The goal was to do the entire Tiger Moutain Trail (TMT) from south to north as we approach the shortest day of the year. We failed miserably but we did get to use one term over and over again – “blowdown”. It seemed like there was a “green wall” in front of us after each turn of the trail. We jokingly thought we would run into 100 blowdowns over the 16 miles of the TMT. That estimate would turn out to be a little low. We started at first light at the TMT point on SE Tiger Mountain Road. Even the parking lot had a lot of debris laying around. It is only 1.5 miles to the junction with the South Tiger Loop Trail but that leg took over 1 hour. Generally, any place close to a ridge or gap was a real mess. The next leg on the east side of South Tiger also had plenty of “green walls”. It took another hour or more to get to the north end of the loop trail. Bail out plans began to surface. It was decided to bang away for a while longer and continue on to the trail junction that heads up to Middle Tiger. The trail was not too bad until we neared Karl’s Gap. What a mess! It might be easier just to re-route the trail around this part. At the junction to Middle Tiger, the fun meter, energy levels and amount of daylight left were dropping quickly. We lost track of the “blowdown” count at somewhere over 200 and we had hiked about 1/3 of the TMT. The bail out trail from this point down to the West Side Road is faint and partly hidden beneath some blowdown debris but the trail is passable and actually in much better shape than anything we had been on to that point. We then followed the West Side Road to where it comes close to SE Tiger Mountain Road. We picked one of 2 trails which dead-ended in one last blowdown section. We crawled under and around and ended up in someone’s backyard. We found our way to the road and then had a couple of miles of road walk back to the cars.

Decided Sunday was a nice day for a trail run. The upper parking lot showed evidence of storm damage, but had been cleared. We knew we were in for an adventure with the first few blowdowns near the trailhead. We went up TMT and took the spur up to West Tiger 2. The lower part of the TMT - up to where it crosses the trail that goes straight up to WT3 - was a mess with numerous blowdowns. There were only a few blowdowns on the switchbacks up to Anschell's Alley, and a few along that pine-needle covered part of the trail. After that the trail was runnable all the way to where the TMT splits to the left from the West Tiger RR Grade. From there to West Tiger 2, there were numerous blowdowns - including almost one whole hillside adjacent to the trail. One of the small antennas on West Tiger 2 had been bent in half by the windstorm. Since all of the climbing over and under and through downed trees had added about 30 minutes to the run, we decided to head back to High Point via West Tiger 3. As others have reported, the upper portion of the WT3 trail is a true trail-finding adventure.

I had never hiked up Tiger Mountain and wasn't planning to, but Friday a guy I worked with stopped by my desk and asked if I wanted to join him and another for an after work hike. I had never gone hiking after work, but it being a nice hot day, an evening hike seemed fitting. There were few cars when we arrived in the parking lot (maybe 6:30) and I was surprised there weren't more people taking advantage of the nice weather. I expected to see the typical bulging parking lot that you see when you drive by on I-90. We saw maybe 15 people on the way up the trail. There are many miles of trails that crisscross the mountain, and I can't really remember which one of them we chose, but I was surprised that it was steeper than I thought it would be. Though there was a bit of a haze, the views from the top were nice--Rainier to the south, Lake Washington, Puget Sound, Seattle, Mt. Si, and a paraglider that was in the air pretty much the whole time we were up there. There were about 7 other hikers at the top. We ate some strange exotic trial mix, er I mean trail mix, that my friend had brought along and shared some with a blue jay, and took some pictures of the surrounding area. We were the only people at the top when we left at about 9:00, after having watched the sun set, and having had the top to ourselves for about a half hour. It was nice to have a flashlight for a few stretches at the bottom. It was strangely coincidental and poignant late that night to read about Ira Spring's death the day prior. The first hike book I ever looked at was the 100 Hikes in Western Washington that he and Bob Spring had authored in the sixties. I think I first started looking at my parent's copy when I was seven or eight and the first hike in it was Tiger Mountain, and I remember the picture with the twinkling city lights in the distance that was part of the hike description. We never did the hike as a family, and later, the hike didn't interest me alot, and I really had no plans to ever do it, so it was a little eerie to end up finally doing this hike that day and then learning of Ira's passing that evening. Many thanks to Ira, Bob, and Harvey for all the books they have written and pictures they have taken over the past decades and for the service they have done for the hiking community in helping to preserve wilderness areas.

