Note: Trail conditions for Mt Teneriffe Trail are only for up to the Roaring Creek intersection so I can’t speak to trail conditions beyond that point.

With a short window of time today I thought I would check out some waterfalls after the recent atmospheric rivers. I hiked an out and back on the Mt Teneriffe to Roaring Creek trails, up to the intersection with the Mt Si trail.

And the 3 falls along the way were indeed lovely. But it was the surprising amount of fall foliage remaining that stole the show! With the rays of sunlight breaking through the forest canopy and illuminating the golden leaves and green moss, it was truly magical.

There were quite a few cars when I arrived at 11:15am but plenty of parking still available. There doesn’t seem to be a gate closing time posted anymore, which was always a concern with this parking lot in the short daylight seasons. Now it just says no overnight camping in the parking lot. Restrooms were open and had TP but bring your own hand sanitizer.

The trails were in great condition, especially after two stormy weekends. No down trees or big branches, and not really even any mud. As usual there were quite a few places where water was flowing over the trail - all crossings except one had strategically placed rocks. (Which were slippery but not difficult to cross with some care.) And the one that didn’t was shallow enough to easily walk through in boots or trail runners.

Trail traffic was moderate up to the turnoff for Teneriffe Falls, after that I saw a few hikers and a handful of trail runners, then no one on the Roaring Creek trail past the bridge and waterfall.

Did a conditioning hike up Teneriffe via the Kamikaze route (took the long way down).  Trail was in great shape, with minimal mud. Very thin layer of frost/snow present higher up, but hiking boots or trail runners would still be fine. 

Now that the rain and snow has started, I decided to head to Mount Teneriffe for a nice wet sufferfest. The route up to Teneriffe Falls was uneventful, but the plan was to ascend the old but unfortunately named Kamikaze trail to the summit.

The first part of the trail was fairly straightforward but as I neared the top, it became increasingly snowy and slippery. Eventually, I ended up trudging through 4-6" of fresh wet snow. At around 4500 feet, the trail became pretty hard to follow, as there were a handful of social trails that ran through some brush. I explored a few of them, but ended up at the base of some slabs covered with quite a bit of snow. I tried to head up them, but slid down a few times. Even once I got to the top of them, I couldn't really make out where the trail was and GPS was not high enough resolution to show me the actual route. I eventually decided it wasn't worth it and turned around.

The way down was pretty slick. There is one class 2 section where you have to climb down this rock feature that is maybe 30 vertical feet. I've done it several times when it's dry and didn't think anything of it. It was not a problem going up, but sort of scary going down when the rock was all wet. A fall would have been not good.

All in all, it was a nice sufferfest although maybe a bit spicier than I anticipated.This route is probably out for the season except for people bolder than me.

Tough but satisfying hike. Constant elevation gains all the way to the top passing different kinds of scenery. Endurance required but not technical skills. Scramble at the top is very short and manageable. Path is clear, parking accessible by all vehicles. Lot nearly empty at 7am on Saturday and about half full by noon. View was smokey today but still expansive as expected.

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