Excellent workout today hiking up West Tiger 1 via Dwight's Way to the Preston Trail.

Dwight's Way is an absolute gem of a trail, even at less than a mile. However, it is clearly not well-frequented, as I broke every spiderweb with my face, one about every 5 feet. Oof. I ended up holding one trekking pole out in front, which worked until my arm got tired. I highly recommend taking this route, but bring a stick. It's pleasant, rolling, and lush.

Preston Trail also had some spiderweb activity, though nowhere near to the same extent. From where it meets Dwight's Way, it is straight up for 1/4 mile, and then levels out for a while. It felt like I was walking on an old railroad grade or logging road (both possible!). Once it intersects with Bootleg, it's up for most of the rest of the way. There is a middle section with a brief reprieve - even a descent! - but it doesn't last long. The last stretch is quite steep, but at that point you can see the top!

The very last bit, after the last Bootleg trail junction, is absolute mess. I assume this is a result of the windstorms this winter. It's been cleaned up best it can, but it's clear things are a bit unstable here. Watch your footing. 

I went all the way to the Hiker's Hut and sat on the bench across from it watching the storms roll in. I was planning to descend the way I came, but decided not to face all the spiderwebs again and go a different way. I went down via TMT to where West Tiger 3 branches off, up to WT3, and then down to the main trailhead. From there, I took the spur trail through the woods along the road and walked the road the rest of the way to my car parked where the High Point Trail starts. 9.5 mi/2800 gain. This way passes a vault toilet, a nice bonus. 

Trail was in good condition, all things considered. Certainly some muddy bits, especially on the Preston Trail, but nothing I wouldn't expect this time of year. I ended up removing my full gaiters, as they were just overkill. I especially appreciated the view across from the Hiker's Hut. Rainier tried to show herself, but was mostly obscured. 

The main Tiger parking lot is currently a sheet of ice but I expect with warming temperatures in the coming week that will change. I used the facilities at the Tradition Plateau parking lot around 7 a.m. before returning to High Point Trailhead and needed four men in crampons to help push my car in reverse to get out.

At High Point TH near the white pole, I steered my 3 hikers to bare patches so they wouldn't have issues leaving. We wore microspikes and used at least one pole apiece the entire trip. A few inches of snow at the bottom grew to close to a foot at the summit of W. Tiger 1. We did not see many people on Dwight Trail, but we saw plenty of trail runners (some even in shorts!) coming down and one golden retriever.

We met at 7:30 and headed up the trail at 7:37. 5 hours round trip, 2:51 up and 1:30 down with a 15-minute break at the summit and a few stops for microspike adjustments. Pace varied from 1.7 mph on the steeps up, to 2.3 down. Rare patches of dirt. Mostly snow and ice.

When one hiker lost the microspikes from one boot we had to retrace our footsteps, adding 10-15 minutes to our total time, but fortunately, we found them, which led to much celebrating. We determined they might have been the incorrect size, but fortunately, everyone had the traction they needed to avoid incidents/falls.

We saw or heard 16 bird species including a pileated woodpecker involved in a massive excavation project. The cavities in the tree pictured were VERY impressive about 40 feet up the tree. Busy bird! 

Beautiful stark blues and whites at the summit with stunning wind sculptures. We only had about 15 minutes to grab a snack and a few photos but going down we managed to keep everyone warm. 

Beautiful day to climb up to the Hiker's Hut viewpoint via Dwight's Way. The trail was basically completely snow covered when we set out from the High Point trailhead at about 0915, with good tread and only a few spots of mud. Some small brooks are still trickling, so water is available on the way.

We took the loop portion of this route counterclockwise, which turned out to be the right choice. The main ascent portion was well packed and easy to follow all the way to the top of the ridgeline. A couple of gray jays hung out near us while we had a bit of coffee and snacks by the hut, hoping for a handout.

The descent portion of the route was much less traveled at this point, although an intrepid soul had thankfully found the way down from trail blaze to blaze, making it fairly easy to follow. However, while the snow was not deeper than a foot and cushioned footfalls, gaiters and trekking poles would have helped us stay much dryer.

By the time we had completed the loop portion and were on the last stretch to the trailhead, the day's sun and temperature rise had melted out much the snow covering the trail, making things much slipperier and slushier. Take care coming down if your descent is happening later in the day, and especially if we get overnight below-freezing temps, which might change the mud to slick ice.

Hiked West Tiger 1 via Dwight's Way, following Preston all the way up. Was slightly apprehensive about what the trail would look like at the top because of the last trail report, but it was... fine! There were a few spots where the trail is narrower and the soil softer because of some tree root balls, but overall it's not impassable! Definitely would recommend exercising caution especially in more inclement weather.

Not a great view--missing those bluebird days already!

The "bomb cyclone" last month had made the top of the Preston Trail virtually impassible. I was curious if they'd been able to clear it. The answer is mostly, but it would probably be sketchy if there was any snow or ice. They did an amazing job clearing a path and you can get through somewhat easily. Photos are from that section of trail starting at the junction with the Bootleg Trail.

Full hike was a clockwise loop starting on the High Point Trail to Lingering Trail and Dwight's way. I cut up the Preston Trail to Tiger 1. Followed the forest road to Tiger 2 and headed back down K-3 to the North Tiger Mt Trail and High Point.

I got lightly snowed on at the top, but there was no snow at all on the ground. The Tiger Mountain Trail has some mud, nothing too serious. Overall the trails are in great shape and they did such an amazing job clearing all the blowdowns on the mountain.

(This side of the mountain, especially K-3, is a great alternative to the Cable Trail, the bottom third of which this time of year usually turns into a mudslide.)