Trail was good. Some places the trail is muddy due to streams flowing.

Super nice hike today, no issues on the trail and it is obvious there has been a lot of work cleaning up blowdowns.  The summit of Middle Tiger is rather sad, being completely clear cut recently.  My route showed as about 3000 feet and 11 miles.  Views were great.

Got mostly rain today, with interspersed moments of not rain. Rain gear was helpful. It wasn't as windy as I imagine it was on the north side of the Tigers. 

I got about a few hundred feet down the Traverse turn off of the 1000 road and the trail ends here due to downed trees. Thanks to the folks with a chainsaw working on clearing it! As an alternative I took the 1000 road up and around to South Tiger Summit trail, hiking to the end of each trek option found. It seems one is a viewpoint but not the summit (I've been here before) and now there is a new trail to an actual forested summit, that features an old bench and fire ring. 

Saw 4 other hikers on the way down as an out and back.

RT 6.8m/1449ft  

I did the South Tiger Traverse Trail starting at the Issaquah Hobart trail head.  

The trail has been cleared up to the BPA Powerline lookout area.  As you continue up to the South Tiger Summit the trail is near impassable.  The trail is very hard to navigate with so many trees down and you can lose the trail.  It is about 1/2 mile of climbing over and under trees and branch and tree root balls.  I continued on the trail until it met the Tiger Mountain Trail, TMT to loop back to the trail head.  The trail is completely blocked with signs that the TMT is closed north from there.   Following the TMT back to Issaquah Hobart was easier, but still plenty of blowdowns to navigate.  If you know the trails, you can do it, but give yourself twice as much time as you think and wear some gloves to protect your hands from the brush beating.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 28th, my family and I embarked on a post-storm adventure to South Tiger Mountain. Armed with a lopper and a handsaw, we were prepared to tackle any trail obstacles left behind by the recent windstorm.

Starting from Tiger Mountain Road SE, we followed Tiger Mountain Trail. There were many trees and branches down on the trail, but most of them are easy to step over or duck under. We cleared some fallen trees and branches along the way. At the 1.1-mile mark, we came to the junction to the horse trail. There was a large tree down blocking the trail. Unfortunately, our handsaw was no match for such a formidable obstacle. We opted to take the horse trail.

The horse trail had its share of trees and branches down. At Hobart Gap, where the foot and horse trails rejoin, we encountered a chaotic scene of downed maple trees and branches. We took the South Tiger Traverse Trail that starts at this five-way intersection. We hiked up a gravel road that showed signs of recent vehicle traffic, likely from utility crews inspecting the power lines.

We reached the power lines and we were rewarded with stunning views. The fog below contrasted sharply with the clear, sunny conditions above. We continued the gravel road and saw a few more trees down, but they were easy to step over. We came to the junction to a narrow trail branching to the right. I saw a large tree blocking the trail, so we continued on the gravel road. We reached a high point and there were logs to sit on. We sat there to have lunch enjoying the warmth and the distant sight of Mount Rainier.

After lunch we retraced our steps. At Hobert Gap we took hiker’s trail instead of horse trail. This section of the trail didn’t have any blowdowns. We crawled under the big tree at the junction to the horse trail and continued back to our starting point at Tiger Mountain Road SE.

Our GPS track is in the link below. We took frequent stops to clear downed trees and branches.

Stats:
Distance: 4.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,100ft
Highest Point: 1,660 ft (our lunch spot)
Total Time: 4h 16m
Moving Time: 2h 31m