Nice afternoon hike to South Tiger from the Trailhead near Issaquah- Hobart Rd via the Traverse and a return on the TMT. The Traverse trail is a bit overgrown and has a few minor blowdowns but nothing consequential. We even made the short side trip up to the "summit" of South Tiger. Good exercise but, if you are looking for views, look elsewhere, such as where this trail crosses the Powerline trail earlier in the loop. The return leg on the TMT was smooth sailing except when re-crossing the Powerlines, you will need to follow the Powerline trail West about 150 yards to rejoin the TMT. This isn't clear on the map. One last note, most of the trail is heavily used by equestrians so, be careful where you step! About 8 miles, 1,600 ft of elevation gain and 3 hours trail time. Nice workout.

Traverse of 6 summmits No snow except for patches near East Tiger Lots of blow down which obscures the trail at Karls Gap East Tiger Trail off of East Tiger is faint, but followable. No signs at the Bootleg-EastTiger connection. Section line free of debris

Muddy, wet and glorious! The first mile was the worst for deep mud. Please just bear with it and keep boots and hooves on the path! Trail was clear of blow-downs and peaceful with only a few hikers out for a rainy-snowy day hike. Hiked the loop counter clockwise from the Tiger Mountain Road SE trailhead stopping for lunch at the Carol Hapke Picnic Site. Glad for the trail signage as many of the timber roads aren't marked on the Green Trails map.

With snow and clouds hanging we decided to head to Tiger Mountain to cure cabin fever. We got onto the TMT at the trailhead on South Tiger road and headed to Middle Tiger. The lower half looks like a popular equestrian trail though we didn't meet horses on this misty and muddy day. Lots of tall, wet greens and greasy, deep mud holes. Timber sale signs line sections of the hiker only trail so it may be closed later this year. Middle Tiger turns out to be a fuzzy top with no views. We came back on the S. Tiger Traverse. It's drier, passing through clear cut and maintained by the back country horseman. It's straighter and shorter. It also passes under major power lines. Down hill from the power lines we heard crashing in the brush not far from the trail. My friend, "I hope that's not a bear!". We kept moving to make space. About 100 feet down the trail we found this print, deep and fresh. Narrowly missed meeting this bear face to face on the trail. Cool pic and no life-threatening wounds! On the way down we found berries getting ripe. A 1 star hike suddenly became more serious. Moral of the story - yes there are bears and cougars spitting distance from town. Can't relax on that even though you can see Starbucks from the trail. 9 miles, 1750 gain cumulative. Park on the down hill side of the road. Look for a small flat wand at the start of the trail.

The sky cleared rapidly, and by mid-morning the opportunity seemed too good to pass up. So my hiking buddy Marin (formerly known as "Blue Towel") and I gathered our gear and set out toward Issaquah. We found the trailhead off Tiger Mountain Road SE. There, south of SE 175th Place, a wide shoulder along the west side of the road offers parking while the main Tiger Mountain Trail, the "TMT," begins across the road. The trail was moist, sometimes muddy. There were occasional horse plops, although we saw no riders today. In about a mile, the horse trail detours east around a knoll. The foot trail stays west and traverses a steep hillside, where a small sign decorated with bright plastic flowers proclaims "Calkin's Cliff." The horse and foot trails rejoin at Hobart Gap. Traces of snow began to appear off the trail and became more prominent after we crossed under a power line. We continued north on the TMT, passing around the east side of South Tiger Mountain and, about 3.5 miles from the trailhead, we noted the intersection with the South Tiger Traverse - here a gravel road - our intended return route. First, as in previous years, we continued another 0.1 mile north, just short of the West Side Road, where we located the faint, unmarked trail heading west toward tiny Otter Lake. A year ago we could hear the chorus of frogs as we approached the lake. This year, there was more snow and only silence. We returned to the Traverse (road) and climbed a bit. At the top of the rise, we took the short side trail up to the "Hapke Memorial Lunch Area," then descended and found the Traverse continuing across the road as an actual trail. For a while, the route passes through a logged-over area before regaining the forest. We passed the big stump with the whimsical smiling face that flags the unofficial trail up South Tiger Mountain. But we had done that side trip before and found there is no view, so we elected to skip the minor "summit" this time. A couple of muddy switchbacks brought us back to the power line, and a short section of gravel road returned us to Hobart Gap, whence we returned to the trailhead. The season is early for wildflowers, although we did see a bit of white currant. Also, we noted several white buds of trilliums, and were alerted by a pair of other hikers to a couple of open trilliums, the first we have seen this year. This was a good early season hike, about 7 miles round trip with about 1,300 feet of elevation change. The trails were uncrowded (we saw four other hikers) and trail conditions, by Northwest standards, were not bad.