Decided to to make a short afternoon loop using Grand Canyon of 15 mile creek trail, connect uphill to Hobart-Middle Tiger RR trail, and then walk the 1.5 miles back down the West Side /Road 1000 for a loop.
Couple things about the wta description should be noted: the connector from Tiger Mountain Road is now a gated dirt road, not a trail, and yes, parking is an issue.
The 15 mile grand canyon trail is short (under 1 mile) and pleasant and the interpretative signs and waterfall view was nice. The trail splits at the end, one to the little overlook area complete with benches and the upper one to a closed off old mine opening. Both spurs are short and worth a look. To make the loop we tried to find the "boot track" connection trail from the end of the upper spur to the Hobart RR grade that is mentioned on the WTA description. Short answer, it's not really there, it starts off looking like a boot track and then after reaching a brief flat area pretty quickly fades in a tangle of ferns and brambles. Total distance is only about 1/2 mile but it took at least 30-40 minutes of mostly bushwacking and navigating with the phone . We persisted and did find our way uphill to the RR grade and Tiger road to make a clockwise loop. Strava called it 4.4 miles and around 800 feet of gain but with the bushwacking it took longer.
Comments
greymstreet on Grand Canyon of Fifteenmile Creek, Hobart - Middle Tiger Railroad Trail, West Side Road
I know the WTA description mentions the boot path leaving from the end, but I wonder if it's referring to the path that turns right just after the first bridge crossing (the bridge that's in place)? I took that trail last week and it took me straight to the railroad grade trail.
Posted by:
greymstreet on Mar 23, 2021 10:18 PM
Lunapeople on Grand Canyon of Fifteenmile Creek, Hobart - Middle Tiger Railroad Trail, West Side Road
Yes, I think you are right. We saw that trail and wondered if it was the connector. Anyway, we enjoyed our little adventure but next time I would like to check out that trail, not on any map. Do you know the trail distance between GC15 and the RR grade using that trail?
Posted by:
Lunapeople on Mar 24, 2021 08:01 AM
greymstreet on Grand Canyon of Fifteenmile Creek, Hobart - Middle Tiger Railroad Trail, West Side Road
I did not measure, sorry!
Posted by:
greymstreet on Mar 24, 2021 09:06 AM
Lunapeople on Grand Canyon of Fifteenmile Creek, Hobart - Middle Tiger Railroad Trail, West Side Road
So today a friend and I returned and used that connector trail to start a 9 mile northbound one-way using a bunch of trails and coming out at High Point Way. I was pleasantly surprised at how well built that nameless connector is and it is in a very useful location!
Posted by:
Lunapeople on Apr 02, 2021 07:15 PM
greymstreet on Grand Canyon of Fifteenmile Creek, Hobart - Middle Tiger Railroad Trail, West Side Road
Nice! I've been once, and used it to do a 7 mile trip up to Middle Tiger. Agree it's very useful, and also curious what the story is. Do you think it's the one described on WTA or do you still suspect there's a trail somewhere closer to the end?
Posted by:
greymstreet on Apr 02, 2021 07:19 PM
Anadramous on Grand Canyon of Fifteenmile Creek, Hobart - Middle Tiger Railroad Trail, West Side Road
Been trying to find a way to connect from 15 mile/canyon waterfall up to HMTRRG. can't seem to find a trail or path to connect, besides a steep bushwack. Can someone offer details on this? Thanks!
Posted by:
A wanderer on Jul 25, 2021 11:10 AM
Lunapeople on Grand Canyon of Fifteenmile Creek, Hobart - Middle Tiger Railroad Trail, West Side Road
Yes, I can help because I have done both the steep bushwack from the end of the Grand Canyon and then on a subsequent hike successfully found the correct and very nice connector trail. The trick is that the connector trail begins almost at the beginning of the Grand Canyon trail not from the end. It's just after the first bridge crossing, before you even get to the interpretive sign. Good trail and easy to find. I wrote up a report on it if you search on my wta name "Lunapeople."
Posted by:
Lunapeople on Jul 25, 2021 06:45 PM