Jan and I were very excited to attempt the Issaquah Alps Grand Traverse and saw the current standard had been set by two strong women! We decided on a leisurely start time given the increasing daylight (~9am), and dropped one car at the Tiger Mountain finish and drove to the start near Coal Creek. We set out with full packs of food, and 2 liters of water each. We refilled our water at a community tap near the Issaquah Community Center.
We kept a conservative, but consistent pace, power hiking the climbs and taking minimal breaks. We went off trail a couple of times because the conversation was too good and Mara was in charge of the directions (oops) but we estimate these diversions took less than 20 minutes total and each time we returned to the point where we left the trail before continuing on.
Overall, an amazing, sunny day on the trail with great views and lots of shade!