good as before. Both have a log carved for a bench, now covered with snow. Turned around ~4:15pm, at ~3450', with some opening. Short snack break here, where we were not bombarded by the falling snow. Dirty Harry's Peak needs another hour (at 4662') or longer (may need snowshoes).
Coming back on soft snow was quick. Met a guy with a little white dog going up asking if the "museum" was close. He abandoned his search quickly. Went to my favorite viewpoint for this sunset shot. Probably a good goal for an after-work hike, short enough for sunrise or sunset hikes.Met a group of 3 young guys going up around 5:30pm, already pretty dark, about a mile from TH. Soon after I turned on my headlamp. Reach the car ~5:50pm.
Update. Hiked to Dirty Harry Peak later in the spring. The peak is somewhat wooded. Might as well: too cloudy to see anything when we got there. Did find Harry's Museum. A bit of detour. The boot track wasn't too hard to find at the lower end, flagged by pink ribbons. But once we reached Harry's truck, lost the track. Had to bushwhack to get to the upper connection to the main trial.
