Trip Date: May 9, 2020
CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN HIKE SERIES
Tiger Mountain Trail Traverse: High Point to Hobart
Murat’s Bridge / High Point Creek
West Tiger Mountain No. 2 – No. 3 Saddle
Fifteenmile Gap
Custer’s Bridge / Fifteenmile Creek
Millan’s Crossing
West Side Road #1000 crossing
Hobart Gap
Trip Report Summary
Region: Central Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Issaquah Alps
Area: Tiger Mountain State Forest
Starting Point: Lower High Point Trailhead on SE 79th Street (Elev. 500 feet)
Way Points: Upper High Point Trailhead & West Tiger No. 3 Trail junction & High Point Creek / Murat’s Bridge & Fred’s Corner & Tom’s Crossing & West Tiger Mountain No. 2 – No. 3 Saddle & Fifteenmile Gap & Larry’s Crossing & Lone Rock & Fifteenmile Creek / Custer’s Bridge & Millan’s Crossing & Karl’s Gap & Zeig’s Zag & West Side Road #1000 crossing & South Tiger Powerline Trail crossing & Hobart Gap & Tiger Mountain Road (hike via Tiger Mountain Trail)
High Point: West Tiger Mountain No. 2 flank (Elev. 2600 feet)
Ending Point: South Tiger Mountain Trailhead on Tiger Mountain Road SE near Hobart (Elev. 550 feet)
Approximate Stats: 15.6 miles traveled; 3150 feet gained; 3100 feet lost; 8.9 hours elapsed.
Full Trip Report
There was subdued cheering within the Washington outdoor recreation community earlier this week when state-land trailheads officially reopened, thereby ending a 6-week lockdown. Eileen, Lisa, Kevin, and I celebrated the occasion by doing a full-length traverse of the Tiger Mountain Trail (TMT) from High Point to Hobart. Each of us had hiked various parts of the TMT numerous times during prior decades, but surprisingly, none of us had ever hiked the entire trail even in piecemeal segments, let alone in a single 16-mile push. Our time had come.
After dropping a car at the southern end of the TMT near Hobart, we drove around to the northern end at High Point. It was a sunny Saturday morning, with temperatures forecasted to rise above 80 degrees, so local hikers were out in force. Starting from the lower trailhead on High Point Road at 7:30am, we proceeded up the connector trail, through the upper parking lot, past several trail junctions, and onto the TMT.
Anyone hiking southbound on the TMT soon realizes that the builders were in no particular hurry to get to Hobart; the trail wanders up, down, in, out, and around in a seemingly random manner. Fortunately, our group was in no hurry either on this fine spring day. A few of the hikers we encountered were wearing face masks, and all hikers were giving a wide berth when passing, but otherwise it felt like a normal weekend on the trail.
In about 3 miles, we came to our first landmark: Murat’s Bridge. This impressive steel-beam structure—by far the longest footbridge in the Issaquah Alps—spans a distance of 220 feet across High Point Creek. It was named to posthumously honor Murat Danishek, a local outdoorsman who died at an untimely young age.
In another 2½ miles, we crossed through the saddle between West Tiger No. 2 and West Tiger No. 3 (3.5 hours + 2500 feet from starting TH). This put us on a relatively level segment of trail called Manning’s Reach, high above Many Creeks Valley and away from the main concentration of hiker traffic. We passed Fifteenmile Gap and stopped for lunch at Larry’s Crossing shortly before noon.
Because most of the TMT lies within deep forest, long-range views are few and far between. Hikers who need frequent distractions might instead gain some enjoyment from other aspects of the traverse, such as looking for vintage trail markers. Our group spotted markers that appear to represent at least four eras, encompassing a time span of 40 years.
After lunch, we followed the TMT in a long V-shaped route around the head of Fifteenmile Creek, first traveling eastward to Custer’s Bridge and then angling southwestward to outflank Middle Tiger Mountain. The afternoon had achieved a distinctly summery feel by the time we reached Millan’s Crossing (6.8 hours + 3000 feet from starting TH).
The venerable TMT was built by a small army of volunteers over a span of many years, and it recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Numerous trail signs along the way pay homage to some of the people involved.
Just beyond Millan’s Crossing, the TMT enters an area of active logging (happily, though, they were shut down for the weekend). A bit farther south, between Karl’s Gap and Zeig’s Zag, we encountered two short segments of new logging road, and a fresh rock quarry was visible on the hillside directly above. It is quite obvious that rock is being mined for use in road construction here. Very soon—perhaps in the next few weeks—this portion of trail arcing around the western side of Point 2030 will be obliterated by logging roads. But don’t despair; a new TMT detour around the eastern side of Point 2030 is scheduled to open in late 2021.
We easily navigated through the logging zone and crossed West Side Road #1000 in mid afternoon (7.5 hours + 3050 feet from starting TH). Hiker traffic on the TMT steadily increased as we contoured around South Tiger Mountain, ducked through Hobart Gap, and descended to the southern trailhead at Tiger Mountain Road. We finished our traverse at 4:30pm (8.9 hours + 3150 feet from starting TH), feeling very satisfied to have experienced the full extent of this locally historic trail while it is still open.
As the coronavirus lockdown restrictions continue to be relaxed and more recreational options become available, Eileen and I will look back at this strange time and remember one positive side effect: we were pushed into completing some long-neglected but very worthwhile treks!
What fun it is to discover (or rediscover) local gems that we often ignored in favor of “greater glory” farther afield. — Fay Pullen, 2020
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