[Arete]

With the (supposedly!) unsettled weather we stuck close to home this past weekend and hiked up to a couple of I-90 summits. Here are the current conditions, as we found them: Mount Teneriffe via Kamikaze ridge (Sun 5/25) Jo has already posted a nice trip report here on their group’s loop of Teneriffe and Si. We had a very nice visit with them on a rocky outcrop of Kamikaze ridge. This was our first trip up the ridge to the summit of Teneriffe, having previously been frequent users of the road route. We began at 6 from the parking area and had a pleasant stroll up the gravel road in the quiet, misty morning for about a mile and a quarter. The creek was running very high and the first part of the boot path beyond the warning sign was a little wet. The trail climbed steadily beside the creek through steep forest for a half hour or so to the falls.

Lower cascades

Steep forest path

Steep forest path

From the falls the trail ascends up and right to the narrow crest of the ridge where we happened upon a herd of mountain goats with some beautiful kids (all too fast for our camera unfortunately). The path up the ridge was snowfree until about 3800 ft.

Path winds its way up through mossy boulders

Along the rocky ridgeline

Ascending into the sunshine

From that point we climbed upward over firm snow until we broke out of the forest around 4400 ft. The upper snowfields were still pretty firm at 9:00, though some holes are developing near a couple of rock bands that we skirted to the west.

Snow in upper forest

Upper snowfields

Summit of Teneriffe

Summit

Mount Si from summit of Teneriffe

It will probably be a number of weeks before the entire route is free of snow. Poles were helpful, and we found no need for ice axe or snowshoes. The summit was in glorious sunshine. The descent was less than glorious. It was steep like Mailbox, but as the path is less trodden, the going seemed slower – particularly on the way down. 7.5 hours car-to-car (including an hour of summit sunbathing); about 3800 elevation gain. Granite Mountain via winter route (Mon 5/26) Another early morning start (6 AM) from the trailhead to catch the firm snow portion of the day. The trail was mostly snow free to about 3200 feet. From there, the snow patches get longer and more persistent until it is completely snow covered for the last few hundred yards before the trail crosses the first major chute (at about 3580 ft). We left the trail shortly before the chute, following footprints up the winter route through brush and forest on the slopes just west and above the chute. We actually stayed off snow much of the way up, following slopes of beargrass and low shrubs up to the main SW ridge at around 4800-5000 feet (with one steep 100-foot snow section).

Main gully from summer trail crossing

Snow covering the path low down on the winter route

Climbing the middle snowfields

Bushwacking through the beargrass forest

The ridge was snowfree, transitioning from low vegetation to boulder hopping at the top. One final 100 feet of snow brought us to the summit lookout and the usual spectacular view.

Upper risge transition from vegetation to rocks

Up the boulder ridge

Boulder hopping

Tunneling up through the boulder field

Summit lookout

Kaleetan and Chair

Getting ready for a 1500-foot glissade

A fun, bottom-numbing glissade took us quickly back down to the trail just before 1 PM. Poles were nice and an ice axe was a must for the glissade.

[Go Jo]

Ahh a name to a face, I'm jealous that you added Granite to your weekend as well, we're hoping to get up there this coming weekend. Tell the boys hi and that we talk about their adventures to all the parents in our group who quit hiking when they had children. I wonder if they are just afraid their kids will beat them to the summit We'll watch for your family in the future, have a great late Spring of hiking!

[northbynorthwest]

Arete...these are awesome and inspiring pics. I was thinking I would have to put off some more serious hiking for a while when we had kids. Well, this weekend we hiked the direct approach to Poo Poo Point, the traverse across to to Tiger 2, and back to the trailhead, round trip 9 miles, with our 5 year old. There was steep ascents, bushwacking, and creek crossings. She did fine! How old were your kids before they were doing stuff like Teneriffe? And where did you get the tether, that looks like a very good idea.

[Stefan]

A 5 year old carrying a backpack. I am jealous. Its hard to get my 7 year old walk without complaining on a logging road.

