Tiger 3, Thanksgiving rain

Red bark on a downed old tree, red fall leaves, and a verdant background

Today, I had originally planned to summit Tiger 3, but I'm still dealing with a cold and chest congestion, and it was a slog to get to the 1.1 mile mark. That was enough for today. When I turned back toward the trailhead, the light rain picked up and my clothes were pretty wet by the time I got back to the car. The overcast diffused the light and made for impressing colors for the few photos that I took.

Back at the condo I pulled out my Green Trails Tiger Mountain topo map and discovered that my turnaround point was 1,760 feet in elevation. Subtract the 500-foot elevation of the lower plateau, and that the elevation gain was 1,260 feet, almost the equivalent of Little Si, which I climbed Monday.

My route down, according to Map My Hike

Rain forest feel just inside the trailhead

Satistics for the day:

Distance: 2.5 miles
Elevation gain: 1,260 feet
Conditions: Overcast, cool, rainy
Load: 16.5 pounds of backpack

Statistics, year to date:

Distance: 1493.5 miles

Elevation gain: 60,720 feet; 11,335 to fifth Rainier

Slow hiking and sign posts on Little Si with John Anderson

At the landslide, a large boulder wedged against a tree

Monday, Oct. 19-- I'm out of shape, and John almost phoned last night to back out. But we both showed up at the trailhead at 10 a.m. today for an ambling hike up Little Si under clear skies. We took our time, 5.5 hours, and just enjoyed the beauty of the trail and conversation. John's fleece vest got damp, but I barely broke a sweat. The last hike I went on was Oct. 22, almost a month ago. Time to catch up and start getting ready for Maui's Haleakala.

Fungus found growing on a tree

The "bear cave"

The threshold

Sisyphus and his rock

John taking in "The Haystack" on Mount Si.

Satistics for the day:

Distance: 3.8 miles
Elevation gain: 1,300 feet
Conditions: Chilly windy, sunny
Load: 16.5 pounds of backpack

Statistics, year to date:

Distance: 1491 miles

Elevation gain: 59,460 feet; 12,595 to fifth Rainier