|
HIKE |
Mt Teneriffe |
|
ROUTE |
The only "real" way, straight up! |
|
DATE |
6/16/2005 |
|
ATTENDEES |
Chris, Don, Jason, Larry, and Mark. |
|
NOTES |
PHOTOS
No pics until Larry downloads his camera!
TRAIL REPORT
Hmmm, why are my legs stiff and sore today? Oh, yeah - we just hiked Teneriffe! Once upon a time, stories of Teneriffe were told with hushed voices by campfire light, or used to scare small children into being good. Nowadays, there's a danger to think of it as just another hike. Sure, Teneriffe may have lost some of its mystique to familiarity, but it still demands respect.
Ow.
This time, Teneriffe turned into Boys' Night Out, as nary a female was present. The "Boys": Chris, Don, Jason, Larry, and Mark. It was the first TNAB of the year for both Chris and Jason - great to see you both! Digger the wonder dog was there, too. We actually carpooled from Eastgate in only two vehicles (a small miracle). Wary of the gray skies, we quickly set off to hike by 5:50 PM.
Within 25 minutes, we were off the logging road and on the trail. It was dark and muddy early on, but not too muddy. Soon, the trail got seriously steep as we neared Kamikaze Falls, which we reached in about 50 minutes. The falls themselves were decent for this time of year, providing a steady white noise background to our jackhammering heartbeats.
The next landmark was obtaining the ridge, about one hour into the hike. On the lower reaches of the mountain, the conditions were warm and fairly humid. On the ridge, however, the temperature steadily declined as we became exposed to a light wind and the occasional raindrop. Gotta keep moving!
The approach to the summit is maddeningly like Dirty Harry's or Mailbox - you think you're getting close, only to find out you still have some distance to cover. A short scramble excursion was fun - the rock was cool and dry. Finally, the true summit appeared - Woo Hoo! By 8:00 PM, everyone was atop Teneriffe.
The stay on the summit didn't last very long. It was chilly, and all around us we could see worse weather zeroing in on our location. Still, the cloud ceiling to the north was fairly high - Baker was a hazy white apparition to about 10k ft el. Not wishing to push our luck, we ate fast, took pics and headed out.
Like Mailbox, it's only after you start descending that you realize just how steep a climb it is. The overcast skies and forest shadows further conspired to make footing tricky in spots - more than one of us slipped, but fortunately nothing serious occurred. Layers of clothes were removed as we made our way to the still warm air of the lower mountain, especially past the waterfall. Some dark sections near the end require artificial illumination.
It was only as we exited onto the logging road did any percipitation start to fall. By the time we reached the cars, only four hours after we started, did the rain really start to develop. Good timing! Once again, we made the NBB&G our next stop for a pitcher and grub. Gotta love it when you can get off Teneriffe in time to properly celebrate the event. All in all, great hike!
Next Week: I'm thinking we oughtta do Granite Mountain, ho hum. And maybe, just maybe, celebrate THE SUMMER SOLSTICE we're at it! Hope everyone can make it. I won't make any predictions on the weather until next Wednesday - can't trust the long range forecasts at all these days.
Oust,
-Mark