Palisades-Ranger Ck Trail,  Snoqualmie National Forest,  July 19, 2012     page 20 / 20

From the shelter, one can continue up the hill to a trail which runs along the ridge, or turn down the Ranger Creek trail (#1197) and back down to the highway. Of course, we chose the latter. The Ranger Creek trail had a bit easier grade down the hill, through a beautiful forest.

The afternoon clouds continued to build until a short lived thunderstorm began rumbling. Eventually, there was one loud clap of thunder and some light rain, which lasted only a few minutes, thankfully.

We covered a bit more ground than we had planned, hiking 12.5 miles and gaining 2950 feet, but the hike was well worth it. This would be a great conditioning hike, nearly any time of year.