I set off on a solo trek on Tiger at 11am on a Tuesday. There were only a handful of cars in the High Point/Tradition Lake parking lot. I passed a couple of dog-walkers who looked curiously at me-- probably because I was dressed for snow.... and it was a good thing I was! Snow level was low today, so this was more of a snow-venture than I had expected.

I first headed towards the Bus Trail, and took the Nook Trail off to the left. The Nook Trail was in good condition with no problems, I was able to go quite quickly along it and up onto the mountain. Someone has dug new drainage along the trail in several key locations to avoid the trail becoming a stream in heavy rainfall.

After passing the Talus "Caves" (considering these caves is admittedly generous) I continued on the connector trail to the Tiger #3 summit trail, bypassing the Section Line Trail (which was probably a mistake overall). The connector trail was in OK condition, with some muddy sections. No real problems. I passed a couple who looked very tired, asking if they were on the right path for the caves, luckily they were. (probably a case of "could a 1/2 mile possibly be THIS long?!) At the end of the trail is a junction that is currently not signed. Someone has scribbled on the post that probably had the sign before-- talus caves one way, tiger #3 summit the other way.

I continued towards the summit of #3 for another mile, the way becoming increasingly snowy, and occasionally icy--I was glad to have traction devices in my pack for this situation-- to the junction with the West Tiger RR Grade #3 trail, which is not clearly marked as such. There is a sign stating that the summit is .9miles beyond-- the RR grade is a small unsigned trail leading off the switch back. At this point the trail became true snow (1-4 inches, depending on location), with few footprints along the way. The RR grade is in terrible condition, as well as I could tell through the snow. It's a relatively flat trail (aside from a few somewhat difficult stream crossings) but it was very difficult to travel. There are numerous blowdowns of all sizes-- some right in the middle of the trail. None are too difficult to get around, but the going is very slow because of the blowdowns. I passed the junction with the Section Line trail, deciding that the RR grade might improve... I was wrong. Condition worsened from this point with the blowdowns, as well as areas where large mud puddles appear to have lightly frozen on the top, then snow on top of that-- so I fell through the ice into a few inches of mud/water on several occasions. Areas where you are near water are most suspect in this respect. Some of the blowdowns require the decision of over vs under- picked the wrong answer once and bonked my head pretty well- dropping my map out of my pocket. I soon reached the junction with the Poo Poo Point/One View Trail and realized my map was gone. A 20 minute backtrack, and map-in-hand I headed up the One View Trail.

The One View trail is lovely, and I think I caught the one view too :) (over towards the Summit #2). It's in good condition, easy to follow and free of blow-downs (a couple tiny ones not worth worrying over). The uphill grade is moderate (300ish feet in 3/4 mile). I was so glad after the RR grade! at "15 Mile Gap" I met up with, and continued onto the Tiger Mountain Trail (TMT).

This stretch of the TMT appears little traveled recently as there was only one set of footprints in the snow, and several animal tracks. Even so, there was no problem telling where the trail was meant to be, and it was easy travelling with my traction spikes. Lovely fresh snow, fragrant coniferous trees. Just beautiful. Unlike most trails I've traveled on Tiger, TMT is frequently signed as such :) The trail climbs a bit through a few switchbacks over 1.5 miles of trail when you meet the junction at Manning's Reach. At the major junction here (signed elevation 2500 feet) you can continue straight ahead on the TMT, right to Summit #2 or left to Summit #3. There was much less snow at this point and the trail was clear aside from being compacted ice in areas.

I continued left to Summit #3, which isn't far away-- just a quick downhill, and then up the switchback to the Summit. The wind was starting to blow hard at the summit as I headed down the Tiger #3 trail, not unexpected-- but I did feel sorry for the man I saw hiking up in a T-shirt! I highly recommend traction devices on the trail headed towards summit #3. I kept mine on for about 1/2 the way down, taking them off near where I put them on initally. I stayed on the Summit #3 trail back to the Tradition Lake parking area, which I reached at 3pm.

Hiking time 4 hours
Total mileage (estimated) 11.5 miles

Overall a good day, but I'd caution folks 1) avoid the RR grade or at least expect slow going 2) traction devices really helpful above about 1,500 elevation-- at least today.

I didn't feeling like driving a long way to hike today, so I decided to take a nice long (9 mile) hike on Tiger. As usual, once I got away from the popular trails around Tradition Lake, I saw few other hikers. There was a mob of cars parked at the end of the paved access road (cable line hikers and adventure pass evaders), but the inner trailhead lot still had lots of space even at 10:30 am (adventure pass needed to park here).

In general, the Tiger trails were in good shape, although I was surprised to see a number of blowdowns that had not been cut. As one would expect, the trails have dried out and have even become a bit dusty.



