Kamikaze Falls, February 2011

Kamikazi Falls
Date:
February 5, 2010
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Distance: 5 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 1,500 ft.
Time: 2 to 3 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: None Required
Trail Conditions: Dry up to Kamakazi Falls
Hiking with: Linna Freeman & Macho

Linna and I decided to get Macho out for some fresh air, so we decided to hike up Kamikaze Falls.  This will be the first big hike for Macho since he had his cast off and this will be my first hike since my knee specialist told me I needed a knee replacment two days ago. We got to the trailhead around noon and I was totally surprised by the amount of cars there were in the parking lot; five years ago, you would be lucky to see another car….even on a weekend. With a casual pace, we made it to the falls in 1 1/2 hours.  With the warm weather, the falls were raging with all the snow melt.

Mt. Teneriffe, December, 2010

 

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.