Thinking about the Snoqualmie Tree farm and have a couple questions

[DavidBorland]

In doing my prep for blacktail hunting this fall, I've started my scouting on GoogleMaps and am strongly considering getting a non-motorized permit for the tree farm.  With that (not looking for your hotspots  ) I had a couple questions:

1) Is the non-motorized pass worth it?  Am I going to just be marching around with trucks all around? 

2) I was thinking of just parking at the gate and hiking in before sunrise, is it kosher to just park the vehicle at the gate and head in? 

3) Not super worried, but do I need to pack a pistol for predator issues?  I'm 6' and 230 but I've not hunted in terrain with predators any bigger than a coyote.

Obviously any other advice is appreciated, but I was mostly curious on these topics  

Thanks and hope all your scouting and planning is going well too!

[Katmai Guy]

If you can afford it the motorized pass is way worth it in my opinion.  I hunt and fish in there all year and the bigger bucks I see are a long ways from the gate  or the areas you can access from the county rd.

[westside103147]

I would advise against parking at the gate. The county road attracts a lot of riffraff.

As far as trucks go, you will need to get a ways off the beaten track to get ways from road hunters.

[fishnfur]

Regarding the sidearm for predators, it is more of a anti-anxiety treatment for you if you're worried about predators.  The chances of you encountering a predator face to face, intent on attacking you is very, very low, especially if you use your head and don't bother sow bears with cubs.   

That being said, I've busted a cougar watching me at close range and after the fact (once my underwear were laundered), I felt like a pistol was a really great idea. Now, I feel like a good knife strapped in a convenient location is a better weapon for a cat with lockjaw on the back of my neck. 

I feel very safe with my rifle or gun in my hand during MF deer season.  I only carry a sidearm when I take my dog in the woods with me.  If you think you'll be more comfortable during your hunts carrying heat, by all means, do so.  To me, it is just one more thing weighing me down and getting in the way of focusing on hunting.

[DavidBorland]

Thanks for all the advice   I'll probably try to find a hunting partner until I get a better feel for the area and be sure to find another less obvious spot to park besides the front gate.  I was taking a look at the 2014 deer harvest results and it sounded like 20% of hunters filled their tags in 460 that year which gives me some hope 

One more ?.  Would it be prudent to get the bear tag as well?  I've always wanted to tag a nice black bear and it sounded in some posts like it might not be a bad idea