West
Tiger 2
12-16-12
Lots
of wind and snow was forecast for the afternoon and evening. I planned
to get in a morning hike and get back home in time for the 1:00 pm
Seahawks game. The wind was already blowing at my home when I left at
7:30 am. It rained lightly most of the way to the trailhead at High
Point. By 8:00 am I was on my way. Raingear from the start. I passed a
group at the start. That was it on the way up. On the positive side the
wind was calm. When it blows hard enough trees and branches start
falling I turn around. Driving through Issaquah I saw snow at Poo Poo
Point. I hoped to get high enough to have snow not rain when the
precipitation picked up.
The trail was pretty wet and muddy. No problem with winter boots and
gaiters. At Ruth's Cove I saw the first snow. A dusting became a few
inches in breaks in the forest. When I popped out on the old High Point
Trail the snow was 3 to 4 inches deep. The fresh snow covered the
ground and the trees. I just took a phone camera and in the rain it was
less than good. Still I took a few photos along the way. I found out
that touch screens do not do well when wet.
At Fred's Corner the snow was boot deep. Still easy walking. As the
trail climbed the snow depth grew. Not that much in deeper forest but
plenty in more open spots. Snow covered branches hung down across the
trail in a number of places. Lots of snow to fall on me as I pushed
through. At Tom's Crossing the trail sign had lots of snow piled on
top. I was glad to find that the wind had not picked up. The trail near
the top of Tiger 2 was covered with enough snow to make navigation a
little difficult. There were no footprints on this section of trail.
The summit had a good 8 to 10 inches of fresh snow. I arrived at about
9:45 am. Within less than 10 minutes I was heading down. No views
through the low clouds.
Heading down was much quicker. For the first time I packed a hand saw.
On the way down I set to work cutting out downed logs. I managed to get
four cut out and one cut on the fifth. I'll get it next time. The trail
work took the better part of an hour and I hightailed it down from
there. I saw a runner and several groups of hikers coming up. Not many
for a 7 mile hike on Tiger Mountain. Snow turned to rain on the lower
half of the trip. The wind never did pick up. It rained and blew very
hard in Seattle in the evening. I was down to the car at 12:15 pm and
made it home just before the start of the game.
The trails are in better shape now than before my trip. The snow
plastered trees up high really looked good. I wish I had a camera
capable of capturing it. This was another in a long string of wet
hikes. My raingear has been getting a good workout. It's nice to able
to get in a 7 mile hike with 2400' of gain and be home before 1:00 pm.
A good use of a wet morning.