Making the Effort on Mount Si

Mount Si has never been on my list - except maybe my "not to do" list. It's known as the most popular trail in the state; I've even heard they have a shuttle from Seattle to the trail during the summer. I know I said I enjoyed the "communal feel" of Ancient Lakes on my last post...but I imagined Mount Si to be more of a "swarmed" vibe, especially on a Saturday.

A rare moment of no people!

But my friend, Heidi, is back to preparing for her Mount Rainer summit. Unfortunately her trip was canceled last season due to weather, so she's back at it this year. And Mount Si is training central. Two hours up is supposedly the litmus test to prove you are ready. So Julie and I both said we'd come with in solidarity; as long as Heidi didn't mind waiting for us on top.

On Friday Julie informed us there was quite a buzz about the missing zebra and maybe even a warning to stay away from trails in the area. Ummmm...missing zebra? I'm not much of a news watcher, but I knew something was up when I kept seeing memes of Bigfoot riding one. Turns out an actual escaped zebra had been eluding capture and roaming those neck of the woods for almost a week! But the last sighting was quite a ways away from Mount Si, so we figured we shouldn't be in any zebra corral-ers way by clamoring up the thing. 

Though the whole zebra hype did get me thinking it would be fun to play a little joke on Julie. I looked all through my grandkids toy box the night before, but no zebra. Not to worry - my husband improvised for me. "This is the stuff that makes hiking fun," he mused as he painstakingly drew on the stripes, God bless him. 

The hike up is a grind, as we knew it would be, and of course Heidi was was out sight five minutes after we started. At about a half mile before the summit, Julie wanted to take a rest, so I knew it was my chance. I hurried up to find Heidi (who had been waiting for over an hour) and told her my plan. "Get ready for my acting skills," I warned her as we waited for Julie to appear. 

This little video of me trying to sell that we had spotted the zebra proves that Julie wasn't really buying it - but it got a little chuckle; and a cute photo shoot for Sammy, so I say it was worth the effort.

FYI, I think it's also worth the trouble to scramble up a little ways from the lunch spot to the top of the rock pile - it's a better view. The true summit is the top of the Haystack which you can see from there; an effort we all decided tipped the "not worth it" scale. 

The four miles back down made all our old knees scream "WHY?" but a stop at Little Si Restaurant and Lounge's happy hour made us believe once again that doing Mount Si was worth the effort. But I'm sorry, not sorry to say that I will never be doing it again. Happy "a dumb joke is always fun" trails. 

"You mean I didn't really rescue a zebra?"...poor Sammy ;)