The Caves of Tiger 3

Intersection of two trails

Today I revisited the Talus Rocks Trail, so named for a pile of some massive boulders at the bottom of a slab of rock that is being etched by a long waterfall less than a half mile west from Tiger 3. Some parts of the hike are a little steep, and trekking poles helped in the portions of the trail where there were some steep and muddy descents/ascents.

Today I wore my 20# weight vest and a 13-pound pack -- the most I've hefted since before my radiation/chemo treatments for prostate cancer. So this is a new post-treatment milestone.

Pictured at the left, the long waterfall precedes the boulder fall. It descends a steep slope adjacent to the trail and then crosses the trail where there is a makeshift bridge of logs. I chose to walk beside the foot bridge because the ground and stream were easier to navigate.

The first sign of the boulder fall was a defile in the ground that almost looked like a descending staircase. (See photo below.) That introduces the hiker to an uneven but navigable collection of boulders before the path descends again via the Nook Trail to the "Traditional Plateau," a mile further on.

The defile that signals the boulder fall

I began the hike from the parking lot, reaching the one-mile marker at about 1,280 feet, according to a Tiger 3 topo map, before descending to the fork that heads to the Talus Slope.
My weight vest forced my heartbeats to 140 per minute. I made about 1 mph in the ascent. The entire hike from car to car, probably equaled 3 miles. So here are the stats for year to date:

Distance year to date: 27.5 miles
Elevation gain year to date: 6,665 feet.

I wore my winter hooded jacket; a cotton hoodie; the weight vest and my backpack. When I started I was chilled, but I warmed up reasonably fast. I left after 2 p.m. and it was quite warm.

There were a few people on Tiger 3, fewer on the loop that took me past the Talus Slope.

The first of the boulders, which together define sort of a small "open concept" cave system.

Farther along the trail, a look back; the fence deters hikers from venturing toward a drop.

The hardy and venturous can make their way through this defile to the far side.

Right: There's enough space between these boulders for most to squeeze through.



Below: This old-growth forest stump near the end of the hike and close to the Tiger 3 trailhead, could hold 3-4 adults in a cozy embrace.