Purchase of Green Trails Map 204S - Tiger Mtn is essential to reconnoitering the cat's cradle of section lines, cable crossings, railroad grades, loops and connecting trails of this marvelously accessible State Forest. From the High Point entrance we took the gravel path a few hundred yards to the fence post baffle on the left and were promptly welcomed to the TMT - the Tiger Mountain Trail. 800 ft of elevation is gained the first mile through the piney woods, moss, salal and sword fern to the shoulder blade of a ridge parallelling a forest valley. Two and a half miles from the trailhead is solitude. This is not Mt. Si. Many brooks and small cascades lend their charm. There is a recently constructed footbridge over High Point Creek redolent of fresh cut lumber with expertly joined seams. Tendrils of wild ginger and unopened eyes of coltsfoot. From the wooden plaque declaring ""Tom's Crossing"" we sampled the views from West Tiger 2 and back to West Tiger 3 and the Section Line Trail to the Nook Trail past the Talus Caves and home via the Bus Trail. One becomes engrossed in the capillary web of travel possibilities. The highest point is 2700' at West Tiger 2 and the six hour hike enabled us to cover nine miles or so. But the real sense of this trail are the moods of the fog, the greenery, the shady glens, the dark slopes.

Over the last 20 years I have hiked every part of the Tiger Mountain Trail (TMT). What I had not done was to hike all of it in one day. Gary and I had planned on going east for a snow scramble but with gray skies and possible rain on both sides of the mountains we chose instead to stay close to home. We left my car at High Point and drove Gary's around to the South trailhead. It rained on the drive South but was had stopped by the time we started. We made good time for the first 4 miles, going around South Tiger Mountain and crossing the West Side Road. The next section on an old railroad grade is one of my favorites. The TMT is never steep but has many small ups and downs. Over a long distance they add up. We planned to throw in a few side trips and our first one was the trail up Middle Tiger. This is about half a mile and gains 500'. We had a little food and water on top and headed back down. I was glad to see that the South end of the TMT has been getting maintenance. A number of new culverts have been placed and logs cut. There were several logs across the trail that will need cutting. None were difficult to get over or around. With Middle Tiger taken care of we had covered about 6 miles and gained 2000'. That is the equivalent of going up and down the popular Tiger 3 trail but we still had 10 miles to go. From the Middle Tiger Trail to Fifteen Mile Gap is a long distance. The trail goes up and down and in and out of a number of valleys. In a straight line it is 2 miles from Middle Tiger to Tiger 2. On the ground it is nearly 3 times as long. Our luck held out as the rain stayed away. Usually if Gary and I both carry umbrellas they can ward off the rain. Today was no exception. Now if we leave them in the car expect a down pour. We crossed the Charles Custer bridge and continued on. Finally we reached Fifteen Mile Gap and stopped for more food. We were now beyond the mid point and nearing the high point on the TMT. We encountered more of the bizarre ""Tiger Mountain Broken Tree Syndrome"". These trees were broken in half and appeared on the Middle Tiger Trail, beyond Fifteen Mile Gap, beyond the Tiger 2 to 3 trail, and in several other places. These are on ridges, in deep forest, on North slopes, West slopes, and South slopes. I have no clue as to what caused it. Our next side trip was up Tiger 2. The trail is near the 2600' high point on the TMT and we only needed to gain 200' to get on top. With just the 2 of us on top, there were 24 less people than on a Wednesday evening hike a month ago. I was a little surprised to see two people before Middle Tiger and three runners coming down Middle Tiger. On top of Tiger 2 we saw to hikers and 2 runners. The runners were finishing hitting all 6 summits in both directions. And I thought our little 17 mile trip was impressive... The easy way down Tiger 2 is to drop down the North side and reconnect with the TMT. We were, however determined to follow the whole trail so we backtracked on the West side. On top of Tiger 2 I finished the last of my food but still had enough water left to last to the bottom. 12 miles down and only 5 to go now. The TMT is very nice going around Tiger 2 and dropping to the West Tiger RR Grade. The trail was good but I was starting to feel it soon. At miles 14.5 we found a sign listing the distance of 2.5 miles to go. After crossing High Point Creek the trail starts to ascend again. I new this was coming but could not remember how much climbing there was. Now I know. It was 400' up hill before the trail relented. I'm not used to climbing after logging nearly 15 miles. It was not much fun. The rest of the way was fine. The last mile I was out of gas. My legs were fine but the tank was empty and I came in on fumes. The TMT is a great trail. I'm glad to have finally done all of it in one day. The totals were 17 miles and 3500' gained. Now that I have finished this report it's time to turn in and get some sleep before tomorrow's hike.