Clear skies! Let's catch the view from West Tiger 1 and 2.

The current weather forecast for Saturday Jan 17 is sunny -- clear skies and no rain! Let's revisit our "back door" route to West Tiger (WT) 2 and 1, that approaches from the north, via some less-used trails. IMO WT2 now has the best view of Mt Rainier, courtesy of the Weyerhaeuser clearcut, that we can get to via transit until Trailhead Direct starts and we can return to Mt Si.

We'll start at the Issaquah Transit Center, catch the #208 bus to the High Point stop, and take the High Point and K3 trails up to WT2. The K3 trail is "unmaintained", but is in good condition. Since the clearcut, WT2 now has a great view all around, and is a good place to stop for lunch.

We'll then head to WT1. The peak is off-limits -- it is a cell and microwave tower facility. The clearcut took out the old trail that went around the peak on the north side. The new bypass trail runs south of the peak, and connects to the Poo Top trail. The new section of the Preston trail, which the WTA had just completed enough to be passable when we first went through in 2023, connects the east end of the bypass to the previous Preston trail -- we'll take this down from West Tiger 1. Depending on time, we can either take the High Point trail again, or the Lingering trail, which is a little longer. Last time we did this, there was plenty of time. If we are a bit ahead of schedule, we have another option to try, which is to continue on the Preston trail, then take Dwight's Way trail back to the High Point or Lingering trail. This is only 0.3 miles further, and actually has less up and down.

(When we did our first test hike, we took the High Point trail, as we had spent a lot of time chatting with other hikers, and were not sure how long the downhill leg would take. We got to the bus stop half an hour early... This time, it's unlikely we'll be chatting quite that long, so will likely have time for either alternate route.)

The route is about 7 miles, 3300 ft elevation gain (according to Google Maps). Most of the trail up to WT2 is a steady grade, not ups and downs, and is in good condition, even the unmaintained K3 trail section. The last little bit up to the WT2 peak, through the clearcut area, is less well constructed. The new section of trail near West Tiger 1 is short, and there was nothing tricky. The Preston trail, which is the first part of the return from WT1, has some damage from wind and rain, which stripped off some of the trail surface and exposed slippery pebbles.

Although this is nominally about the same elevation gain as Mt Si, this is easier, as (unlike the Mt Si trail), the tread is mostly pleasant, without the large steps that the new Si trail has...with the exception of the Preston trail. Our last visit was in 2024, so it's hoped that some mulch has started covering the trail again.

There is a return #208 bus from High Point at a little after 5pm -- we'll aim to catch that. The next bus is a little after 7pm, so if we miss the 5pm bus, we could just continue the hike across Tradition Plateau, and out to Issaquah. That would add 3 miles to the hike, but it's highly unlikely we'll need this fallback -- we've always been early for the return bus.

Logistics:

Bring your lights -- headlamp and / or flashlight. Dusk is at 4:30pm, and we may still be coming down at that time.

On one visit, we were surprised (ok, I was -- others suspected) to find snow still covering WT2. So if you have microspikes, it may be useful to bring them, just in case. Trekking poles will also be useful, not just for snow, but if there are still exposed pebbles on the Preston trail.

Bring water, snacks, lunch. Bring something to sit on -- there is one bench (chainsaw art made by the Weyerhaeuser workers) that we can squeeze 3 people onto, plus some downed logs.

Weather forecasts have temperatures in the upper 50s deg F. We'll want a warm layer for the exposed West Tiger 2 lunch stop.

Meet at the Issaquah Transit Center by 8:55am. This time accommodates the #554 arrival from Seattle, but if you are arriving some other way, try to get there a bit earlier. We will ride the #208 that departs at 9:00am together to its High Point stop.

This is a tight connection for the #554 -> #208. We will wait for the #554 bus that is scheduled to arrive at 8:54am. If that bus is late, we will switch to our fallback plan, which is to catch the next #208, which is two hours later. We can do a local walk near the transit center in the meantime. But this will mean changing our route in Tiger, turning around at WT2.

Bus riders: You can get to the Issaquah Transit Center on either the #271 or #554 bus. There is a #554 arriving from Seattle at 8:54am, and a #271 arriving from Bellevue at 8:24am.

Drivers and cyclists: There is parking at the Issaquah Transit Center. Please make sure you arrive early enough that you can be at the bus stop at 8:55am.

There are no restrooms at the trailhead, nor water sources. The "restroom" facilities will be the woods, with two exceptions. If you arrive early (i.e. if you are driving, biking, or taking the #271, but NOT the #554 that arrives with no time to spare...), you can cross over to Tibbetts Valley Park, just south of the transit center, to use the porta-potty that is at the southwest end of the parking lot by the skate park. Arrive about 10 minutes early to be sure you are back in time to catch the #208. On the way back, there is an option to get off the #208 in downtown Issaquah, and use the restroom at the library, which will be open til 6pm. We can get on the #554 there, to return to the transit center or head home. Or if we go straight back to the Issaquah Transit Center, there might be time to go over to Tibbetts Valley Park to use the facilities there, before whichever bus we're catching home shows up.

Use comments to coordinate.