Trip Report
Day Hike - Poo Poo Point (New Trail)
Exploration of a new roughed-in trail up to Poo Poo Point from the Chirico Trailhead.
Karen Wallace
- Thu, Sep 26, 2019
- Day Hike - Poo Poo Point via Chirico Trail
- Poo Poo Point via Chirico Trail
- Day Hiking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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The trailhead for the new trail is the same as the Chirico Trail which is adjacent to the field where the paragliders land. Our group took the new trail up and came back down to our cars on the regular Chirico Trail. I would recommend the same for anyone trying this for the first time.
To get to the new trail, enter through the Chirico Trail grand entrance by the wood carved animal, cross the bridge, and then take a LEFT up the grassy, open hill (not the way to the right as usual. Once you start crowning the hill, look carefully to the right for a trail. Vegetation grows quickly, so the trail could be hiding a bit, but once you find it, you are on the trail! (Note: if you walk too far past the hill and come up to an abandoned looking garage, turn back around and walk back to where the hill starts to crest and you should find the trail.
First of all, this is not a groomed trail but a “roughed in” trail that is under construction and has lots of colorful tape marking the path, so route finding is fairly easy. Mark Chirico (Chirico Trail) who runs the paraglider place nextdoor to the trailhead, told me about the trail and has invited me a couple times to start using the trail, so here we are exploring it! According to Mark’s sister, who we happened to see working on the trail during our hike, the name of the trail is the Chirico Loop Mission Rescue Trail.
Second of all, there is quite a bit of elevation gain in a short distance, so for those who might not have a clear understanding of that, hiking up is still going to require some real effort like the regular Chirico Trail; however, hikers (fast or slow, young or old) who have the mindset of a kid playing in the woods will find this to be a really cool way to hike up through the woods to Poo Poo Point. Hikers who are not of this mindset should skip it.
Are there spots that could be make a newer hiker nervous? Yes, because the terrain is uneven, soft, and appears to be steep in spots. No water crossings yet. Can a newer hiker in her sixties with the mindset of an adventurous eleven-year-old make it up? Heck yeah, but just be prepared to take it slower and enjoy the journey. Tip: use at least one trekking pole with a smaller basket on the way up this new trail and maybe two poles for the way down the regular trail.
On the trail you will find lots of mushrooms, a hillside section of thick ferns, soft moss on trees and rocks, a section of beautiful older trees, peekaboo views of Lake Sammamish, and even a vehicle that rolled down the hill probably years ago. (What’s the story on that?) The trail will come out on the top section of Poo Poo Point by the picnic table and tower. We lucked out and got up there right before a stunning sunset and just in time to watch 3 paragliders launch. We then got out our headlamps and hiked down the regular trail partially in the dark. A very fun adventure indeed!
Here is a screenshot from my gaia app showing the new roughed-in trail in red and the current Chirico Trail in blue.
Here the link to my Gaia GPS for our route up the new trail. Please keep in mind that our group ascended very slowly, so a group of experienced, seasoned hikers will complete the hike more quickly. https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/4328555c30314a67896edab493c378f8/