|
HIKE |
Teneriffe |
|
ROUTE |
Kamakazi falls route, as usual |
|
DATE |
06/08/2006 |
|
ATTENDEES |
Joan, Larry, Chris M, Chris S, Dan, Drew, and Mark. |
|
NOTES |
Ow! My quads! |
PHOTOS
Photo credits: Chris M. & Mark S.
TRAIL1EPORT
Hello, TNAB'ers:
It was yet another wet and cloudy evening for TNAB's latest destination: Teneriffe. Teneriffe is one of the more physically demanding hikes on the docket, right up there with Mailbox. Our goal was to take the illicit Kamikaze Falls route, and return the same way.
Attendance: Joan and Larry (with the headstart), Chris M, Chris S, Dan, Drew, and Mark. We started out at 5:50 PM from the gated logging road entrance. Almost immediately we encountered a lone mountain biker who was heading out. Other than that, we had the mountain to ourselves.
The first section of the trip is one mile of flat forest road, the definition of sloggy. From there, it's hang a right at the creek and follow the primitive trail to the right. This part was typically muddy. It wasn't hard to find a good spot to drop off several bottles of Mirror Pond Pale that Dan graciously bought for the group - thanks Dan!
Under the infinite gray twilight, we deliberately plodded uphill. In short order we reached our next landmark - Kamikaze Falls! In many ways, this was the highlight of the trip - the falls were in great form. I wanted to linger there, but the group passed by to continue the ascent.
It took a little over an hour to reach the ridge, the unofficial halfway point, from the parking lot. From there, it's follow the trail straight up to the summit, although it does kinda peter out towards the end. Only patches of snow remain up here. Summit time: 8:00 PM. Strangely, no one wanted to hang out and bask in the misty clouds, so cool and refreshing! :)
The descent, as always, was a treacherous kneeburner, with high potential to fall on your bum. I was not immune. Fortunately, we had something to look forward to - beer! It was after 9:30 PM when we exited back on to the road. Remarkably, headlamps were not necessary!
One more bit of good fortune - the NBB&G has switched to summer hours, meaning they serve food until 10:30 PM. We made it there with plenty of time to spare - Cheers to a good hike!
Next Hike: Pratt Mountain - I saw a recent TR of Olallie and Talapus lakes, didn't see any snow in the pics. Keep your fingers crossed!
Cheers, -Mark