After watching the Mr. Hankey Christmas Special, a trip to Poo Poo Point seemed rather appropriate. The route is not entirely intuitive. Start on the West Tiger Mountain Trail and turn right on to the Bus Road. Turn left onto a side trail immediately after passing a rusted-out overturned bus. Turn left under the powerlines. The Poo Poo Point and Section Line Trails turn off to the left after about 0.3 miles. After about 3 miles, the Poo Poo Point Trail intersects the Railroad Grade Trail. From here, you can either proceed approximately straight ahead on the One View Trail or turn right onto the railroad grade to Poo Poo Point. The railroad grade turns into a trail which descends steeply to meet an old section of the West Side Road where you turn left. After 0.4 miles on the old road bed, there is a developed day facility at Poo Poo Point. There are some muddy spots at various points along the route. There is a large log across the Bus Road and a fallen tree overhanging the powerline. There are many logs across both the Poo Poo Point and One View Trails. No views from the high point of One View Trail at Hill 2267 but good views from Poo Poo Point. One hang-glider was seen. Sky was overcast with mostly moderate temperatures except cooler temperatures at lower elevations. For the best information about trails on Tiger Mountain, see Bill Longwell's ""Guide to Trails of Tiger Mountain."" He cuts right to the chase without a lot of political rhetoric you see in other guide books.

This hike involved about a 12 mile loop and was done to complete the last section of TMT I had not hiked. The day started cool and overcast. The hike to One View Trail via the Poo Poo Point trail was uneventful. The Poo Poo Point trail to the West Tiger Railroad being in excellent shape. About half way to the TMT, (0.5 miles) on the One View Trail, rain began to fall lightly. Within the next half mile the light rain turned to a realy shower so got my rain gear on and started on the TMT down to the 15 mile railroad trail. Tiger Mountain Trail (TMT) was somewhat brushy but for the most part in good shape and easy to follow. By the time I arrived at the Paw Print Rest Stop, the rain had stopped and I sat for a lunch break. Walked the road to West Tiger 2 and then took the trail down to West Tiger 3 and returned via the West Tiger 3 trail to the High Point parking lot. Rain again began to fall on the bottom part of the WT#3. This is a nice loop with elevation gain and some views. Weather on my hike was not great but did not stop my enjoyment of the area. Hiking time about 5 hours including about 45 minutes for lunch and equipment change breaks.

Another cool cloudy day in a mild winter season, another hike to Tiger Mt. Our group started out at the Issaquah HS Trailhead off 2nd Street. We walked up the HS Trail to the intersection at the Gas Line with the Poo Poo Pt. Trail. This trail is an old truck road which climbs steadily up towards the West Tiger RR Grade. It crosses some attractive creeks through the Many Creek Valley and continues up more steeply until intersecting the RR Grade and the beginning of the One View Trail. We took the Poo Poo Point Trail, continuing along the remainder of the RR Grade until it drops down sharply through thick forest to intersect another old road. Then we walked up to the Point to admire views of Lake Sam, Lake Washington, nearby Squauk and Cougar, I-90, the Lake Sammamish Plateau and off towards distant Mt. Pilchuck, half buried in cloud cover. We had lunch perched on the take-off point for hang-gliders and paragliders. There were none there at the time. And we admired someone's handiwork, a carved flying tiger resting under the trees. Does any other reporters know this story' After a break, we were getting cold and headed off back up to the RR Grade, running it until coming to the intersection with the Section Line Trail. The RR Grade is not maintained as well as some trails on Tiger, but was passable. There were a few blow-downs and mud-holes to dodge and I was slapped by more than one springy salmonberry cane. The trail is not completely level, but goes up and down through several tiny creek gullies, the precusors of the larger creeks crossed by the Poo Poo Point Trail below. Keep a sharp lookout for intersections, especially the Seattle View Trail, which is unmarked. Connections and other loops are possible. Didn't I just climb up the Section Line a week ago' Well, it was down it this time. Approach with caution, especially when damp as the roots on this trail are greasy underfoot and treacherous. There were no mishaps and we enjoyed walking the lower portion of the Section Line which brought us back to the intersection with the Poo Poo Point and High School Trails at the Gas Line. We had warmish weather (for February) and no rain. The buds are swelling on the branches and I kept looking for early flowers. Birds were singing in their multitudes and we heard the distinctive croak of two ravens through the woods. A great day in the suburbs.

Began hike from High Point parking lot following Around the Lake trail. Then following up the pipeline trail I started up the Poo Poo Point trail. At about 1500' I began encountering snow on the trail which increased to 8"" just above the vista. For a return I elected to loop via the West Tiger Railroad Grade thinking ""Railroad Grade"" would be easy. What a mistake. As the elevation climbed the snow depth increased to 12"" and the blow down became intense. I lost the trail several times but with compass and map I was able to happily find it again. Their were no other footprints or signs of other hikers so apparently I was the only fool to hike this route in these conditions. The return on the steeper slope of Nook trail was also covered with snow which turned me into a downhill racer. Recommendation: Don't do what I did.

This is a good trip for anyone tired of the crowds on West Tiger 3. The trail climbs steadily up to intersect with the Railroad Grade and One View Trails. Then it drops down through a section of hemlock woods until reaching an old road. Following the road up a gentle hill, you come to a parking lot and the grassy platform where the hanggliders and paragliders take off. We hiked this trail on a cloudy day, but it's a good workout. The trail was slightly overgrown in the Many Streams Valley area, with very vigorous salmonberry. A few mudholes and one downed tree. The forest was green and lush with lots of little (and some large)flowers blooming. We also startled a doe near the powerline trail.