You might say that the Rattlesnake window sill is too popular.

When it was hand-built between 2003 and 2004, planners estimated that the North Bend could accommodate up to 70,000 hikers each year. Today, 300,000 pairs of hiking shoes set foot on this trail every year, and this number has been increasing during the pandemic. AllTrails ranks the Railsnake Ledge Trail as the second most popular hike in Washington, after the Skyline Trail on Mount Rainier.

In fact, it was this epidemic that paved the way for the ongoing maintenance project on this popular trail, which closed in 2020 and received more than 1,000 hours of volunteering during the closure and 2021 Workers' work-the start of the makeover will continue until the spring of 2022, and it is estimated that a total of 5,000 volunteer hours will be required.

When social media made ripples in drone photos of the Rattlesnake Ridge Summit taken by drones during the early March weekend of the 2020 pandemic, the Seattle Utilities Company, which owns and operates the trail, closed Rattlesnake Ridge. At the same time, Washington also closed many state parks.

With the help of original trail partners including Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Washington Trail Association, and EarthCorps, SPU uses long enclosures to upgrade trails to make them safer and easier to navigate. The Off-Highway and Off-Road Vehicle Activities Program, Washington State Office of Recreation and Conservation, and SPU funded the project.

"The way this trail was built was never intended to withstand the usage that has been seen in recent years," said Mike Stenger, entertainment project manager at Greenway Trust.

A press release on the project issued by Trail Partners pointed out that the use of other Western Washington entertainment venues continues to increase due to the increasing population and the pandemic that have led to "increased interest in outdoor activities."

These partners and hundreds of volunteers (and hundreds) are busy working on this trail. Ongoing improvement projects on the trail include strengthening the trail’s tread, reducing erosion, re-leveling and planting along the 2-mile trail, enhancing trail drainage, removing 200 feet of rotting wooden fence walls (or replacing them with rock walls), and strengthening and armoring Two main reentries.   

During the closure of the park last year, a contractor used a mini excavator to remove large blocks of rock, which allowed the first 130 WTA volunteers to start work. This year, volunteers from the Washington Conservation Team and the Earth Corps joined the project. The goal is to complete this work this spring.

From a structural point of view, what is a good path? A stable, clear and well-drained route.

LeeAnne Jensen, site manager of Puget Sound, Washington Trails Association, said: "A lot of focus is on the construction of the reentrant rock wall to prevent the reentrant cutting, which will damage the trail," he refers to the hiker leaving the trail to avoid turning or going down the mountain. .

In addition, although the slope is "quite mild," Jensen said the project is working to reduce some of the steeper slopes.

Liz Ulloa has been a volunteer in the WTA since 2007 and has been working for the Diamondback Ledge in the most recent working group this year.

"What we are doing today is to shrink the trail corridors, so we hope to reduce the wet trails and provide a way to let the water leave the trails through the drainage system. Basically it's just a better outline of the route," she said on a working day this fall. Said later. "We added ferns and rocks to the ground and wooded debris to make the trail clearer, so it's more than just a huge runway."

She pointed out that solving the drainage problem can help avoid "knitting trails," which is another human error problem caused by hikers walking around wet places and walking the trails on their own. With time and vegetation, the original trail soon became blurred.

From the perspective of Seattle Entertainment, what is a good trail? Just a 40-minute drive from Seattle, the Rattlesnake Ledge Trail offers beautiful views of Mount Si, Mount Washington, Cedar River Basin, and two lakes-all in a four-mile round trip, with an increase of only 1,160 feet in elevation , So that it can be used by beginners and families. It faces east and provides amazing sunrise hikes for early risers. At an altitude of 2,079 feet, there is usually no snow for most of November. No permit is required and parking is free. There are few barriers to entry.

"The Rattlesnake Rock is a very iconic hike in Puget Sound," said Jensen. "A lot of people are hiking for the first time, or the one you took your family to when they were in the city. If you climb there in the sun, it's the magnificent view of the valley. This is a better job-to-reward ratio one."

It’s safe to say that the secret of this popular route has been revealed: commenters on AllTrails and WTA websites gave the Diamondback Ledge trail 4.5 stars and 4 stars respectively. Many commenters responded to two things: the maintenance status of this trail. How and how crowded it is.

Ulloa is an avid hiker and year-round volunteer, she saw the tangible benefits of herself and the volunteers she mentored on Cascade's favorite Cascade. She has been standing at her desk handling mortgage loans all week, and she likes to go to the woods on weekends.

"I really like this kind of friendship, I like to teach people new skills, and I like the light in people's eyes when they realize that they have really changed a lot of people by doing this work," she said.

Ulloa’s work on Rattlesnake Rock is now suspended for the winter, but the trail will be open to hikers.

"It's definitely passable," Jason said. "We want to make sure that the trails leave safely so that everything is stable and walkable. Most hikers may not really notice that there is still work to be done. Most of the remaining work is to widen or narrow the road."

If you are hiking this winter, be aware that there have been multiple fatal falls from cliff ledges, so children and dogs with leashes should be watched closely, and all hikers should be extra careful in wet or icy conditions.  

In order to maintain these efforts for many years of hiking in the future, the trail builders emphasized the need to always follow the "leave no trace" standard on the trail-such as packing trash and leaving it on the trail.

Afraid to miss the fun? Jensen estimates that there will be about 17 working groups next year. No experience required-if you are interested in joining volunteers next spring, you can register on WTA's website wta.org.

The views expressed in the reader's comments only represent the views of the author and do not reflect the views of the Seattle Times.