West Tiger Four-Summit Loop — Friday, Aug. 16, 2024

I call this trip report "Courtilocks and the Three Bears." I started at High Point Trail at 6:10 this morning and about 10 minutes below W. Tiger 1 (above Railroad and Preston) I started hearing crackling branches. Since I didn't have my dog with me, I played it safe and started calling out "Bear, bear." To my right/west about 20 yards away I saw ferns and devil's clubs moving around as something quickly moved away from me - I could tell it had to be something big but didn't get a visual.

To my left/east in the valley of devil's clubs, more greenery moving, again something big moving away from me. I didn't stop to look around but kept talking so whatever it was would know I was there. About a month ago I'd been on this same trail and ran into a huge black bear that I assumed was a male, but heard others had seen a mom and three cubs, so I assumed these could be the same cubs and I didn't want to linger to see where Momma was.

Once I topped out at Tiger 1, it was windy but with good visibility. I took a 10-minute break to fix my feet, have some trail mix, put on a few layers, and decide what to do. I didn't want to tempt fate again, so I chose to descend via Tiger 2 and 3 summits and then took the Section line down instead of going back down toward Preston the way I ascended. I cut east on the Railroad Grade to TMT. For the most part, Tiger's trails are in great condition. The Railroad Grade heading east gets pretty overgrown in places, and I had to break through tons of spiderwebs (early bird gets the...cobwebs?) I figured out the RR grade doesn't go all the way across a particular ravine when part of the trail disappeared beneath my feet. I backtracked from there knowing there were better options.

My goal was to rejoin the TMT below where the bears were and return to the car without having to walk on the paved Frontage Road. Once I got back on track, I reached a sign pointing to "TMT, West Tiger RR Grade, W. Tiger 2 Summit 1.2 miles." Five minutes past the sign, something big and black (got a good quick visual on it this time) in the path startled and scurried away from me -- holy smokes, a quick little bear cub, not a parent. Bear number three on the day?

Assuming Momma was somewhere nearby, and not wanting to go forward into where her baby had just retreated, I turned 180 degrees and backtracked steadily, calling out the whole way, ascending again to find a place to go down. I took the K3 unmaintained trail down and found myself on a bridge I'd never been across before -- Murat's bridge -- and had a moment of panic until I realized that the High Point trail must be just on the other side of the bridge. I saw a little mailbox, a photo with a Saint Bernard, and some flags. I initially thought the memorial was for the dog, and missing my dog, I wondered if other people have created memorials for their pets. If I'd spent a moment reading the memorial -- RIP 33 years -- I would have immediately realized Murat must be a person, not a dog. Maybe Murat loved dogs? I better brush up on my Tiger history.

Realizing I was only .9 miles from the car, and I now knew where I was, I breathed easier.

This was a wonderful epic adventure. I'm guessing from my pace I covered about 11-12 miles and 3600-4000' of total up and down. I sure missed having the companionship and heightened senses of my trusted Labraheeler, though - he's resting a leg for a few weeks.

Cloudy and breezy, only saw about 8 people and 2 dogs, with 3 bears, 2 slugs, and 16 bird species. There is still some running water at Ruth's Cove and under Murat's Bridge, but most of the smaller streams are dry. Now I have friends begging me to take them up to see the bears. Sheesh! I won't take a chance on doing that trail anytime soon, not without my dog. Who knows where Momma was hiding out? I got lucky. If you're going to go, call out periodically, take a whistle, and bring bear spray but only if you know how to use it. These bears just want to eat; they don't want to mess with humans. Except maybe Momma, she's a big unknown.