Tiger Mountain Trail North
May 27, 2012
by
kathshaf
—
last modified
May 28, 2012 12:33 PM
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Tiger Mountain Trail North
- Region: Issaquah Alps -- Tiger Mountain
- Agency: Department of Natural Resources, South Puget Sound Region
- Avg Rating: 2.86
- Hiking Companions
- Hiked with a dog
- Why You Should Go Now
- Wildflowers blooming
The trail is in good condition with lots of wildflowers (bleeding heart, twin-leaved spring beauty, vanilla leaf, buttercup, orange honeysuckle, false lily of the valley, false solomon seal, to name a few I know).
Somehow we missed the trail indicators (despite printing and trying to follow the description of this trail from this website) and ended up on Unmaintained Trail K3, which was in quite good condition and a lovely, if steep, woodsy trail. We ended up meeting the West Tiger Railroad Grade trail, and then after following it for a while encountered another poorly signed intersection (i.e. no sign) and accidentally took the Tiger Mountain Cable Trail down to meet West Tiger 3 trail and back to the trailhead at High Point. All told we think we hiked a 6 mile loop.
The take-home is that this trail isn't well-signed at intersections, so be careful. We never got to a vista, but did enjoy much of the hike, encountering few people until the West Tiger 3 trail.
Somehow we missed the trail indicators (despite printing and trying to follow the description of this trail from this website) and ended up on Unmaintained Trail K3, which was in quite good condition and a lovely, if steep, woodsy trail. We ended up meeting the West Tiger Railroad Grade trail, and then after following it for a while encountered another poorly signed intersection (i.e. no sign) and accidentally took the Tiger Mountain Cable Trail down to meet West Tiger 3 trail and back to the trailhead at High Point. All told we think we hiked a 6 mile loop.
The take-home is that this trail isn't well-signed at intersections, so be careful. We never got to a vista, but did enjoy much of the hike, encountering few people until the West Tiger 3 trail.
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Tiger Mtn trail maze
At the point where you got on the bottom of the K3 trail, the TMT switch backs left/down and begins a long descending-then-ascending loop, which is why the K3 was made, 'cause as you found out, it goes UP. If you had crossed the West Tiger RR Grade where you reached it, and continued on the K3, you would have rejoined the TMT high on the East side of West Tiger 2, and would have ended up on that summit or on the ridge between West Tiger 2 and 3.
One thing I love about the Tiger Mtn trail system is that - as you noticed - once you get off the main West Tiger 3 highway, it can be quite private. Gotta know the system, tho, there are lots of possibilities :)