"Hyak" means "Speedy"

According to the Washington State Ferries site, "Hyak" is a Chinook jargon word that means "fast" or "speedy". Discovered this by accident while checking schedules on the WSF site. I thought that was pretty funny, viewed in the light of the Hyak ski area. There is pretty much nothing speedy about anything at Hyak, former home of the "Dinosaur" and current home of the not much further evolved "Keechelus" (which, according to Wikipedia, means "few fish", hehe.)

Snoqualmie, by the way, means "moon" or "people of the moon". Perhaps that will give you an idea about the appropriate gesture to perform next season, the next time you are irritated by Boyne customer service, or your least favorite volly patroller. ;D

According to the Washington State Ferries site, "Hyak" is a Chinook jargon word that means "fast" or "speedy". Discovered this by accident while checking schedules on the WSF site. I thought that was pretty funny, viewed in the light of the Hyak ski area. There is pretty much nothing speedy about anything at Hyak, former home of the "Dinosaur" and current home of the not much further evolved "Keechelus" (which, according to Wikipedia, means "few fish", hehe.)

Snoqualmie, by the way, means "moon" or "people of the moon". Perhaps that will give you an idea about the appropriate gesture to perform next season, the next time you are irritated by Boyne customer service, or your least favorite volly patroller. ;D

The Hyak name for the area came from the Milwaukee Road Railroad around 1915 during the building of the train tunnel (the area replaced Laconia as the railroad community on snoqualmie pass). Most likely the name was in reference to the trains (Hiawatha and Olympian)...just a guess.