|
HIKE |
Tiger Mountain Triple Summit |
|
ROUTE |
West Tiger summit 3, then 2, then 1, down the backside, traverse and out! |
|
DATE |
04/13/2006 |
|
ATTENDEES |
Don, Chris 2 (new TNAB vet!), Dan, Joan, and Lynda, Craig, Drew, Sherry, Chris 1 and Chris 3, the other newbie (What is with all of the Chris's?) |
|
NOTES |
Can you say WET? |
PHOTOS
TRAIL REPORT
Hello, TNAB'ers:
The rain clouds reached critical density just in time to dump on the second hike of 2006, a tour of the West Tiger Mountain peaks. This is the usual TNAB experience on Tiger - wet, muddy and no views. Remarkably, 12 people showed up for the hike, including two newbies.
Gotta love it!
We were on the trail by 5:30 PM. The plan: hike straight up the Cableline trail to West Tiger 3, hit the connector to West Tiger 2, then follow the road over to West Tiger 1. The hike out would be a long, circuitous route on the eastside of WT1, with many trail forks but a much more gradual grade than the knee-killing Cableline.
Right from the start, though, one of the newbies wasn't buying it. Drew apparently forgot to tell Jeannie, his friend from work, that TNAB'ers are slightly insane and actually enjoy sloshing uphill through mud. Jeannie turned back and decided to have dinner with friends while we wandered all over Tiger, a wise choice.
It took us an hour or so to reach WT3, where the wind lay in wait for unsuspecting hikers, ready to pick them off the ridge. We were down to 11 now, and found it convenient to form two groups. Group 1, lead by Don, set out for the Hikers' Hut on WT1. Joining Don was Chris 2 (new TNAB vet!), Dan, Joan, and Lynda.
I had the pleasure of leading Group 2, which included Craig, Drew, Sherry, Chris 1 and Chris 3, the other newbie. (BTW: The Chris 1-2-3 joke will be officially over by next week - A-B-C next?). We reached the Hut around 7:15 PM, but by that time, Group 1 had already left. We hung out, ate some food, and listened to the wind blow. The trip down the mountain took a surreally long time as we switched from trail to trail in the foggy twilight. Joan and Lynda left a trail of arrows, made of sticks, for our benefit. By the time we reached the Tiger Mountain Trail and the double bridges, we all had our headlamps on.
The hike concluded by 9:30 PM. Chris 2 was serving ABA from the back of his vehicle - an excellent way to get off the trail! Two thirds of us then made our way to the Issy Brew Pub in time for nachos and Dead Guy Ale.
Woo hoo!
Next Hike: Mt Si, via the Old Trail. Hope the weather improves sometime!
Cheers, -Mark