2-11-17
I
was interested in checking out
the conditions on Tiger Mountain after a tumultuous week with snowfall
down to sea level then heavy rain and wind. Reports told of lots of
running water and down trees. It would be nice to check out some of our
headlamp hiking routes in daylight. I headed over to the High Point
exit off I-90. It was still chilly as I headed out at 9:30 am. Heading
up the High Point Trail there were a few spots where the trail was a
small creek. I managed to move the water off one section. No down trees
up to the Tiger Mountain Trail (TMT). Not much mud either. Heading
higher I found many small and large branches down on the trail. During
the course of my trip I moved nine 10-15 foot long branches off the
trail. I moved many dozens of small branches. Up to Ruth's Cove there
were no trees down across the trail. Just before Ruth's Cove there was
a little snow on the trail.
On the far side of the bridge at the Cove, a tree is down blocking the trail. I had to get down on my knees to get by. I did move a 15 foot long branch out of the way. The trail climbs up to a high point where another tree was down. It was a pain to get around. Three days later we did a headlamp hike and this log was cut out. The one at Ruth's Cove was still there. The trail drops down to the old High Point Trail and the periodic snow became more continuous. Just above the old rotting bridge the trail became a creek. I routed water off the trail and dried up about 125' of trail. The running water left the route bare. Up at Fred's Corner the snow again became continuous. It remained that way up to the top of Tiger 1.
The snow was not icy and I did not need any traction devices. I met a few groups heading down already. I really expected more snow. The most I saw all day was about 6-8 inches deep. The top of Tiger's peaks were clear when I drove in. Now I was entering a misty cloud. Visibility was limited. I reached the upper junction and turned right. Towers were right above me but barely visible. The trail to the Hiker's Hut was a bit icy. Still not too bad. As usual I took the side trail up to the top of Tiger 1. On the way up I met two women who had come up the Poo Top Trail. They mentioned that it was mostly snow free. The south side was bare but the north side was all under snow. That was unexpected. I reached the Hiker's Hut to find no views but not much snow. A few inches in most places and some bare ground too.
The wind was very light and it was comfortable out in the open. Much to my surprise the trees along the road were covered in a light coating of rime ice. The best scenes I've had on Tiger have been the rime ice covered trees on Tiger 1. Really nice. Views out were non existent. I could not even see the towers above. I had some lunch and then I had a short parting of the sky. for a moment I could see out towards Puget Sound and sun lit up the icy trees. I was glad I had brought a camera. A really nice scene. Just as quickly the sky turned dark once again. I headed on down. The road down was partly covered by a few inches of snow and partly bare. After all the lowland snow just a few days earlier it was amazing to see so little left at 2800'.
I dropped down and then climbed up to the summit of Tiger 2. The wind was picking up and stopped below the top for a break out of the wind. I had put on a jacket at the top of Tiger 1. It never came off. With the wind it was much colder. The top of Tiger 2 had 2-4 inches of snow. Heading down from Tiger 2 the snow was a little slick. Still not enough to bother with traction devices. By the time I reached the Big Step the snow was gone. At the four way junction I stayed on the new TMT section. It was bare at first but soon was covered with snow. As I neared the bridge the snow was 3-6 inches deep. Back in forest it thinned but did not end until just below Fred's Corner. I closed my loop at Fred's Corner. Now it was just retracing my uphill steps. Before the upper bridge it began to rain/snow on me. More icy rain than snow. it continued off and on for much of the hike down.
I reached my car at 2:55 pm. Still pretty early in the day. My trip covered 8 miles with 2800' of elevation gain. The results of my trail check was to find few trees down and not much mud. The snow was much less deep than I expected. The trails were not very icy either. I helped a little by moving big branches off the trail and rerouting water. All in all, the big snowstorm followed by the big rainstorm did very little damage. The highlight of the trip was seeing the rime ice covered trees at the Hiker's Hut. Always a pleasure. The only downside of the day was the construction on westbound I-90 Down to one lane. It took me 55 minutes to drive 5.5 miles between I-405 and I-5. A small price to pay for a fun day on the trails.
