Tiger 3: A nature/photography hike

These huge mushrooms were lying beside the trail. They were at least five inches across.

Maybe I didn't get enough sleep the night before. Maybe I was wearing too many layers against the chill of the day and the light rains that occasionally fell. Whatever the case, I failed to summit Tiger 3 today. Two-thirds of the way up I looked at my speed and the time of day and considered the fact I failed to hang the parking tag in my car. I could imagine descending from the viewpoint late in the day, enduring more fatigue and cold and perhaps descending in the dark. I turned back at the 2.2 mile marker.

Still, the hike was substantial at this point in my recovery. My 4.4 mile round trip had resulted in an elevation gain of at least 1,000 feet as indicated by topo maps. And I hiked more than an additional 1.5 miles by following the "Bus Trail" and making the loop around Tradition Lake, a wetland swamp that you only get to glimpse. So altogether, at least six miles.

And I got a real taste of nature, and some nice photos to remember the day by. 

I started late, about 12:30 p.m. and making it back to the car around 3:45 p.m. There were times when my energy level was high; then I experienced "crashing fatigue," which crept up on me suddenly. There were no hot flashes, because the weather was chilly. But I felt tired, and then there were moments when I was sweating heavily. So maybe I was having  "silent" hot flashes. This led me to turn back at the 2.2 mile mark. On the way up I was averaging a mile an hour; on the way down, 2 mph, roughly. I also had a close call with a charlie horse and begin catching up on my water consumption.

I wore mountain boots, and they were a little rough on my ankles. I likely will use my Asolo boots in the future and safe the mountain boots for when I'm on snow.

Upper photo: Tree by the path down. This is another view of the same tree.

Returning to the trailhead, I opted to take an additional hike to the round-the-lake trail, which I thought would be a half mile around. The sign post was misleading -- it was a half-mile to the round-the-lake trail. Enroute I found a woolly caterpillar that stopped as I passed it. I wondered whether my vibrations on the trail triggered a reflex to stop moving. Whatever the case, it held still for the photo.

Then I came across the unexpected: A dead school bus! It was lying beside the road. I entered the back of the bus and walked through and out through the front window (the bus being on its side).

The shell of a school bus lying on its side in the forest. How did it come to be there?

As I positioned to take the photo, I discovered a tree with broad fungus shelves. These are a common sight in the forest, but I hadn't seen any like these before.

I came to a crossroads with a sign directing me toward Tradition Lake. The trail was as charming as the rest of the hike:

Here's a map showing Tradition lake and the trails around it:

On the way to the lake I passed this shelter for forest goblins:

When I returned to my car, there was some good news: No ticket! I had forgotten to put up my hang tag. I realized that part way up the trail and opted to risk the ticket rather than return. Enforcement of the parking tag is kind of hit-and-miss.

Here are the statistics for the day:

Distance: 6 miles, 9.6 km
Load: 15 pounds
Elevation gain: At least 1,000 feet

Stats for year to date:
Distance: 324.8 km
Elevation Gain: 27,130 feet

Image at left: This is how the upper windshield portion of the school bus looked. (The bus was lying on its side.)