Hobart - Middle Tiger Railroad Trail, Fifteenmile Creek Railroad Grade & Tiger Mountain Trail — Monday, Nov. 9, 2020

Began my hike by taking the West Side Road using the connector road off Tiger Mtn. Road SE. Parked at a friend's house since your can not park by the DNR gate as it has no parking and tow away signs. It is a short walk up the connector road to get to the West Side Road. Then it was up hill on the road to the Middle Tiger Trail trailhead next to a DNR concrete bridge over a branch of Fifteen Mile Creek. The trail heads up steeply for about 0.1 miles to the first junction. Right goes up the Middle Tiger Trail to the TMT and Middle Tiger Mtn., while left in on the Hobart-Middle Tiger RR Grade Trail. There was once a big railroad trestle across the same creek as the DNR bridge. I went left and hiked along the old logging railroad grade used by Wood & Iverson when there lumber company logged the south part of Tiger Mtn. from 1910 to 1932. They had two 3-truck geared Climax steam locomotives to haul log trains down to their sawmill in Hobart. The trail goes up grade and has several shoofly trails at creek crossings where the former log/timber trestles are long gone. A couple have deep canyons to get down and up while crossing a creek. Further along I could see Fifteen Mile Creek down below. I came to a section of the trail where a 2 inch wire rope that was used in yarding the old growth trees is laying along the trail. I got to a part of the old grade that has slid out and a trail had been built to replace it. Then back to the railroad grade and I came to a muddy area. Just passed it was another trail junction. Right went up hill 1/4 miles on the connector trail to the TMT near Hal's Cove. There is a sign and a trail map here. I stayed left and followed the railroad grade out to where the it crosses Fifteen Mile Creek. Lots of water flowing. The log to cross the creek was icy, so I went over some fallen tree parts to get over the creek. This was the site of a big 1/4 mile long curved railroad trestle.

The trail then heads up steeply, first on a narrow ridge, then a wider one as it works its way up hill to meet the 15 Mile RR Grade Trail. It did not go on the old railroad grade up to 15 Mile RR grade that the W&I log trains used. At the trail junction was another trail map. I went left and down hill on the 15 Mile RR Grade Trail. It had the salmon berry bushes brushed out. I came to a steel truss foot bridge over a creek with a waterfall up stream and a steep gully. The DNR bridge has been there a few years as moss was growing on it. The bridge had to have been flown in by helicopter. I spotted a few artifacts along the trail, 3 track spikes and a tie plate. I went as far as the old railroad grade ended and the hiking trail continues out to the Hidden Forest Trail. On the way back I found a good spot for lunch where a fallen tree had been cut and there were some rounds, one for a seat and another for a table. After eating I headed back up the 15 Mile RR Grade Trail past the junction with the trail I had come up from Fifteen Mile Creek. It was 0.4 miles to the junction with the TMT. Along the way were a few creek crossings with small bridges and small waterfalls. 

When I got to the junction with the TMT I saw that the DNR had a sandwich board sign with info on the reroute of the TMT between the Middle Tiger Trail and the old Artifacts Trail (now the Iverson Connector Trail) do to logging. Part of the TMT has been turned into a logging road. Suppose to be done in 2021. I headed south on the TMT 0.7 miles to the junction with the connector trail back down to the Hobart-Middle Tiger RR Grade Trail. The TMT has a new steel girder bridge over Fifteen Mile Creek, aka Custer's Bridge. The first bridge was built back in 1985 and had become rotten. When I got to the junction, I headed down the steep trail. It has a few fallen trees to step over and one big one the climb over. Once down to the Hobart-Middle Tiger RR  Grade Trail, I hiked it out to the West Side Road and then back to where I had parked. Made for an 8.8 mile hike with a loop thrown in at the top.

Had these trails to myself today, as I saw no other hikers on this trip. Did see one woodpecker, wren and Douglas squirrel. Parts of the H-MTRRGT was covered in several inches of big maple leaves. Some places have the Sword Ferns over growing the trail. I did some trekking pole brushing. I did spot a mylar balloon hanging in a tree. I could not get to it since it was 50 feet up to haul it out. So check out some of these trails on the southern part of the Tiger Mtn. State Forest with no crowds. For some photos and info on the old Wood & Iverson logging railroad see the book, "Wood & Iverson, Loggers of Tiger Mountain", by Ken Schmelzer. Several photos of some of the big trestles. George