Arrrived at the Mount Si trailhead on a Friday around 11am. When I stopped for gas in North Bend, Mount Si was in the sunshine so I was optimistic that it would be a sunny hike. But this was not to be. The clouds rolled in almost as soon as I parked. With that in mind, I decided to head toward Teneriffe Falls instead of looking for views. After climbing the initial section of the Mount Si trail, I took a right on the Roaring Creek trail – one of my favorites in this area – and continued along the Mount Teneriffe trail to connect to the Teneriffe Falls trail. This was a relaxing stroll with rolling terrain, several wooden bridges, and a number of relatively easy creek crossings. The small waterfalls at the bridge crossings were lovely with the high water flow.
Along the way I spotted a recently-brushed, unmarked trail on the right-hand side and decided to do some exploring. It turns out that this lengthy side trail doesn’t really go anywhere – but it’s probably a great path for trail runners.
Back on the Teneriffe Falls trail after my unsuccessful two-mile detour, I was reminded about how rocky this trail is – especially on the lower switchbacks. The terrain is steep, but the switchbacks definitely make the ascent more tolerable. The views from the trail today were cloud-filled and more limited than usual, but the falls were roaring from this week’s rain.
For the descent, I decided to take the Teneriffe Falls connector trail to rejoin the Mount Teneriffe trail. The connector trail is quite pleasant and, as an added bonus, it lets you avoid about half of the rocky switchbacks. For the last segment before rejoining the Mount Si trail, I took a right on the Talus Loop connector and then a left turn on the lower spur of the Talus Loop trail. Unlike the upper spur, it does not offer any views but it does pass just below the lower edge of the talus field where the rocks are heavily laden with moss.
Just before reaching the parking area, I took the short detour to check out the Creek Side Loop Trail. This is an extremely short trail but today it was covered with colorful leaves and lined with beautiful ferns. It’s definitely worth a few extra steps even after a long hike!
9.5 miles, 4 hours, 2,500 feet elevation gain
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