Alpine Climbing

The clocks went back last week so it’s time for those of us who live in Puget Sound to hit the trails after work. The inaugural meeting of the 2008 Hike Club convened this week on Tiger Mountain (2,557′).

Now you could take a leisurely hike up Tiger. The new trail is about 2000′ of ascent over 3.25 miles, slightly longer than the old trail. It would probably take around an hour if you maintained a reasonable pace. But where would the fun in that be?

How about doing it as fast as possible? Make it a run not a hike. Leave the heavy pack, the ten essentials and pretty much everyone else behind and get after it. You can throw Naismith’s rule out the window and have some real fun.

Today’s time, from the trail entrance to the rock on the summit, 42:17. You can do better, I’m old and fat. Incidentally that rock is a great spot for drooling and coughing while you wait for your vision to come back. Then you can appreciate the view, which is actually quite impressive.

As the days get longer bigger hikes further up the I-90 corridor become possible. In a few weeks Mount Si will be doable before dark, by mid-summer the Kendall Catwalk and Mount Hyak are good too. Work your way back down the pass as the evenings grow shorter and round the year off with a final trip to Tiger before the dark sets in.

This isn’t a new idea, we’ve been doing it for years. Hike Club aka Hike Til you Puke (HiTUP) is back for another season. Mike, Rob and Martin were also in attendance this week and I’m sure other clubbers will show up soon. Naismith be damned!

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