[peppersteak'n'ale]

Decided to take advantage of the good weather on Saturday and take a trek to an old familiar that I haven't done in a couple years. Reached the trailhead at about 11:00 only to discover that I was about the 50th car to pull into the lot. Started heading up the trail, passing by a WTA work crew doing maintenance during the first mile or so. Greeted several hikers along the way (hi'ya, how ya doing?) and the next two miles were an uneventful stroll through second growth trees. After I passed the third mile, the wind started picking up and the temperature began dropping noticeably. The trail turned to slippery, packed snow from the dry, almost summerlike conditions further below. By the time I reached the boulder field at the top, the wind was gusting strong and I had to put on winter gear just to stay warm. I snapped a few photos of Rainier and Puget Sound and started heading down. On the way down I used trekking poles which came in especially handy on the slippery, snowy parts of the trail and found them to be great for taking some of the burden off my knees for the rest of the trip. I passed by numerous teens and college students who were headed up wearing only t-shirts and shorts, no extra clothes and it was my guess most of them would turn around before reaching the top because of the cold conditions and the fact that the wind had really started to pick up. By the time I got to the car there were at least 100 cars in the parking lot and it looked more like an August afternoon rather than a day in mid February. All in all a great day to be out.

[JimK]

Gee, and I thought the 4 cars at the Teneriffe trailhead, a mile up the road, was a crowd.

[MooseAndSquirrel]

Gee imagine 100 cars on a sunny weekend at such an off-the-beaten-track trail!

[JimK]

A number of years back I hiked up Teneriffe on the Fourth Of July. I spent several hours on the summit in bright sunshine. With binoculars I could see dozens of people scrambling up the Haystack on Si. On the way down I passed 2 bikers. They were the only people I saw all day. While driving home I counted over 30 cars along the road which couldn't park in the full Si lot. That was before they took out the first row of parking. Still, 100 cars in February is impressive (or depressive).

[peppersteak'n'ale]

I wouldn't count Si as one of the "wilderness" experiences in the area, more of a nature trail if anything. I think it gets more use than some local parks in the region.

[MooseAndSquirrel]

Thanks for telling us all something we didn't already know!

[peppersteak'n'ale]

just here to keep you informed

[gorthok]

How snow clogged was the top? Did you manage to traverse over to the base of the haystack and get a look at devil's belly? I might do a drek myself if the snow isn't too bad, i've no crampons or the like so the stack itself is out of the question, but, using the old mountaineering trail up the front to avoid any crowding, a view from the haystack-base area would be quite the sight if the clouds were high (or low) enough.

[peppersteak'n'ale]

There was about a foot of crusty snow on top and I only used poles, but you really didn't need anything to get around up there, it was pretty navigable. Didn't go over by the Haystack's base, so I couldn't tell you what it was like, but I would imagine it wasn't too different from where I was. In general, it seems the western face of the mountain had snow cover while the eastern face was relatively dry.

[peppersteak'n'ale]

or, vice-versa, the eastern face had snow and the western face was dry

[peppersteak'n'ale]

And here are some long awaited photos for all your viewing pleasure

Si View North

Si View South

[Tom]

Did some one say dog pile?

[peppersteak'n'ale]

and now for some maps and 3-D images for all to enjoy!

[jimmymac]

<SIGH>