This was a Plan B hike after the trailhead for my first one (Thompson Lake via Granite Creek Trail) wound up having no cell service. I use a carshare (GIG) to go hiking, and they claim the cars will start with just a bluetooth connection to your phones, but having been burned twice this year, when I saw I had no service, I decided to play it safe and go somewhere I knew I'd have a signal.

(This was disappointing, though not surprising. AT&T service maps show this trailhead as having service, which was why I tried at all, but the Middle Fork is a black hole for cell signal -- great for peaceful hiking, bad for carshares)

Since it was REALLY cold, I thought there'd be fewer people than usual on Si, and I was in the area, so I decided to check the lot. There weren't many cars, and the trail system here has some good loop options, so I would be able to get a fairly long hike in, which I wanted. (A nice thing about the GIG cars is they each come with Discover Passes, so I was all set with my pass)

The Doug Fir trail is a lovely old road bed, a very different experience from the main Si trail.

I understand now why Si became such a popular trail for people training for Rainier. Old Si trail is more rugged-ey than the main Si trail. It's v e r y steep in places. I haven't done as much hiking as in a normal year but even accounting for being out of shape the section on the Old Si trail took me a LONG time. On the plus side, once you do get to the top, it's all downhill for the rest of the loop!

I hadn't ever done the Si scramble, and I had plenty of time, so I went up to the saddle just below the summit. I didn't like the looks of the final scramble (too much exposure and there had been ice on some of the rocks lower down) so I had lunch where I was, enjoying the view of Teneriffe, Baker, Bellevue and Seattle, and the Olympics. It was really chilly, but I had ramen (inspired by trip reporter dmkr's hike at Gothic Basin) and coffee, which was a great refuel.

The connector between Si and the Tenerrife trail was really nice -- rolling, moderate downhill and lots of good mushrooms.

Roaring Creek is also a great, rolling forest walk. I saw a couple of families using it. I bet it's a nice one for kids to hike.

Navigation was a breeze, for the most part. Each junction had a sign, though I did take a photo of the map at the trailhead so I could consult it while I hiked. The one area I got a teeny bit turned around was in the rockfield below the Si summit. I did a little clambering over the rockfield instead of staying to the right and walking through the woods to the bench at the base of the haystack.

Looking for a quiet trail without much trail traffic, we went to the big new Teneriffe trailhead and from there up the Mt Teneriffe Trail to the junction with the Talus Loop Trail, taking that to the Raging Creek Trail where we stopped for lunch.  The trails were quiet so we only had to mask up a few times.  In all, the loop hike took about three hours including lunch, on a collection of lovely trails!  Photo link below, in the full report section.

Note: My main goal for this hike was the Kamikaze Trail, which is currently unlisted on WTA, but can be found elsewhere, e.g. ProTrails. The trail is steep and relatively unmarked, so do your research beforehand.

It was a beautifully sunny day, so I made sure to wrap up work early and head out hiking! The parking lot is still pothole city, albeit not as bad as some of the lots off SE Middle Fork Road/NF-5600. I won't complain. 🤭

I elected to start at the Mount Si Trailhead because I wanted to explore the Roaring Creek Trail before tackling Mount Teneriffe. I started at 330pm and spent ~40m walking east to the fork leading to Teneriffe Falls, then another 45m getting to the falls. I somehow lost my way 2/3 of the way to the falls; ironically, this was seconds after another hiker told me to be careful following the switchbacks because there are a few turns that are easy to miss; this cost me 10m. I only encountered a single other group at the falls—not something one would expect on such a popular trail—and felt quite lucky to have them all to myself.

After 15m of resting & snacking, I found my way to the Kamikaze Trail, which starts a few yards east of the falls. Look for a steep bootpath that heads NE; you'll know it when you see it.

The beginning is the steepest part. It's not quite a class 3 scramble, but you might have to use your hands. After that, the trail becomes easier to follow; indeed, it gets enough traffic that you can look for foot prints or a path that is obviously different from the surrounding forest. When in doubt, follow the ridge line up! I managed to get to the summit in just under 80m with sneakers and no GPS; I can't recall ever feeling lost or not knowing where to go.

The views atop Mount Teneriffe were spectacular! I could see Seattle. (See the attached photos.) I heard this was possible on clear days from Mount Si, but I was not so fortunate when I did Mount Si the other week.

I jogged the normal trail down because I didn't want to kill my knees, then took the Talus Loop Trail back to the Mount Si Trailhead. This path had parts that were rocky/uncomfortable to run on, but it was overall doable. I now know why Mount Teneriffe is less trafficked than Mount Si: the trail is quite long for a similar reward. That being said, I could see having fun taking the connector trail before descending, as it mostly adds distance and not elevation.

Total trip was about 13.5mi over 5 hours. I brought 1.7L of water and ended up dehydrated, but that was likely due to the snacks I packed.

We started at the Teneriffe trailhead and did a 7 mile, 1800 foot elevation gain ramble through the misty fern draped forests around the south side of Mt. Si. The parking lot was maybe 20 percent full at 10 am on this Tuesday. This ramble turned out to perfect for social distancing as we avoided the busy Mt. Si trail and somewhat busy Teneriffe falls trail, and really only saw a handful of other hikers, plus in many parts the trail is wide so easy to step aside. We also pulled our masks up when we saw people if we couldn't stay far away.

From the parking lot, took the half mile connector to the Mt. Teneriffe trail, left on that, passed the  turnoff to the falls, then turned left on the Roaring Creek trail, which was pretty muddy in places today but nice to admire the small falls at the bridge. We had planned to continue to the Mt. Si Trail, head uphill and then do the Talus loop but were enjoying the solitude so avoided the Mt. Si portion of the loop and just went up the Talus Loop trail, continuing to the overlook on the Talus trail. It was totally misted in, no view. Backtracked to the 0.1 mile connector (Spring trail?) that connects the Talus loop to the Teneriffe Road, then turned left uphill on that for about a mile, to a large hairpin and a view of a small to medium waterfall. There, we called it a good ramble and descended back to the parking lot via the Teneriffe Trail. 

There is a small muddy trail taking off east from the Teneriffe Road, at about the 1900 foot elevation. It was blocked with a stick but had footprints on it and we wondered if it connects over to the Teneriffe Falls trail. Anyone know?

Hiked this via Mt Si trail in order to fill in the guide on WTA. Its a nice trail through second growth forest, connecting Mt Si trail with Mt Teneriffe trail. It was very peaceful. The bridge over the creek is newer-looking and in great condition. This isn't a destination trail, but I could see it being a pleasant diversion. There is a tree down just after it splits from the Talus Loop trail, and its high and big enough that it was a slide-over for me at 5' 3".