Tiger Mountain Trail — Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2020

Hiking in the time of Corona.  The sunshine and weather are too tempting to stay hunkered down.  Decided to see if I could do some social-distancing on Tiger Mountain.  A bit after 9am and the High Point trail head parking lot had about a dozen cars in it. Didn't want to be around any groups so I opted for the TMT trail turnoff just at the start of the West Tiger #3 trail.  Good choice because all the way up to the backside of Tiger Peak #1 I just saw one person coming down.  I did stop at the Murat's bridge for a moment of silence like I always do.  With everything going on these days, I found myself standing there for more than a moment just reflecting on things and trying to put things into perspective.  Not sure if anything became more clear, but I felt better for being there.

Back to the trail.  About a quarter mile from the hiker's hut at TM #1, the shady area was keeping the slushy snow slippery.  If I had spikes they probably would have been put on.  But it was managable-- poles,boots, and nose over toes.  After the Hiker's Hut, headed down the road/trail to Peak #2 then to West Tiger #3. I took the West Tiger #3 trail down to the parking lot-- bad choice!  This is where all the people were.  It was as busy as any Saturday or Sunday would be.  When I got to the parking lot there were cars waiting for parking spots.  Families, couples, and teens.  Most everyone seemed respectful when it came time to pass by keeping max distance on the sides of the trail.  Probably more separation than you get in the grocery store.

There were some groups of 8 or more people that I could get on my soapbox about. If we are going to take the precautions we need to and still enjoy some simple things in life, the large groups on hiking trails should not be happening.  Probably not wise for the group itself, or for others on the trail.  Maybe I should have said something, but in some of those situations the message is not heard and the messenger is derided.  If you have friends or family heading out on trails, please show your concern for them to remind them about limiting their group so that you can maintain some social-distancing on the trails.  I would really hate to see our trails shutdown because public officials would see it as a place of social gatherings and a source of possible virus transmission.

For places like Tiger Mountain and Mt Si I would suggest hikers use the less traveled trails.  There are many side trails worth exploring that are hardly ever busy. On Mt Si there are side trails from Little Si to Mt Si to Tennerife that are way less crowded than the main trails. On Tiger there are also so many side trails to explore.  On this Hike, to avoid the West Tiger #3 trail crowd I would have probably gone down to West Tiger #2 then catch the trail behind the microwave towers to the K-13 then back on the TMT to the parking lot.

The sun is out and everyone wants to get out to enjoy it.  Be safe and thoughtful.