Category Archives: Waterfall Hikes

Lake 22 Hike, April 2013

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Lake 22
Date: April 27, 2013
Difficulty: 3 out of 10
Distance: 5.4 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 1,500 feet / 457 meters
Time: 3 to 4 hours
Location: Verlot, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Leashed Dogs Only
Permits: Northwest Forest Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Wet to Snowpacked
Hiking With: Linna Freeman and my fearless dog Macho

I forgot to bring the Nikon camera and we just had the iPhone which didn’t give this beautiful lake justice. This was my first time on this trail and I will be back on a sunny day with a real camera to capture the real beauty of Lake 22.

Most of my hikes this year have been in rain…and this hike like many others I want to make sure I hike them on a summer day; especially when the snow has melted off this lake and trail. More to come….

Mt. Teneriffe Hike, July 2011

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Mt. Teneriffe
Date: July 22, 2011
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 11 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,838 ft.
Time: 5 to 6 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: None Required
Trail Conditions: Started off dry, but mostly wet.
Hiking with: Rick Massie & my dog Macho

I met up with Rick Massie at Starbucks in North Bend, Washington and we decided on Mt. Teneriffe for our Friday hike, it’s the next peak over from Mt. Si. I went into work for a few hours today so our trailhead start didn’t happen until 9:15 a.m. We took the Kamikaze Falls route up and the 5 1/2 mile service road down. After 2 1/2 hours of steepness with a few breaks on the way up, we hit the summit with clouds surrounding us. I was really hoping that the clouds would have moved on by the time we reached the 4,530 foot summit, but no such luck.

We took the service road down and it seemed it would never end (as always). After the long trek down, we changed into some dry clothes and stopped into North Bend Bar & Grill for a well deserved cold beer.

Mt. Teneriffe, December 2010

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Mt. Teneriffe (via Kamikazi Falls)
Date: December 22, 2010
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 10.5 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,838 ft.
Time: 5 to 6 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: None Required
Trail Conditions: Dry up to Kamakazi Falls, snow at 2,800 ft.
Hiking with: Dr. Robert McElroy

Rob and I met our at usual location, off of I-90….exit 11a and got to the trail around 8:00 a.m..  Since I hiked/snowshoed up the service road last week, we decided to take the Kamikaze Falls trail to the summit.  This is a much shorter route versus the long, sometimes mind-numbing 7 mile service road.  The Kamikaze Falls route has been listed from 3.3 to 4 miles long, either way, it’s a steep assent.

We made good time up to the falls (elevation 2,633′), we took a break to take a few photos of the 150′ waterfall.  After a couple of poses, we kept trekking up the steep slope and eventually hit snow around 2,800′.  The snow started to get deeper and we decided to put on our gators and snowshoes on around the 3,700′ point.  After 3 hours from the trailhead, we hit the beautiful white summit….and of course we took a few more pictures.  We descended the safer route via service road….and endured the 7 long miles down.  According to my heart rate moniter/calorie counter, I burned 4,100 calories and my heart rate peaked at 167.

Mt. Teneriffe, December, 2010

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Mt. Teneriffe (via service road)

Date:  December 17, 2010

Difficulty: 7 out of 10

Distance: 14 miles roundtrip

Elevation Gain; 3,838

Time: 5 to 6 hours

Location: Near North Bend, Washington

Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only

Permits: None Required

Trail Conditions: Wet to thick snow.

Hiking With: Myself

I wanted to do some snowshoeing early Friday morning, but most of my friends were either working or busy doing other things.  Since I was by myself, I chose to hike up/snowshoe the Mt. Tenerife service road versus the shorter steeper route via Kamikaze Falls. 

I was the first one in the parking lot…well, except for the elk that were lurking around, one of the elks had a collar or tag around the neck.  The trail or road was pretty wet for the first 1 1/2 miles and then the snow slowing started to build-up.  I put on my snowshoes at the 2 mile mark and started to make fresh tracks…which is one of the reasons I like to start early.  I love to be the first one on a fresh snow trail.  Many people will follow the first trail started, so….you actually get to determine where the trails goes.  Of course, since I was only snowshoeing the service road, there is not much variation creation. 

It was a perfect day, sunny and warm enough that I didn’t have to wear a coat or a jacket.  My MSR’s were sinking down about 6 to 8 inches in the thick snow.  It got deeper the further I went and about the 5 mile mark, I had enough fun for one day and turned around.  The service road is great for a large group of people, but….the 7 mile trek to the Mt. Tenerife summit will eat your time up.  I only saw one other person on my way down….another reason to love this trail.

Comet Falls, September 2009

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Comet Falls
Date: September 19, 2009
Difficulty: 2 out of 10
Distance: 4 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 300 feet
Time: 1.5 to 2.5 hours
Location: Near Longmire, Washington
Users Group: Hikers Only
Permits: $10 per car access fee
Hiking with: Linna Freeman, Patricia Chow & Garth Heuchert.

Since we were staying near Mount Rainier National Park and the weather forecast called for rain all day, we decided to hike Comet Falls.  The trail is under tree canopy for most of the route and has a spectacular view even on a rainy day.  Because the waterfall resembles a tail of a comet, it was named Comet Falls.  This is a fairly easy hike that you could do with the family, kids and beginning hikers.  The trailhead and small parking lot is located on Longmire Road; go early if possible, the parking lot fills up quickly.

There is really not much elevation gain on this hike, but…you do start the hike at 3,600 feet.  Within a 1/2 mile, you cross Van Trump Creek on a small wooden bridge.  You will cross three avalanche slopes after the creek, another good reason to do this in the fall….all the snow is gone.  At two miles you will see the magnificent Comet Falls.  The falls plunges 320 feet with a significant force of mist blasting from the bottom.  Since it was the fall, there wasn’t any snow and the creek level was low enough to walk on the creek bed to get close to the base.  Being this close, it felt as if you were caught in a hurricane with the horrendous sound and gale force winds generated from the 320 foot fall.  After getting soaked from the hurricane like mist and plenty of pictures taken, we headed back down.  For a longer hike, the trail continues another mile to the meadows of Van Trump Park.