Mt Teneriffe Saddle 1.24.03

I got a really late start so I decided to do something close. I arrived at the end of the Mt. Si Road at 1:30. I took the logging road until the saddle just south of Ranchor Lake. I then left the logging round on the easy to follow trail that leads towards Teneriffe. The trail follows to ridge line and is very easy to follow due to the lack of snow. I left the snowshoes in the car today which was a good thing because I didn't hit sustained snow until 3700ft. There is hardly any snow once you leave the logging road. The weather was fairly warm low 40's on the summit. The last 300ft of climb is fairly steep and is very slippery on the descent. I reached the summit at 4:15 and only stayed a few minutes. I hurried back (mostly in the dark) and reached the car at 6:30.

Trip stats 14+ miles Total time 5 hours Total climb 4000ft

Grantie Lakes Road 5124' 1/14/03

I decided to repeat last weeks trek up Granite Lakes Rd.. Instead of going towards Thompson Lake like last week I continued on climbing on the road. I continued on until I reached the cabin that is due west of point 5124. The cabin's door was at least 15 feet above ground. To enter the cabin you would have to climb two sets of pegs that were driven in the structure. I sure wouldn't want to sleep walk in this cabin. I then headed due east a short ways to reach Pt. 5124. Great views of Gifford Lakes and Russian Butte in between cloud breaks. There is very little snow, I would say snowshoes are hardly needed.

Trip stats 18+ miles 4400 ft of climb 6:15 total time.

Thompson Lake 1.7.03

Left the middle fork rd. at 1230 up the granite creek rd. I wanted a somewhat long day to work off the holiday cheer. I made my way up the long way to Granite Lakes, I did not need snowhoes until approx 3200 ft. . With such a beautiful day and with a road exit I decided to push a little further finally hitting the Thompson Lake trailhead at 3:15, I continued on with the initial descent, after dropping a 100ft of elevation I found a nice sunny spot to soak up as much of the winter rays as I could. There was very little snow on the trail and was easy to follow. After a 20 minute sun bath I hit the return trail. By the time I reached the car it was very dark with a very nice crescent moon to light the way.

Approx 14 miles round trip with 3400 ft of climb Total hiking time 5:00

Green Mt. 12.10.02

Well the weather seems to have changed at last. Breezy and wet today with the snow level hovering around 3200ft. Today's attempt was Green Mt. which is located between Mt Teneriffe and Bessemer Mt. . I started approx 2 miles past where the Middle Fork road crosses the river, there is a gated logging road with ample parking. I followed the logging road to where it splits one way crosses the creek and the other continues east. Instead of following the road I just climbed straight up, the timber is easy going and is much shorter than staying on the road. Near 2100ft I regained the road just before it splits the lower branch is overgrown but isn't hard to follow. I continued on this road which is a VERY LONG traverse but does move you directly towards the summit. Near 2800ft there is a creek crossing that is very overgrown with small limber branches that sting more than you can believe when hit across your face. I decided rather than risk scarring I would try this at some other time or some other route. I would think this route would be a good spring route when the days are longer and the Hell branches are buried deep under snow. I think next time I will try leaving the Teneriffe climbers trail and do a ridge traverse to reach Green Mt. summit. It sure was nice to see some new snow!