01-28-23
Saturday,
it rained all day long.
On Sunday, I was determined to get out on a hike. I woke up to find
that the rain was now going to end hours earlier and early morning was
looking much better. I was not moving very fast and did not get out of
the house until 7:40 am. With all the rain who was going to get out
early on a Sunday? Little did I know. I planned a short drive to High
Point and a quick hike up Tiger 3 and if the rain did start after 10:00
am I could get in a few more miles on the Tradition Plateau under an
umbrella. I stopped for cheap gas in Issaquah and reached the parking
lot at 8:15 am. There were 3 spaces left near the end of the lot. A few
minutes later there were none. Near me, a car pulled into a motorcycle
spot. I was packed and on my way at 8:20 am. It was overcast but the
rain had stopped. The flats were full of puddles but it dried out
somewhat as I began to climb. Usually, this time of year, it would be
about 40F this time of morning. It was 54F and warming. With near 100%
humidity, it was uncomfortably muggy. I had on two layers and that was
more than enough. Ten minutes in, a guy passed me coming down. He had
on shoes and pants. That was it. No shirt at all. Later I would see a
runner with shorts and no shirt. This is not the Puget Sound area in
late January.
I kept up a steady pace but my phone clock told the truth. I was much slower than normal with all the humidity. Most people were slower. I passed quite a few groups going up. One hiker zoomed on by me. I did not take any photos the first half way up Tiger 3. I did not expect to write a report for a short hike up T3. The wind was minimal on the way up. I knew the wind was out of the south so the north side of Tiger was protected. As I neared the top a hiker coming down warned me about the wind on top. I could hear it and start to feel it just below the summit. I stopped to put on a windshirt. It is much easier before you get into high winds. And that is what awaited me on top. It was probably blowing 10-15 mph with gust to 20 mph or more. I stopped to get a few of the 25' views in swirling pea soup clouds. I had planned to go straight down but I quickly decided to head on to Tiger 2. Dropping off the summit I was behind a forested ridge that blocked much of the wind. Most of the way over to T2 was not too bad.
As I neared the summit i was back out in the wind. Though Tiger 2 is 200' higher that T3 the wind was not as bad. I was blowing but with the windshirt I did stop for a break. I had to zip all the way up so the hood would hold my hat on. It would easily have blown away. I could barely see the Tiger 2 towers from below on the road up. Right at the base, I could just see the tops of the towers. Forget about seeing Seattle or Mt. Si or even Tiger 1 and Tiger 3. All I could see were blowing clouds. A little food and water and I was on my way down. I was not going to make it down before the expected rain at 10:00 am. I did hope to get over Tiger 3 though. I made it to T3 and once in the trees below the summit the wind disappeared once again. On my way down I debated doing more miles on the Tradition Plateau. I also debated what route to take if I did hike it.
At the Talus Rocks junction, I turned left. Heading to the Talus Rocks means another uphill section. It also means fewer hikers most of the time. There is also a waterfall on the way. With all the rain the past few days, I hoped it would have lots of water. After two consecutive 1000 mile years, 2024 is starting out slow. This was the last weekend day of the month and I only had 47 miles up until today. Last year, I hiked at least 70 miles every month. I decided to try to get this day up to 9 miles. I reached the waterfall to find it had plenty of flow. I have seen it bigger but most of the year it is just a thin line of water coming down. This was much better than usual. I stopped for photos and videos of the falls. After that I came to the mossy canyon between fallen boulders. I decided to make a short video of the walk through it. I was quickly getting enough content to put up a trip report. I soon reached the Nook Trail. This is a better trial than the rocky road/trail up Tiger 3. I had no trouble staying on my feet. I am not a fan of hiking downhill on small wet rocks.
At the bottom of th Nook Trail I turned left and headed down the Bus Trail. I followed it to the powerline corridor. I needed a little more distance before heading back so I turned left. I neared the big winter puddle to see it was more of a lake. Rather than go around it and then turn around. I turned around before reaching it. I headed back and turned left a short way to Round Lake. In the fall I was here to find Round Pond was a puddle in a grassy meadow that should have been the lake. A few weeks later after a lot of rain the lake was back. Back but still five or more feet lower than in the winter. Now it was almost up to winter level. I went back to the powerline corridor and turned left. I added another .30 miles out and back. This allowed me to hike back on the Bus Trail and the Around The Lake Trail and reach the parking lot at just over 9 miles. Wit two summits, the talus rocks climb, and a few ups and downs I reached 2600' of gain on the day. It was 58 degrees at the end.
