Mount Teneriffe Road Trail

We arrived at the school bus turnaround at 9 am, and just a few parking spaces were left, despite the drizzly day. We started along the road trail, which was in good condition, with very little water and no blowdowns. Wildflowers were in bloom to a mild extent. Slugs were out in abundance, crossing the trail and climbing ferns. We saw European brown slugs, black slugs, and Pacific banana slugs out. We saw young ferns in the process of unfurling.

We used the Trees on Trails guide from the WTA to identify the flora along the trail. We noted the presence of alder, lodgepole pine, sitka spruce, Douglas fir, western hemlock, and yellow cedar. We saw fir trees as well but were unsure of the speciation. There were numerous waterfalls along the trail. The number and strength of the waterfalls were bolstered by the spring runoff.

We reached snow at about 3500 feet of altitude, shortly after the Mount Si spur trail. The trail then flattened out in the snow, and then resumed its climb. The snowpack ranged from patchy trail coverage to 3-4 feet thick. Despite the clouds, there were views of the Snoqualmie Valley, Mount Washington, Cedar Butte, and Rattlesnake Mountain, partially obscured by clouds.

We reached a saddle at 4200 feet of altitude and turned right, climbing steeply and heading east up the ridgeline. At that point I attached the Microspikes to my boots--the spikes were quite helpful. We stopped on a tree-covered peak 1500-2000 feet short of the summit, due to doubts about the route and the poor visibility. We turned back, took pictures of frozen Rachor Lake, and made our descent. During the descent, two of us took a side trip to Mount Si: http://www.wta.org/[…]/. We returned to the car at 6 pm. Total distance: 14.5 miles over 9 hours. Because of the snow, boots, poles, and traction devices are helpful for this hike.