I took the Trailhead Direct bus from Seattle to the Mt. Teneriffe trailhead. I hiked up to where the falls would be, but they're dry at this time of year. The trail is easy to hike; I like the modifications made to the switchbacks a few years ago -- no more scrambling up rocks in the stream during the wet time of year.

Then I started up the Kamikaze Trail towards Mt. Teneriife. This is a steep scramble; I'm glad I had hiking poles. I got as far as the ridge leading towards the actual summit, planning to get to the summit and then hike down the trail to the west that used to be an old road. But when a hiker coming down told me it was still a mile of this trail along the ridge (I think he overestimated, but still), I considered the time and turned back. I took the connector trail and came out at the Mt Si trailhead, and caught the Trailhead Direct bus back.

It was a hot day; I was glad that most of the trail was in the shade. There weren't a lot of people on the trail, probably because of the heat. I hiked about 8.5 miles according to the health app on my phone.

A counter-clockwise lollipop loop hike to Mount Si.

Route: Beginning at the Mount Si trailhead, follow the Mount Si trail for 0.8 miles, turning east on the lower Talus Loop trail and connecting with the Mount Teneriffe trail in another 0.8 miles.  Then follow the Mount Teneriffe trail north for 2.6 miles, and keep left on the Si-Teneriffe Connector trail which leads to the base of the Mount Si Haystack in 0.8 miles.  Return to the Mount Si trailhead via the Mount Si trail.

Trailhead:  About 10 cars were in the Mount Si parking lot at 8 a.m. and 25 cars at 1:30 p.m., but with lots of room for many more.  The pit toilets were stocked.

Weather:  Overcast and 57°F at 8 a.m.  Partly sunny and 70°F at 1:30 p.m.

Trail: All of the trails were in good condition and easy to follow.  A few sections of the Talus Loop and Mount Teneriffe trails were slightly brushy, but this was not an issue on this dry day.

While the heavy cloud cover in the morning meant no views, I found myself paying more attention to the impressive forest and enjoying occasional ripe huckleberries and thimbleberries along the trail.  By the time I reached the base of the Mount Si haystack, the clouds were starting to lift, so I decided to scramble to the top for the view.  I was glad to complete the haystack scramble once, but probably never again as the scramble was outside my comfort zone.  

Once back on a good trail, there were plenty of spots around the southern base of the haystack to relax, enjoy a snack, and watch the clouds float across the valley, enveloping mountains and hikers in their cool mist.

Some numbers:  9.3 miles, 3600 feet elevation gain, 5.3 hours on trail, 1 pika, and numerous inquisitive gray jays. Saw 3 hikers during my uphill hike and 50 hikers on the downhill leg (but the trail never felt crowded). 

One highlight of the day was watching 6 elk and 1 small deer cross in front of my car along Mount Si Road near the trailhead -- a good reminder to drive with care along these rural roads.

3 of us from the Mountaineers' CHS-2 cohort (Conditioning for Hiking Series at 2-3 mph pace) did a 2.2 pace hike Monday 8/4/25 starting at 7:15 and returning to the cars at 2:55 p.m. The restrooms are finally available and stocked (no more Portapotties) and the parking lot was open at 6:30 rather than 7. Have a Discover Pass at the ready. We were first in the lot and saw only 4 people the entire day.

The trail is in fabulous shape, especially the earthy ridge trail from Si to Teneriffe. We had very little wind, so the fog made it impossible to see much of a view. One of our hikers could detect smoke from the Cushman fire in the Olympics (AQI 90 in Seattle).

Fall migration has begun; we had only 9 bird species (locals) on the morning. We also saw a Douglas squirrel, chipmunk, and at least a dozen slugs.

The salmonberries and blueberries are ready for picking, and on a dewy morning we could tell how brushy the upper reaches of this trail are getting. Not quite a shower but definitely be prepared for spider webs and dew with the current pattern of cooler marine mornings burning off mid-afternoon. Foxgloves are spent on the lower reaches but still quite pretty up high, especially with moisture on them.

We spent 15-20 minutes on the fog-covered summit for lunch before heading back down. All told our metrics were roughly 13.8 miles and 4470 feet of elevation gain (Gaia/CalTopo) in just under 6.5 hours moving time. Temps never topped 60 which is almost unheard of for August. A very pleasant outing.

We hiked Mount Teneriffe yesterday, it was a fun challenge! We did the Teneriffe Falls Trail to the Kamikaze Trail to reach the summit, then we took the other trail to get down. The Kamikaze Trail is a great intro to scrambling with plenty of solid rocks and large roots available for leverage. I have never scrambled much before this but was able to do it. The intense scramble was probably 1-1.5 miles worth of distance. We didn't get the view at the top because of the fog. The trail down was all downhill, super easy other than a few loose rocks to keep an eye on. At this time of year there were ripe berries and blooming wildflowers in many areas. For us the whole trip was 11 miles total. 

Arrived at 8:30, lot was mostly empty with only 3 other cars. There weren't really any bugs at all on the trail except on the last couple miles, where there were quite a few flies (but not biting at all). A few parts of the trail were a little overgrown but it wasn't too bad. It was very foggy, which took away the view, but I still enjoyed it. I also saw a couple grouse birds on the way down which you can see a picture of here.