Saturday morning I picked Adam up in Preston around 6:30 and laughed along the way to the Mt. Si trailhead listening to Dave Chappelle. Adam had acquired a recording from his broadcasted HBO stage act. Got to the trailhead around 7:00. Only a few cars there. I actually got a parking spot right by the TH! That never happens. Started hiking and was alarmed to be passed a few times by joggers. It was a really misty day and hiking through the trees made me think about the beginning of Time Bandits, when Kevin encounters the horseback rider and his Dad after scolds him for the noise. This hike starts steep and only lets up briefly at Snag flats, where volunteers built a nice walkway. There is also a signs that describe the critters, flora, and the huge forest fire long ago past. From here it's mostly switchbacks to the top. Twenty minutes from the basin we broke out of the mist and was greeted by sunshine. Right before we reached the basin we ran into a pair of ladies who gladly took a few pictures of us. Right as I got onto the basin I was awestruck by the sight of the huge massive rock monolith called the haystack (my pictures of it didn't develop, thanks Target 1 hour photo!). Adam was game to climb it, However with no one else there knowledgable about the proper scrambling route, I chickened out. There's always next time . Lingered for over an hour then started our decent back to my truck. Nothing but hikers on the way down, I started counting people to myself and lost count after 60. Once back at Snag Flats, one lady in a church group asked how far it was to the top. I lied and told her she was almost there. She probably cursed us most of the way up. Almost to the bottom we were approached by a brunette in her 20s who told us to stop and turn around. I guesss her blond friend didn't want to pee in the brush off of the trail so she did her business practically on the trail. She had her companions, the brunette stopping decending traffic and another companion who stopped ascending traffic. Too funny!

I don't remember what time we got back to the truck or what I did the rest of the day. However I literally could not get out of bed the next morning. Going down the stairs of our appartment in Issaquah to get some grub was a pretty large undertaking. Got some food and never left my couch until that evening. I shouldn't have hiked the day after doing heavy squats at the gym. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way.