Tiger Mountain - Train Wreck Site and Middle Tiger Summit - 9 miles round trip

I have discovered Tiger Mountain.
Sure, it's always been there. And, just about everyone else in the Seattle area has hiked or biked there.

Now I'm hooked.
I found a map on the Siwtchbacks.com site and read an article about a fatal train wreck on the mountain and a trail that leads to it. I couldn't resist.

I got to the trail-head at 6:40 AM and drove to the upper parking lot. I was the only one there!
There was a map of the trails on the mountain, and I have annotated it to show where I was headed.

My starting point (You are Here), the train wreck site, and Middle Tiger peak

 The sun was just rising, and was beautiful through the forest. The first part of the hike was two miles up a gravel road. There were several splashing streams along the way, many wildflowers, and birds singing in the trees. It was magical!

Sun peeking through the trees

 At just over two miles, I found the turn off to the Tiger Mountain Trail. It was well marked. In another half mile, I came to where the trail made a sharp left turn. About ten yards ahead was a small sign on a tree identifying the Artifact trail.

Artifact trail sign - it's not very big and would be easy to miss.

 Just ahead lies the wreckage, or what's left of it. There are iron wheels, twisted metal and further on, the remains of a rail car, although twisted beyond recognition. The story goes that the train was carrying a load of logs and lost its brakes. At this spot, the tracks turned and crossed over Holder Creek. The train was traveling too fast and flew off the tracks, killing one man. Most of the wreckage was salvaged, but it still is interesting to look about and imagine what it must have been like almost 100 years ago.

Wheels from one of the train cars.

I made a short video at the site.

Heading back to the Tiger Mountain Trail, I decided to head on up since it was still early in the morning. The trail crossed a logging road and there were views of the Kent valley. It was too hazy to see much detail, but on a clear day, it would have been fantastic.

View NE towards the Kent valley.

On the way, there were a few views of Mount Rainier through the trees.

Mount Rainier in the distance

 I then came to the Middle Tiger Trail. At only 1/2 mile, I figured it would be a quick trip. What the sign DIDN'T say, was that it was 1/2 mile straight UP!

Middle Tiger Trail - only 1/2 mile

Well, I was here to do some body conditioning, and body conditioning I got! I drank almost a liter of water on the way up, which took me forty minutes. I obviously was not moving very fast. At the top, I was disappointed in that it was completely forested. No view. There was, however, a tepee of sorts, built from branches.

Tepee at the top of Middle Tiger

I took a break, pulled off my shoes and socks, and let my feet cool. I was midway through with eating my Snicker's candy bar, when I thought, hey, I could make a quick video. Memo to self: don't try to narrate a video with food still in your mouth! Also, get the name of the mountain right. It's Middle Tiger.

As the wind was beginning to pick up, I headed back. 

I only saw six people during the entire hike, and they were on cross-country bikes, and were just riding up the road about a mile from the parking lot. It was a great day and I am excited to explore more trails at my next opportunity.