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Just_Some_Hiker
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Joined: 02 Jan 2013
Posts: 691 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snoqualmie, WA |
The plan was to summit Teneriffe from the new(?) trail, since I've only been up the direct Kamikaze route and wanted to see what the other trail was all about. It didn't take me long to figure out that it was a long, boring, stupid waste of time much like the new Mailbox trail. The trail actually heads AWAY from Teneriffe and takes you over towards Mt. Si. They should really call this the "Mt. Si Backdoor Trail" or the "Mt. Si Overflow Trail." It's long and indirect and just makes no sense.
After 3 miles I started running into snow. It wasn't bad at first but eventually it got almost knee deep and there wasn't much of a bootpack -- just a sloppy posthole mess made by a few people somewhere ahead of me. It doesn't seem like this route variation is very popular -- at least not today. I eventually reached an intersection, with one fork leading towards Si and another leading to Teneriffe. The Teneriffe fork was buried and it looked like only one determined person had headed up that way (without snowshoes).
Since I didn't bring flotation, I decided to continue following the sloppy bootpack heading towards Si. In the back of my head I was thinking about tagging Blowdown Mountain, since it was only a stone throw away, but with the snow conditions that did not seem likely. The bootpack I was following basically fizzled out after a short while and I found myself breaking trail. I was wallowing in heavy, wet snow, sinking up to my knees in places. Oh yeah, and it was raining.
I made my way to the Haystack which of course I did not bother with. I decided to exit via the Mt. Si trail since it was sure to be a beat-in sidewalk all the way down. Trail highlights included a dude wearing 12-point mountaineering crampons in slush and a girl in Daisy-Dukes with no jacket, pack or water.
9.2 miles RT with 3,200 ft. of gain.
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RichP
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Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 5634 | TRs | Pics
Location: here |
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RichP
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 Sun Jan 28, 2018 8:19 pm |
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Franklin Falls and Mt Si in one weekend? You must be feeling very sociable. 
Welcome over to the west side.
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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
Joined: 13 Feb 2007
Posts: 7220 | TRs | Pics
Location: Stuck in the middle |
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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
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Sun Jan 28, 2018 8:50 pm |
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That converted road route only makes sense if your goal is to log that side of the mountain. Both routes up Teneriffe have sections heading directly away from the peak.
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cascadeclimber
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Joined: 04 Sep 2006
Posts: 1427 | TRs | Pics
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| Just_Some_Hiker wrote: | | It didn't take me long to figure out that it was a long, boring, stupid waste of time much like the new Mailbox trail |
You left out "...that has made wildly more crowded a hike that used to offer some solitude."
The rest is spot on. Huge waste of money to create more infrastructure that they don't have the budget to manage.
The Haystack wasn't bad today- the handholds were more exposed than earlier this month.
Might have been me in the 'pons- I wore them up/down the Haystack and then down the old trail past the icy spots up high. There was some slush and dirt walking mixed in.
We are about out of trails that haven't been "fixed" into rock-hard, eternally switchbacking, overly flat, knee-crushing experiences. I get that tons of people seem to love that, but there's a group of us who want something else. And by my count, every lowland I-90 hike that offered what we want has now been messed up by people who only believe in one kind of trail 
Anyway, good onya for getting out and trying something new.
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cascadeclimber
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Joined: 04 Sep 2006
Posts: 1427 | TRs | Pics
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| puzzlr wrote: | | Both routes up Teneriffe have sections heading directly away from the peak. |
That is only very recently true of the Kamikaze Falls trail. It formerly made the Old Mailbox trail seem like a flat stroll. See post above about the DNR/WTA only seeing one kind of acceptable trail.
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nordique
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Joined: 04 May 2008
Posts: 1086 | TRs | Pics
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nordique
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Sun Jan 28, 2018 9:30 pm |
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The one nice part about these longer but easier trails is that SAR can move faster on them, recovering hikers, dead or alive.
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NorthBen
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Joined: 29 Feb 2012
Posts: 55 | TRs | Pics
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NorthBen
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Sun Jan 28, 2018 10:07 pm |
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| Just_Some_Hiker wrote: | | It didn't take me long to figure out that it was a long, boring, stupid waste of time much like the new Mailbox trail. The trail actually heads AWAY from Teneriffe and takes you over towards Mt. Si. They should really call this the "Mt. Si Backdoor Trail" or the "Mt. Si Overflow Trail." It's long and indirect and just makes no sense. |
It makes sense if you know something of the history instead of assuming it was a failed attempt to build a trail directly to the summit. The trail follows an old logging road (that was built decades ago, with zero consideration of later becoming a trail) that DNR was responsible for either maintaining or removing from their inventory i.e. decommissioning. They chose to convert it to a trail, which counts as decommissioning and - hey - nets you a trail in the process. I don't think anyone would argue that it's a perfect trail alignment but that was never really an option; it was being able to travel that corridor vs not being able to.
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Just_Some_Hiker
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Joined: 02 Jan 2013
Posts: 691 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snoqualmie, WA |
| NorthBen wrote: | | It makes sense if you know something of the history instead of assuming it was a failed attempt to build a trail directly to the summit. |
I was actually well aware of the fact that it was a converted road. As a trail it makes no sense, especially when there's an existing trail that is more direct. The sensible thing would have been to decommission the road and allow it to return to nature. Then focus on improving the existing trail, if necessary. Instead we have a ridiculously long and pointless trail that serves no purpose except as secondary access to Mt. Si.
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Malachai Constant
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Joined: 13 Jan 2002
Posts: 16093 | TRs | Pics
Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny |
Used to drive up it in the 70's to practice on the haystack.. A friend had a key to the gate. Until fairly recently there was a cabin up there and a recent logging unit on private land. Several loops are available with a nice view from the Talus Loop Trail. Not the most exciting hikes but provide good gain.
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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