Talus Rocks Hike at Tiger Mountain

Today 5 Yoh! girls & 3 dogs hiked to the Talus Rocks on Tiger Mountain.  It was a beautiful day and so nice that we were able to hike without having to wear our raingear for a change.  The loop was 3.3 miles with an elevation gain of about 700 feet.  Some parts were pretty steep, but overall not too bad.  The main trail was in really good condition.  We did have to climb over a few downed trees and contend with a bit of mud on the secondary connector trail.  It didn't take us that long and we finished in about 2 hrs, so after taking a brief stop for a picnic lunch, we hiked the 1.5 mile Tradition Lake trail.  Thanks to everyone who came.  It was so nice to spend some time in the outdoors in sunny weather!

Group photo: Susan, Corey, Winston, Kassia, Brenda with Pace, and Tammy with Lily.

Here's Corey in the car anxiously waiting for others to arrive.

Winston looked pretty anxious, too!

At the trailhead.  We were lucky to find parking in the main parking lot.  This is a very popular trail and it fills up fast.

This was the first Yoh! hike for Tammy & her dog Lily.

Susan & Kassia

The first part of the loop was on the West Tiger 3 trail.  This one is really steep and goes further up to a viewpoint.  Once I get into better shape I'd like to try to make it to the top.

Looking upwards....

We encountered another Corgi named Baxter. 

The sign must have fallen down and some nice hiker drew this on the pole.  This is where we left the West Tiger 3 trail and hiked the connector trail.

Susan & Brenda



The trail description I read said there was a waterfall on this hike.  This is it, but it was more of a little stream of water dribbling down the hillside.

Found this cool tree growing on one of the Talus Rocks.

Brenda & Pace

The rocks were actually really cool.

Tammy & Kassia

Our first try at a group photo using my camera timer....did not come out too well.

Much better!

Corey loved these tree limbs overhanging the trail.



Huge tree trunk.  This must have been from the old growth forest.

The marker for our second hike.

We saw some pretty flowers.

 

I snuck a picture of Kassia!

Another cool trunk.

View of Tradition Lake.

Cedar River Trail

It was another wet Yoh! hike today up in Ravensdale on the Cedar River Trail.  7 people and 2 dogs braved the rain & snow to hike approximately 5 miles.  The trail was flat & well maintained although you could see there had been a lot of damage from the January storm.  The Cedar River was beautiful and running pretty high.  We saw some kayakers running an obstacle course near the trail head.  This would probably be a very busy trail during the summer, but we only passed a few folks this morning.  I think it would be fun to bike or hike this trail to the end at Lake Washington, but that will have to wait until the weather is a wee bit better.  Thanks to everyone who came on the hike.  We might have to return in the fall when the trees are turning.

At the trailhead: Susan, Corey, Clarissa, Michele with Max, and Grant with Gizmo

You can see some snow on the grass.  It didn't really stick, but did snow pretty much the entire time we hiked.

Group photo: Pam, Corey, Gizmo, Michele w/Max, Aaron, Grant & Clarissa

There was a smaller bridge further up.  I liked the salmon they attached to the fencing.

View of bridge from the other side as we headed back.

Clarissa, Pam & Corey

The Cedar River

After the hike Clarissa, Pam, Corey & I went to the Black Diamond Bakery for lunch.  The service was a bit slow, but the food was really good & plentiful.  I had to take this photo of Corey next to this giant table &chairs because I love big stuff! 

Capitol Forest

This morning our largest Yoh! group yet of 9 people and 2 dogs hiked for 6.25 miles at Capitol Forest about 20 minutes southwest of Tumwater.  A huge wind & rain storm blew through the area last night, but luckily by this morning, we just had the tail end of it to contend with.  We did still get rained & hailed on a few times, but there was hardly any wind.  The hardest part of the hike, I think, was trudging through so much mud and water on the trail.  We were pretty coated in mud by the end, but it was still a lot of fun.  Thanks to everyone who came!

This was Gabby's first Yoh! hike and she was super excited as you can see.  She made up a new Yoh! motto:  Through rain and snow, through sleet & hail, we are hikers, we will prevail! 

Ok, this sign lied to us.  We wanted to see the Mima Falls, but after walking 3 miles, another sign said the Mima Falls were 3.4 miles away!  They needed to mark their trails better.





I absolutely love bridges!  This one is over Waddell Creek.



Brenda in a dryer part of the trail.



Scott & Susan

We walked through an area that had been logged & replanted.

Gabby, Kathryn, Corey & Brenda

Jesse & Pam trying to figure out which way to go.

Scott, Gabby & Corey

Brenda giving Pace a little reprieve from the cold & rain.

More deliberating on which trail to take.  We never found Mima Falls, but our awesome guides brought us home alive!

Corey & Kathryn

Group photo taken by Gabby.
  First row: Jesse, Kassia with Ringo, Brenda with Pace, Susan
Second row:  Pam
Third row: Scott, Corey & Kathryn