MOUNT SI NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION AREA

NORTH BEND

Activity: Day Hike, Chasing Waterfalls, and Peak Bagging

11.7 miles, 4748’ elevation, 4308’ elevation gain, 7 hour duration, rated HARD 

Date: 6-18-22

Teneriffe Falls, words can’t describe it, at least I can’t find the words that would do it justice. The falls were just super amazing, so beautiful, so powerful, so glorious. There are also plenty of little falls and lots of stream crossings, none of which were hard to maneuver.  The forest, green, lush and silent- aside from the occasional bird call, babbling brook, or far off falls.  A dank, fresh, earthy smell filled the air, yet every once in a while I would go by some flowering plants and the aroma… such a sweet and wonderful experience. 

I decided to add on Teneriffe Mountain to my adventure. Being a Peak Bagger I was eyeing it as an additional feat.  I spoke to a young hiker along the way.  He asked if I was going to the peak?  I said I had thought about it. He had been to the falls many times and was on his way to the top afterwards.  He said it was “hard”. I asked, “Harder than what we had just done?  His reply was, “A lot harder”. 

That turned out to be an understatement. From the very beginning the going was so tough that it appeared as if there wasn’t a trail at all.   I had to really pay attention and check my GPS as the path intersected animal trails that could confuse the direction.  On a trail named ‘Kamikase’ I was always glad to meet other people which led me to believe I was on the right track.  But basically It was just straight up the mountain.  A hiker above dislodged a rock about the size cantaloupe and it came tumbling down narrowly missing me.  He apologized and exclaimed that he tried to yell, but was drowned out by the sound of the falls. The trek was a lot of scrambling up a muddy, rocky, and slippery steep incline. It encompassed category 2 and 3 scrambling.  

I met some good people along the way, and joined them to the top.  It was near the summit that we clambered into snow and post holed our way up the rest of the journey.  The snow was patchy during the last portion of the assent.   However on the way back down there was a good amount of the trail covered in snow.  The weather at the peak unfortunately was a Pacific Northwest cloudy misty drizzly kind of day.   So the spectacular view that we should have been enjoying was instead just the inside of a cloud.  It was still special to be on top.  The forecast had called for a brisk 39 degrees at the summit.  I was still super heated from the difficult climb, so I was fine in just my short sleeve shirt.  

Then came the fretting about trying to make it down that treacherous and very steep mountain.  I opted for the longer way down which made it a loop and added some different sights to experience.  It turned out that it was a good choice although it was still a pretty good decline so certainly not an easy journey.   My legs can attest to that.

Thanks for joining me on this epic adventure as I found myself ‘Pursuing Balance Through Adventure’ at a gorgeous water fall, and on to top making it a magnificent day. There are more of these spectacular days ahead so I invite you to stay with me by doing a few easy tasks: COMMENT, LIKE, FOLLOW and SHARE. You just might find some ideas for your own adventure at the above menu. PBTA ventures all over this wonderful West of ours, enjoying Nature and seeking the Balance it can bestow. The menu is categorized mostly by location, but sometimes by activity, each is a separate website and thus needs to be FOLLOWED independently. If you are looking for great quality Adventure Wear than look no further than my line of PBTA logo items at SHOP APPAREL.

Happy Trials-

Roger Jenkins

Pursuing Balance Through Adventure