Hike Point Logging History Hike Recap

By Nancy Denney

I joined the High Point Logging History Hike on June 1st, led by Tom Anderson and organized through the Issaquah Alps Trails Club “Hikes with a Purpose” program, and was glad I did. Now every time I hike on one of these trails, I will see it differently. Tom was a valuable source of information on the town of High Point and the mill industry going up the north face of Tiger Mountain on both sides of High Point Creek.

IATC Hike Leader, Tom Anderson, sharing his knowledge with the group, photo taken by Nancy Denney

Our route followed the High Point Trail, then the Tiger Mountain Trail (TMT) – sections of which are the old West Tiger Railroad Grade – and down K-3, over Murat’s Bridge, and back to the High Point Trail for a 7.5+ mile hike.

Photo taken by Nancy Denney

Tom stopped at every artifact along the route and pulled out period photos of the logging operation so you could visualize the first logging of Tiger Mountain over 100 years ago with a steam hoist, a log sled, and more.

Period photos shared by Tom Anderson, photo taken by Nancy Denney

We even tromped through the woods to see artifacts not adjacent to the trailhead that Tom has found over the years. It felt weird to be standing at a sign that read Fred’s Corner—there was no corner—and learn you were overlooking the high logging camp at 2,000 feet of elevation. Now the site is completely overgrown with a trail rerouting due to a landslide several years back. Tom says he still bushwhacks down to the site a couple hundred feet below the trail to find more old logging relics.

Various artifacts along the hike route, photo taken by Nancy Denney

There is no toilet facility at High Point TH, so plan to green door. We parked on the service road just after exiting I-90 that leads up to Tradition Trailhead. It was 8:50am and numerous cars were already parked there as well. Trail traffic is what you would expect for a weekend - busy. Other trail users quickly passed as we stepped off at all the interest and artifact spots. A couple trail runners were cruising really fast on steep rocky areas and flew past at top speed.

Group photo, taken by Tom Anderson

Normally, I hike further afield this time of year but loved all the wildflowers in bloom here. We saw stinky Bob, bleeding heart, buttercup, yellow leaf avens, Solomon’s seal, Sicily yellow violets, star Solomon’s seal, miner’s lettuce, star flower, Oregon grape, and salmonberry. Many fern varieties love this moist north facing slope: we saw oodles of sword, deer, Mary, and maidenhair ferns. There were also several mushroom varieties. We stopped for a lunch break at a wide spot on the TMT and our return was much quicker as there were no point of interest stops on the descent.

Various fauna, flora and mushrooms, photo taken by Nancy Denney

People were still heading up the trail after 3:00pm when we were on the last stretch to our vehicles. Another fun part of the day was meeting Debbie Anschell, the namesake of Debbie’s View on Squak Mountain, and spending the day with her. I would highly recommend a future Issaquah Alps Trails Club organized history hike. It was another fantastic day out in nature with friends.

Self photo of the author, Nancy Denney