Kamikaze trail above Teneriffe Falls is in great shape! No mud, minimal erosion, pretty easy to follow up the ridge! No snow, just a little bit of frost earlier on in the day. Trail to Dixie Peak is well trodden and easy to follow, it makes for an excellent side quest! 3 volcanoes, 6 dogs, and 3 or 4 awesome kiddos braving the Si Haystack.

One surprise on the way in via the Mount Si Road - there was a small herd of elk wandering on/next-to the road.  And then one more bull elk in the parking lot.  They got out of the way pretty quickly - just be careful especially on these shorter days.

I started up the new Si trail, turning up the Talus Loop trail over to the Mount Teneriffe trail.  The new Si trail had loads of bigleaf maple leaves making going a bit slick.  Wet snow began in patches around 2500' becoming continuous by 3000'.  Above that the problem of the day emerged: lots of deciduous trees that still had lots of leaves on them.  Lots of snow was stuck on the leaves, causing the branches to bend 'way over.  On the Mount Teneriffe trail this was mostly small red alder close to the trail.  Proding these with a pole was often helpful in getting the tree to shed its snow load.

This got much worse on the Si-Teneriffe Connector trail.  There was one section around 3900' where the bent-over trees and shrubs were so dense that I considered turning around rather than making my intended loop.  I managed to clear some of the worst offenders, but without some serious melting or leaf-fall this will remain somewhat obstructed.  I finally made it to the base of Mount Si (top photo).  Yeah, not much of a view with the low clouds.  Snow depth by this time was about 6" (love those gaiters!).

I thought that getting to the Valley Overlook (which wasn't too nasty in comparison with what I'd just been through) would be the end of my problems.  The worst was over, but I took before- and after- photos to illustrate the problem: this is where the trail comes up to the fork with the Overlook stub, looking toward the trailhead.  Eventually I made it to the rocky opening that many seem to consider the "top" turnaround point.  Until this point the snow had been completely free of anyone else's footprints. 

There was a bit more getting down from that point, but as usual the amount of snow on this side was much less - no more than an inch, and diminished quickly as I descended.  I proceeded down the Old Si trail to the North Road, taking it to the Doug Fir trail and on to the new Si trail.

Having been up Si many times - my expectation is that I'd have a workout, but no real surprises.  Today's trip was an adventure!

If you are looking for an alternative route to Mount Si, consider making the ascent on the Mount Teneriffe Trail and then the connector over to Mount Si at 4.1 miles in.  We did that, then took the Mount Si trail down to the Talus Loop trail, which connects to the Mount Teneriffe Trail, making a lollipop loop.  It is a longer route, but it offers more variety.

The colorful highlight was a cluster of vine maples right by the bench at the overlook, which had turned a strong shade of red.  

Started from the Mt Teneriffe trailhead at 8am on a Saturday.  Plenty of spots in the lot and the bathroom was in great shape!  We started with a straightforward ascent of Mt. Teneriffe, nearly 7 miles long with 4,000 feet of elevation gain.  The scramble to the top is simple and straightforward with minimal exposure. While it certainly was not the best day for views, a rather faint Mount Rainier could still be spotted through the haze!  After a 30 minute lunch break, we decided to take the Upper Si - Teneriffe Connector Trail on our way back and check out Mt Si as well.  This walk along the ridge from Teneriffe to Si was probably the nicest part of the hike and a worthwhile endeavor after doing all the hard work to ascend Teneriffe.  I skipped the final scramble to the Mt Si summit but others reported that the top was chock full o' bugs.  For the descent, we opted to take the Mt Si trail down to the Talus Loop trail and the short connector trail back to the Mt. Teneriffe trail to get back to the trailhead.

With some clearer skies, it would have been an epic day for views on the trail.  However, I still really enjoyed the different perspective that the trail to Mt. Teneriffe provides.

16 miles, 8.5 hours, and 4,800 feet of elevation gain

Got to the Mount Si trailhead at 7:30 and there was plenty of parking left.
The trail is good for a hot day since it’s mostly in the shade.
Not very spectacular when it comes to views or other attractions. It is basically just a nice hike in the woods.
Went counterclockwise up the Tenerife trail. Met maybe 4 to 5 people on my way. It was a bit busier coming down the Si trail, but I’ve seen it much worse.
When I got to the parking lot, there were still a lot of spaces.
The trail is in good condition, of course, because it is a very popular and crowded one.
There was one part with pretty bad bugs, but otherwise it was OK.
I did not need poles for that one, but they could be helpful.