[Opus]

Nice trip! You guys were probably some of the little black dots I saw through my monocular from across the valley on Silver. Sure looks melted out up there.

[rdyhiker]

Arete, we were the group of 4 on Teneriffe you passed right near Kamikaze on your way down. Too bad I didn't realize you are a nwhiker. We were busy ooooohing at the falls just then I think, but I'd have pulled away to chat had I known. Love "Ascending into Sunshine"

[1k]

Thanks for the reports! Appreciate the current info on the snow levels. Those are some hefty hikes for youngsters. Must say, I find myself a bit jealous when I think about all the decades of hikes those kids have in front of them! Kudos to you for cultivating some budding hikers!

[DRSpalding]

[Backpacker Joe]

Great trip. Way to get the tykes involved early.

[Arete]

Hi All! What a wonderful thing to finally knowingly meet up with some of the folks we have been reading about here on NW Hikers! Jo, thanks for hosting such a nice rest stop atop the rocky ridge! I'm glad to see the rest of the traverse went well. And a belated hi, rdyhiker! We will have to chat next time – careful with that cast! Opus – thanks for the trip report on Silver. We were looking your way as well and we’ll be heading over to Silver in the coming weeks! NBN – that is super, what your daughter did on Tiger, at 5! Since our boys started hiking we have used a tether system. It has saved some unpleasant spills, softened some of the faceplants, and eased our nerves in exposed spots. We use Black Diamond Kid’s Bod Harnesses along with some lines made out of either retired 9 mm climbing ropes or webbing slings. Usually we just clip them into us as we scramble along. We’ve found increasingly that if our hikes / climbs have a good deal of a scramble component that they get more excited about it. In the winter we can take them to local parks with trails and sometimes walking a mile is a moaning, difficult exercise. Then, on the weekend, we can head out and scramble up Hi Box with enough off trail navigating and class 2-3 rock scrambling and they are out leading the charge all the way. Since they were 6, we’ve tried to select a number of off trail routes where they can take turns at leading the way and selecting the route (with parental veto power always a possibility!) – they love that role. Storytelling and general silliness have also helped when their interest wanes along the way. Lately, if something has a good glissade (and sufficient snow for snowballs to pommel dad in the bottom as he kicks steps), they will climb up anything. We have been blessed with a couple of boys that indeed love to be out in the mountains. As many folks here do, we took them out on day hikes and short backpack trips on our backs starting very early. I think that helped the outdoors to become a comfortable playground for them (plus, a tent full of Therm-a-rests was not so different than an entire night in an inflatable bouncy playhouse). We had not planned on doing much in the way of difficult hikes with kids. However, one day a few weeks after our older son’s third birthday, we arrived at the Mount Si parking lot and packed up the child carrier, thinking we would carry him when he got tired. It was not to be. Every time we asked him if he wanted to ride he refused, and four hours later he was standing at the base of the Haystack. Since then he has insisted on climbing everything in sight. His little brother was slower to develop his own enthusiasm for hiking in the mountains, but by four years old he too was scrambling along behind his older brother. They hiked a lot of the classic I-90 and Teanaway peaks (and others) at 4 and 5 years old (Mailbox, Granite, McClellan, Silver, Iron, Earl, Bean, etc.) and as Jo suggests by the time they were 6 we were having to tell them to slow down and wait for us. I do suspect, as DRSpalding mentioned, that this will change with age. We already see that, especially with the older boy (now 10 years old) as their interests diversify and they spend more time with their friends. And of course, their interests wax and wane. Just last summer our younger son (6 years old) declared that he didn’t want to hike anymore. That lasted for a month and he began asking why we weren’t going out hiking so much. By September he was leading us up to the top of Mount Adams and has declared that he wants to climb Mount Rainier this summer. So, who knows where this is taking us – but we are reveling in the moment and sharing some great times together in the mountains. Hopefully we will see more of you guys from NWHikers out there along the way!

Near the top of Hidden Lake Peak (Aidan, 6 and Janick, 3 and two old geezers)