Snake To Lake: A Run Through The Alps
Last December, two friends and I hiked up to the top of West Tiger #3. It was a dazzling day with bright sun and fresh dusting of snow above 2,000 feet. Our plan was to jog back to my home at the base of Cougar Mountain through the trails of Tiger, Squak, and Cougar. We chatted with another hiker about our route and he told us about a group of friends that once ran "Snake to Lake" from Rattlesnake Lake to Lake Washington through the trails of the Issaquah Alps. While the clever name was the main point that caught our attention, the route also appealed to us. "Next October", we joked to each other. For the next 10 months, we would joke that every run was just training for "Snake to Lake".
Sunrise from Rattlesnake Ledge: Blake Slattengren, Sean Richardson, Daniel Briggs, Ryan Nguyen, Brigette Takeuchi, Kelsey Takeuchi, Chris Chamberlain, and Kyle McCrohan
I grew up in Brier, near the north end of Lake Washington. Although I became an avid hiker and runner in my college and post college years, I spent almost no time in the Issaquah Alps. If I had to drive 40 minutes through traffic to get to Issaquah, I figured that I might as well keep going to the bigger mountains of the Cascades. But in August of last year, I moved into a townhouse beneath the north side of Cougar Mountain, just a few minutes from the Big Tree Trailhead. Since then, I have become intimately familiar with the trails in our wonderful backyard. They are a place to de-stress after a long day. They are a place to stay fit and train. They are a place to meet others and develop a community. For a metropolitan area of millions of people, the Issaquah Alps are the closest real wilderness. They may not be the biggest hills, but they provide an incredible value to the people who recreate here.
On the day of Snake to Lake, I met nine friends in Issaquah and we carpooled to the Rattlesnake Ledge Trailhead. Kelly Jiang, a Board member of the Issaquah Alps Trail Club, volunteered to meet us during our run at road crossings with snacks and water. I am used to doing remote mountain runs, but the convenience of aid stations was enjoyable since it meant we did not need to carry much while we ran and we had tasty food the entire day. We started off towards the Ledge at first light on a brisk fall day.
We tagged the true summit of Rattlesnake Mountain, the highest point in the entire Issaquah Alps. Interestingly, this would be the only summit we would bag all day. The trail network in the Issaquah Alps is vast, leaving so many opportunities to create new routes. We could have done a dozen different versions of "Snake to Lake", but we chose to just do the most direct route over Rattlesnake, Tiger, Squak, and Cougar mountains. And it was still 41 miles! I am already scheming a more summit-focused route - "The 14 Summits of Issaquah".
At the "Squiger" (Squak/Tiger) aid station, we had covered a full marathon distance already. A few of the participants decided to call it quits, while we also took on a new addition to bring fresh energy over the finishing sections. While remote mountain adventures fill me with a sense of awe and wilderness, runs like these are all about friendship and fun. The Issaquah Alps is a place that forms communities, whether it is my little community of friends or the greater Issaquah Alps Trail Club.
Crossing Squak Mtn.: Kyle, Daniel, Blake, Sean, and Logan Heine
As we descended from Cougar Mountain into the Coal Creek Natural Area, my legs were feeling tired. The fall colors were beautiful and I tried to just focus on the joy of spending this time out with friends. At the west end of Coal Creek, I realized that I had a chance to finish in under 10 hours. I pushed it a little on the Eastrail Trail and into the parking lot of Newport Beach Park. But the run does not simply end at the park - you have to jump in the water! I ran into the shallow water, shoes on and all, and dunked myself. 9:59:55! Just barely under 10 hours.
In total, our run was 41 miles and 8,500 feet of gain, with nearly the entire run on trails and lands protected by the Issaquah Alps Trail Club. While it was by no means the most epic run of my season, it felt special because of the meaning these hills have taken in my life. Snake to Lake felt like a celebration of both friends and the Issaquah Alps. Our big backyard is very special, and I feel incredibly grateful for it.