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Trips - 2017
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On the far side of the bridge at the Cove, a tree is down blocking the trail. I had to get down on my knees to get by. I did move a 15 foot long branch out of the way. The trail climbs up to a high point where another tree was down. It was a pain to get around. Three days later we did a headlamp hike and this log was cut out. The one at Ruth's Cove was still there. The trail drops down to the old High Point Trail and the periodic snow became more continuous. Just above the old rotting bridge the trail became a creek. I routed water off the trail and dried up about 125' of trail. The running water left the route bare. Up at Fred's Corner the snow again became continuous. It remained that way up to the top of Tiger 1.
The snow was not icy and I did not need any traction devices. I met a few groups heading down already. I really expected more snow. The most I saw all day was about 6-8 inches deep. The top of Tiger's peaks were clear when I drove in. Now I was entering a misty cloud. Visibility was limited. I reached the upper junction and turned right. Towers were right above me but barely visible. The trail to the Hiker's Hut was a bit icy. Still not too bad. As usual I took the side trail up to the top of Tiger 1. On the way up I met two women who had come up the Poo Top Trail. They mentioned that it was mostly snow free. The south side was bare but the north side was all under snow. That was unexpected. I reached the Hiker's Hut to find no views but not much snow. A few inches in most places and some bare ground too.
The wind was very light and it was comfortable out in the open. Much to my surprise the trees along the road were covered in a light coating of rime ice. The best scenes I've had on Tiger have been the rime ice covered trees on Tiger 1. Really nice. Views out were non existent. I could not even see the towers above. I had some lunch and then I had a short parting of the sky. for a moment I could see out towards Puget Sound and sun lit up the icy trees. I was glad I had brought a camera. A really nice scene. Just as quickly the sky turned dark once again. I headed on down. The road down was partly covered by a few inches of snow and partly bare. After all the lowland snow just a few days earlier it was amazing to see so little left at 2800'.
I dropped down and then climbed up to the summit of Tiger 2. The wind was picking up and stopped below the top for a break out of the wind. I had put on a jacket at the top of Tiger 1. It never came off. With the wind it was much colder. The top of Tiger 2 had 2-4 inches of snow. Heading down from Tiger 2 the snow was a little slick. Still not enough to bother with traction devices. By the time I reached the Big Step the snow was gone. At the four way junction I stayed on the new TMT section. It was bare at first but soon was covered with snow. As I neared the bridge the snow was 3-6 inches deep. Back in forest it thinned but did not end until just below Fred's Corner. I closed my loop at Fred's Corner. Now it was just retracing my uphill steps. Before the upper bridge it began to rain/snow on me. More icy rain than snow. it continued off and on for much of the hike down.
I reached my car at 2:55 pm. Still pretty early in the day. My trip covered 8 miles with 2800' of elevation gain. The results of my trail check was to find few trees down and not much mud. The snow was much less deep than I expected. The trails were not very icy either. I helped a little by moving big branches off the trail and rerouting water. All in all, the big snowstorm followed by the big rainstorm did very little damage. The highlight of the trip was seeing the rime ice covered trees at the Hiker's Hut. Always a pleasure. The only downside of the day was the construction on westbound I-90 Down to one lane. It took me 55 minutes to drive 5.5 miles between I-405 and I-5. A small price to pay for a fun day on the trails.
 Hanging Ferns |
 Before |
 After |
 Tree Across Trail |
 Snow Now On Trail |
 Misty Light |
 Tiger 1 Summit |
 Summit Elevation |
 Dark At Hikers Hut |
 Rime Iced Trees |
 Dramatic Lighting |
 Let There Be Light! |
 Blue Sky |
 Cloudy Ridge |
 Bright Clouds |
 Changing Lighting |
 Very Different Now |
 View To Puget Sound |
 Last Rime Shot |
 Frozen Droplets |
 Tiger 2 Summit |
 Mt. Si |
 More Snow At Bridge |
 Small Falls |
 Fred's Corner |
 Christmas Tree |
 Bright Colors |
 Almost Down |
Trips - 2017
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