What a great hike today. I can’t wait for Derek’s knee to be in hiking condition because he will love this hike. It has all the elements we like.
It was long enough, 11.4 miles round-trip, steep enough, over 3,400 feet of elevation gain, with most of it in the last three and a half miles, and most of all a new summit along a very unmaintained “trail”.
I brought along some pink flagging tape and tied it to trees to show the route. I knew that Mark Garrett was following along, looking for the same peak and possibly the next one, Crater Lake Mountain.
We met up as I was descending on the main Teneriffe Trail, we compared notes, and I told him about the pink tape and the fact that I put two strips on a tree to mark my farthest point.
I left the car to head up the trail at 5:07 am. I had to be back home for a meeting, so I went up and down as quickly as I could and drove right home. I just barely made it.
Anyway, there are 3 or 4 peaks in the vicinity of Mt. Si/Mt. Teneriffe and these summits are very rarely hiked. Mark was the one who really noticed them and then we both found maps and trip reports with route details so we thought – what the heck.
The Blow Down summit is elusive. I think you can bushwhack straight up a ridge to the peakiest peak, but otherwise it is more of an ‘area’ than a specific spot, unlike its near neighbor Teneriffe.
I am going to try a different route, though, next time I am up there. I think it is possible to get there with more time on Teneriffe trail (maintained) and less time on Blow Down trail (more or less bushwhacking).
And, as always, it is so wonderful to be in the beautiful forest.
Fin and Cam are visiting this weekend (my favorite thing to do) so no hikes until the following weekend. I have another one of those Cedar River Watershed Education Center events on Saturday the 21st, so I am thinking ahead to the 22nd, with a possible Tiger Mountain conditioning hike next week.
Until then….
Here is the visualization:
http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/djhiker/blow-down-mountain/#.VzTh3ZXls5t
Update 5/14 – link to Mark Garrett’s trip report:
http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2016-05-13.7041835783
He went further and, among other photos, took a picture of Blowdown from Crater Lake Mountain.
Mt. Rainier is amazing! Fran
It sure is. In a few weeks one of my friends is going to summit Rainier, a 4 day climb (my friend is blind). He is excited about it – he is a much tougher and more skilled mountaineer than I am.