8 of us from the Mountaineers left the Teneriffe parking lot at 7:52 AM this morning, headed up the Teneriffe trail for Mt. Si. and returning down main Si to Talus Loop. We only saw two single hikers headed up the Mt. Si trail as we descended. There was nobody else at the Teneriffe lot when we returned at 1:30. Average speed 2.7 going up until it got steep, 2.3 on the day. 4:30 moving time for 10 miles/3400' gain.
We reached the highpoint (base of Haystack - covered in ice) in rather strong blustery winds and about 8 inches of snow with winds blowing snow horizontally. We found a sheltered area in trees (the Haystack was too exposed) after making our way through the boulder field. With any freezing this route could become treacherous - familiarity with snow travel and when to use spikes or snowshoes is strongly advised this time of year.
One of our party used microspikes; most used poles. No snowshoes needed even though it is rather deep up high. Great powder and tread for most of it; I used one pole on the descent and no spikes. The iciest area is near the Haystack where the wind has scoured the heck out of the trail. If you're only going to the base of the rocks you can probably do without.
As for wildlife, we saw a beautiful male deer near the trail who was totally habituated to people and noshing - didn't move until we started past him. Of the 12 bird species we had a few juncos, robins, varied thrushes, Pacific wrens, and golden-crowned kinglets, but the high winds made it quite challenging to hear many birds.
I was more impressed with the quality of drainage on the Teneriffe trail; Si (a much more popular trail) had some pretty muddy areas. Talus Loop is beautiful. We had a very wet and windy day coming down but it was truly beautiful going up - the snow was a winter wonderland. Great workout, hardy hikers. I'd go with them again anytime!
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