I finished at 12:07 pm and the lot was still full. On the drive home my car registered 60 degrees. Several cities did record record highs for a January 28th. I hoped to get up Tiger 3 and back without much rain. I ended up hiking 9 miles without any rain. I did have plenty of wind on the bare summits of Tiger 3 and 3. It was more crowded than most trips I do. I don't mind it every once in a while. I managed to miss a lot of people by taking the Talus Rocks Trail part way down. January is still well below miles and elevation gain but I did get in one more good trip.
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Trips - 2024
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I kept up a steady pace but my phone clock told the truth. I was much slower than normal with all the humidity. Most people were slower. I passed quite a few groups going up. One hiker zoomed on by me. I did not take any photos the first half way up Tiger 3. I did not expect to write a report for a short hike up T3. The wind was minimal on the way up. I knew the wind was out of the south so the north side of Tiger was protected. As I neared the top a hiker coming down warned me about the wind on top. I could hear it and start to feel it just below the summit. I stopped to put on a windshirt. It is much easier before you get into high winds. And that is what awaited me on top. It was probably blowing 10-15 mph with gust to 20 mph or more. I stopped to get a few of the 25' views in swirling pea soup clouds. I had planned to go straight down but I quickly decided to head on to Tiger 2. Dropping off the summit I was behind a forested ridge that blocked much of the wind. Most of the way over to T2 was not too bad.
As I neared the summit i was back out in the wind. Though Tiger 2 is 200' higher that T3 the wind was not as bad. I was blowing but with the windshirt I did stop for a break. I had to zip all the way up so the hood would hold my hat on. It would easily have blown away. I could barely see the Tiger 2 towers from below on the road up. Right at the base, I could just see the tops of the towers. Forget about seeing Seattle or Mt. Si or even Tiger 1 and Tiger 3. All I could see were blowing clouds. A little food and water and I was on my way down. I was not going to make it down before the expected rain at 10:00 am. I did hope to get over Tiger 3 though. I made it to T3 and once in the trees below the summit the wind disappeared once again. On my way down I debated doing more miles on the Tradition Plateau. I also debated what route to take if I did hike it.
At the Talus Rocks junction, I turned left. Heading to the Talus Rocks means another uphill section. It also means fewer hikers most of the time. There is also a waterfall on the way. With all the rain the past few days, I hoped it would have lots of water. After two consecutive 1000 mile years, 2024 is starting out slow. This was the last weekend day of the month and I only had 47 miles up until today. Last year, I hiked at least 70 miles every month. I decided to try to get this day up to 9 miles. I reached the waterfall to find it had plenty of flow. I have seen it bigger but most of the year it is just a thin line of water coming down. This was much better than usual. I stopped for photos and videos of the falls. After that I came to the mossy canyon between fallen boulders. I decided to make a short video of the walk through it. I was quickly getting enough content to put up a trip report. I soon reached the Nook Trail. This is a better trial than the rocky road/trail up Tiger 3. I had no trouble staying on my feet. I am not a fan of hiking downhill on small wet rocks.
At the bottom of th Nook Trail I turned left and headed down the Bus Trail. I followed it to the powerline corridor. I needed a little more distance before heading back so I turned left. I neared the big winter puddle to see it was more of a lake. Rather than go around it and then turn around. I turned around before reaching it. I headed back and turned left a short way to Round Lake. In the fall I was here to find Round Pond was a puddle in a grassy meadow that should have been the lake. A few weeks later after a lot of rain the lake was back. Back but still five or more feet lower than in the winter. Now it was almost up to winter level. I went back to the powerline corridor and turned left. I added another .30 miles out and back. This allowed me to hike back on the Bus Trail and the Around The Lake Trail and reach the parking lot at just over 9 miles. Wit two summits, the talus rocks climb, and a few ups and downs I reached 2600' of gain on the day. It was 58 degrees at the end.
I finished at 12:07 pm and the lot was still full. On the drive home my car registered 60 degrees. Several cities did record record highs for a January 28th. I hoped to get up Tiger 3 and back without much rain. I ended up hiking 9 miles without any rain. I did have plenty of wind on the bare summits of Tiger 3 and 3. It was more crowded than most trips I do. I don't mind it every once in a while. I managed to miss a lot of people by taking the Talus Rocks Trail part way down. January is still well below miles and elevation gain but I did get in one more good trip.
 Log Above Trail |
 Cloudy Tiger 3 Summit |
 Looking Back To T3 |
 Nearing Tiger 2 |
 Tiger 2 Summit |
 Summit T2 View |
 Tower Above |
 Heading Back |
 Tiger 3? |
 Tiger 3 View |
 Looking North From T3 |
 Below The Clouds |
 Talus Rocks Trail |
 Long Waterfall |
 Closer Look |
 Below Falls |
 Dead End? |
 Mossy Rock Canyon |
 Pipsee's View |
 Mossy Trees |
 Really Green |
 Near The Bottom |
 Round Lake |
 The Home Stretch |
Trips - 2024
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