Nothing bad to report, it was a great hike in great condition!

I had not hiked on the north side of Tiger Mtn. in over a year. Started this loop trip from the High Point Trailhead. Hiked the connector trail east to the parking area for the Cable Line Trail. Went up the trail that switchbacks up to the PSE power line, then the trail goes straight up the steep hill side. When I got to the Tiger Mtn. Trail, I headed back down hill to the West Tiger No. 3 Trail. Then went up hill to the junction with the Talus Rock Trail. Hiked this trail over to Talus Caves. Along the way there was some snow on the trail and the tall water fall at the unnamed creek that was flowing at a good rate. From the caves I hiked down the Nook Trail. About half way down the Nook Trail, I stopped for lunch at the wooden bench that over looks the creek from the waterfall. A few other hikers were heading up as I ate. After lunch I hiked down to the Bus Trail and went west. At the trail junction by the old bus body, I took the trail around the west side of Tradition Lake. At the lake view spot I could see a few ducks swimming. From there I took the power line trail over to the Swamp Trail and hiked it back to the parking lot to complete the loop. Didn't see to many hikers, except on the West Tiger No. 3 Trail, where there were many people heading up or down the trail. On the other trails I saw very few other hikers. So if you get off of the main trail to West Tiger No. 3, you'll have a better time with no crowds. When I got back to the parking lot, it began to rain. Other hikers were just starting their hikes, some wearing cotton sweatpants. No to waterproof for a winter hike.

My wife and I hiked with our 20 month old daughter. The trail is nicely maintained and my daughter was able to navigate it without any mishaps. The self-guided story boards on this trail provided my daughter the opportunity to make animal noises as she saw their cartoons on the story boards. After the swamp trail ended we placed out LO in her backpack and moved on to the adventure trail. Both Swamp/Adventure were empty despite the parking lot and even 79th St. being packed with cars. All the these trails are in great shape and nice for any level or aged hiker. Maps of the area are placed throughout.

This may seem a minimal hike compared to my other recent Tiger excursions. But these were among the few Tiger trails I'd never hiked, and this season I've been making an effort to get to all the unvisited ones. So I parked at the big lot at High Point, walked a few feet back down the access road and found the sign for the Swamp Trail next to a power line. I had no idea what to expect. Not alligators, I was sure, but I did have visions of sinking into muck with every step. Not so! It's a fine trail with smooth footing and no mud, designed with young visitors in mind. Signs along the way offer an account of a visit by Zoe, her encounters with wetland denizens and her uneasiness about a (perhaps mythical) Swamp Monster. A brochure available to adults at the trailhead offers supplementary material to enhance the young-un's visit. The surroundings are very green, with lots of moss and ferns but no standing water. In about a half mile I came to a fork in the trail, "Swamp" to the left, unsigned to the right. Of course I chose the unsigned fork. It continued on a well-constructed boardwalk, often rather slippery. (Trekking poles were an asset on this very difficult trail.) Eventually I came to a power line. Now, this part of the Tigers has a number of power lines and not all of them are shown on the Green Trails map. I pressed on until the ongoing trail across the power line was completely blocked. A notice proclaimed it had become a "Recovery Area" and that I should "Stay on the Trail." This implied either north or south along the power line. I headed north along the well-trod path and soon came to a sign on the left for the beginning of the Brink Trail. The Brink is a visually pleasant walk for about a half mile. "Brink" seems to refer to the steep, heavily wooded slope to the north. Somewhere down there I-90 must be hidden. It can't be seen but the traffic noise is a constant. Soon, I came to a signed intersection with the "Ruth Kees Big Tree Trail." I intended to hike it, but pressed on briefly along the Brink Trail until I came to the intersections with the Wetlands and Adventure Trails. This was familiar ground that I'd hiked before, so I turned around and backtracked to the Big Tree Trail. The Big Tree roughly parallels the Swamp, and soon leads to a large Douglas fir that magically survived extensive logging early in the 20th Century. An information sign tells us the trunk diameter is about 9 feet and the lowest branches start about 75 feet above the ground. The tree's age is estimated to be between 200 and 400 years (apparently no core has been taken to count rings.) A very short side trail, heading away from the tree, leads to a genuine swamp area with hanging moss and standing water, with the water surface covered with pale green botanical material. This area seems much more of a swamp than any location along the Swamp Trail. I continued on the Big Tree to the power line and headed south along the power line trail. Soon I came to another power line heading east/west. Its access road is termed the "Puget Power Trail," and it traverses the north side of Tradition Lake on the way back to the High Point parking lot. A short way along that trail I noted an obvious, but unsigned trail heading south. It's part of the Around The Lake Trail that eventually traverses the South Side of Tradition Lake, but I did not take it that far. A short way along the unsigned trail I came to a side trail that leads to a viewpoint along the west shore of Tradition Lake. In the past, I'd looked down on the lake many times from the south shore, but here at the west end I was finally able to dip my boot toe into the water. I was almost done now. I returned to the Puget Power Trail and continued east. Along the trail, views of Tradition Lake through the vegetation were almost non-existent (the south shore offers much better viewpoints.) The trail brought me back to the parking lot and the end of my exploration for today. My total distance was, I estimate, a bit over three miles and the elevation change probably less than 100 feet. In terms of distance and exertion this was by far my easiest Tiger hike ever. But I enjoyed experiencing these trails and this corner of the Tigers. They were new to me, and I found them worthwhile.

The rumors are true. It is HOT and Dry on Tiger, at least it was yesterday. The new Swamp trail is great- very runnable, without slippery boardwalks. Section line appears untouched, while the Railroad Grade has a lot of down trees and a major slide that has taken out about 100 yards of trail and requiring a "vegetable belay". The slide also damaged one of the footbridges on TMT. The work crews were out, and everywhere they have been looks great- but they have not started on those areas yet.