Cable Line Trail, Tiger Mountain Trail — Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2000

Issaquah Alps > Tiger Mountain

I'm really not sure what this trail is called. All I know is that it is the main one that goes up Tiger Mountain and is traveled by tens of thousands of people every year. Well this was a school day for me and I really did not enjoy sitting through six hours of high school while the first real day of Spring weather was passing me by. So as soon as my dad got home with a car, I decided to go hiking. Of course it was about 4:30 by that time and I had to negotiate the horrendous Bellevue traffic to get to Tiger Mountain, the closest respectable hike to my area. Of course someone was also doing road work on the short road to the trailhead. So I didn't actually get to the upper trailhead until about 5:45 or so. Of course the sun sets at 6:30. Should I go home and wait for another day' Hell no! I have a flashlight and I've done this trail at least ten times in the last year alone. So I decided to walk up the trail just about as fast as I could to catch the sunset on the top and run down in the dusk. And that's what I did. I still hurt 24 hours after the hike. I parked at the lower trailhead because the gate supposedly would close at dusk (I'm glad I did because the gate was closed when I got down). I walked the road to the upper trailhead quickly and started grinding out elevation. It wasn't too bad at first although I really didn't feel at top form (especially because I did Mt. Si last weekend). I felt out of breath when I didn't feel like I usually would. I eventually contributed this to the fact that I had drank no water before I left the house which I usually do (that's a very good suggestion to everyone else). About half way up I really started to feel pain. Of course this is where the trail gets especially steep. I began to feel I would miss the sunset. Once I got to the flat section about three fourths of the way up, I began to regain my stride. Of course I slowed down again when I hit the steep half mile up to the top. As it turned out, I just barely missed the actual sunset but the sky was still glowing bright gold and pink due to the heavy haze to the west. And Mt. Rainier sported a faint pink glow reflected off it's still deep-snowcovered flanks. I stayed on the top all of five minutes tops, just long enough to gulp down some much needed water and let the incredible lighting and views thoroughly soak into my brain. I started down jogging at first but quickly discovered a pain in the ball of my foot. I jogged some more and it got worse. I was condemned to walk the rest of the way in the fading light in considerable pain from my foot. I was also starting to lose depth perception because of the low light and running could provoke a trip-tumble-thump-scream. Considering I was the last one down that day, I decided walking cautiously was the safest option. I got my flashlight out of my pack about half way down the trail. I used it for awhile and discovered that the batteries were appearing to fade. I turned it off and stuck it up my sleeve to try to keep it warm and coax all the energy I could out of it when I really needed it. Right about that time, I heard some rustling in the bushes below me. It sounded like a large creature of some sort. I just thought it was probably a human got lost on the way to the bathroom. Soon after I rounded a switchback, I heard about the same noise above me. Odd. In the rapidly fading light this was just a little creepy to say the least. It was made even worse when, after about a half a mile I heard it again. Something was following me. I never did discover what it was, if anything. I turned on my flashlight and it seemed to go away. Anyway, it was definitely really dark by the time I had gotten to my car and I had needed my flashlight for some time by then. I felt content that I was able to pull off a successful after school hike. I plan to do this more as the days get longer. I recommend to just about anyone who isn't afraid of the dark to do this hike and watch the sunset from the top. It really is a sight to behold. (the single blow down was over the trail but it was very easy to get under--just duck a little bit--and probably won't even be cleared. the water on trail was just a little mud in spots that is to be expected at this time of year)