Fuller Mountain by Hancocks Comb in North Fork Snoqualmie / 福樂山

Home > Trips > Fuller Mountain by Hancocks Comb in North Fork Snoqualmie / 福樂山

Fuller Mountain by Hancock’s Comb is a lowland hill in North Fork Snoqualmie River Valley. Like other places here, it sits inside private property used for logging mainly. But most of them are accessible right off the beaten path.

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Fuller Mountain at a Glance

Access: NF-5700 @ Gate 10 (permit info)
Round Trip: 4 miles
Elevation Range: 1040′-1880′
Gear: none
Route Info: Mike Black, Rich P
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes

Snoqualmie Recreation Permits

A portion of the North Fork Snoqualmie River area has undergone several logging ownerships. Hancock Natural Resource Group (HTRG) first obtained the land from Weyerhaeuser before Campbell Global took over in late 2015.

Then last year, J.P. Morgan acquired Campbell Global from its parent company BrightSphere Investment Group.

Snoqualmie Permits
> MOTORIZED RECREATION ACCESS PERMIT
> NON-MOTORIZED ANNUAL PERMIT
> NON-MOTORIZED ONE-DAY PERMIT FOR INDIVIDUALS
> NON-MOTORIZED ONE-DAY PERMIT FOR FAMILIES

It’s our first time visiting the area. So I used Rich‘s descriptions to email Campbell Global and printed a recreation permit for $10. The process was pretty straightforward, but I needed to specify a precise entry date.

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North Fork Snoqualmie River Valley

This area doesn’t see as much traffic as Middle Fork Snoqualmie. The roadway past the last houses has many big potholes. But people still come for notable places like Bare Mountain and Dog Mountain farther up the road.

I was glad to find a new place to visit while recovering from a minor foot issue. So the pups and I are sticking to low elevation and short hikes for now. But I hope to heal soon so we can snowshoe again.

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Lower Forest to Ten Creek Crossing

We walked past Gate 10, a few hundred feet down from the main road. Instead of going straight through the hidden entrance, we turned left onto Tolt Reservoir Road. But we backtracked a few minutes later.

The old-growth forest had no shortage of moss and ferns. The ground stayed flat through to Ten Creek at mile .2 from the trailhead. Then I scouted several yards north and found the narrow, chicken-wired log to cross.

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Fuller Mountain West Route

We went out into the open by the gravel pit in half a mile. Then we had our first view of Fuller Mountain above us. Shortly, we turned left and walked 500′ to the next fork before turning right slightly uphill.

It’s another 200′ of walking the old roadbed before the discreet entrance. But of course, we overshot it by 100′ before turning around to find it. Soon, the trail took us west of the mountain in the lush forest.

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The Final Stretch

It was a more defined path than I had expected, making for a pleasant walk. En route was a few places with spotty views out to the western plains. Then we reached the first switchback half a mile from the entrance.

The trail was decent through the switchbacks up to the northwest ridge at 1640′. After losing the path to tree debris, we scrambled south the rest of the way to the flat top. I didn’t see anything marking the high point.

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Fuller Mountain Summit Views

The summit itself didn’t boast views. So I followed Mike’s GPS track a short way east through more trees to the opening above the buttress. I looked out to the long ridgeline down to Mount Si and Rattlesnake Mountain.

What a glorious day in the neighborhood! At under 2000′, the mountain had more to show than the credit I gave it beforehand. After a 45-minute visit, the pups and I left the sunshine back into the shade.

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Outro

It didn’t take long before we were back at the gravel pit. Since it was still early, we dillydallied our way through the trees and enjoyed the solitude. Then we stopped by the creek before going out onto the road.

Perhaps it’s the $10 permit that turned people away. But I expected to see some folks here since it’s right off the beaten path. Then again, the bumpy road we took to come here wasn’t exactly what I’d call “enticing.”

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