Well, here's the rundown on trail conditions that I found on my long ramble:

TMT from Tradition Lake to High Point Creek:

In good shape. Steep climb beyond the Cable Line junction has sections of slumped tread, and a number of step-over blowdowns. Beyond the K3 junction, the trail is closed due to the damaged bridge over High Point Creek. This part of the trail is still quite hikeable, however.

K3 Trail:

Hikers have reported a bee nest on the trail

High Point Trail from TMT to Fred's Junction:

In good shape. I always enjoy hiking through the well-aged second growth forest here. Big, well spaced trees have the flavor of an old growth forest.

W Tiger RR Grade from Fred's Junction to Preston Trail:

In good shape. There is quite a durable spring that flows across the trail a quarter mile before the Preston Trail junction. Wonder if the water is drinkable?

Preston Trail from W Tiger RR grade junction to upper Bootleg junction:

In good shape. With this steeply inclined trail, maintenance of the drain dips is important. Someone should dig them out before the rainy season hits.

Poo Top Trail:

In good shape. Steep, narrow, old-school trail that is lightly used. If usage increases, this trail will have to be rebuilt.

Hidden Forest Trail above TMT:

In good shape. The lower portion is overly steep, needs rerouting with a reduced grade.

One View Trail:

In good shape. East end of the trail has a rooty, rough tread, and is steep in places. The west part of the trail has been rebuilt to a high standard, but sections are overgrown by brush.

Poo Poo Point Trail:

In good shape. One of the more heavily used trails on Tiger. Sections of the trail above the Many Creeks Valley bridge are excessively steep given the heavy usage, and could use rerouting. Below the bridge, drain dips need repair. This part of the trail is prone to erosion damage and needs good drainage. About 3/4 of the way up to Many Creeks Valley, there is a 100 foot section that gets a lot of runoff from a seasonal spring, and needs extensive tread repair and drainage features to remove water.

Tiger Mountain, Loop over Tiger 1: Bus Trail, Nook trail, Section Line Trail, West Tiger RR Grade, One View Trail, Poo Top Trail, West Tiger NO. 1 Trail, TMT Issaquah Alps

    Scott, Betty and I did this as an alternative to the originally scheduled Mountaineer’s hike of Mt. Si and Mt. Teneriffe. Hiked Bus Trail to Nook to Talus Rocks. Then continued on upper Section Line to West Tiger RR Grade. Continued to One View Trail. RR Grade was very overgrown and we got scratched up a bit. Continued on One View to TMT to upper Hidden Forest to Poo Top (tracks of illegal mountain bike usage here) to summit of Tiger 1. Great views and no one up here. Returned via West Tiger No 1 Trail and the TMT. More overgrowth. Trails never crowded and we met most of the other users late in the day. Damaged bridge on the TMT was easy to cross. Stats were 3,460’ gross elev. and 11.2 miles. Many of the Tiger Mtn. trails are now very heavily overgrown with thorny bushes and thistles. Don't wear shorts like I did. In fact long sleaves are a good idea.

  This was an official Mountaineer’s trip with a party of 5. Our trip started at the Chirico TH on the Issaquah-Hobart Rd. The Chirico Trail has been vastly and continually improved with lots of steps. Took a short break at Poo Poo Pt. and then continued on the Poo Poo Pt. Trail (heavy overgrowth) to One View to TMT to the Hidden Forest Trail. This trail climbs steeply up to the Main Tiger Mtn Rd where it is renamed Poo Top. It remains very steep as it ascends a scenic ridge to the Tiger 1 summit. The trail was in nice condition and shows little use. We walked through the antennae farm to the bench just west of the “Hikers Hut”. Grand views here and lots of wildflowers blooming. Continued on the West Tiger No. 1 Trail to the Bootleg Trail. Very scenic in open forest and cool in the shade. Continued to the Preston Trail to Paw Print Rest Stop which was completely overgrown. We could barely see the picnic tables. Then found the RR Grade Trail which was so overgrown there was only the barest hint of a path through high vegetation. Turned west on the TMT. Again overgrown, but we can see the tread. Found a massive new bridge with steel beams over a creek with a history of washouts. By mistake I headed down the Hidden Forest Trail, but soon realized my mistake and we regained the TMT. Then continued our return down the One View Trail and back to Poo Poo Pt.

    Poo Poo Pt. was now busy with Para gliders, one hang glider and lots of spectators. With a cool breeze, in sunny conditions and a rainbow of flyers in the sky it was hard to leave. On the return we met Mike who has been building the steps on the trail for years and years.

    Stats for this very nice trip were 11.1 miles, 3,900’ (includes getting off-route) and 9 hours 20’ with 3 very long view/eat/rest stops. Heavy overgrowth along the trails was about the highest and heaviest I had ever seen. We did not see one other person between leaving and returning to Poo Poo Pt.