Talus Loop 12.18.16
School is out for the winter break which means I get a few weeks to try and return to my normal activities. The challenge in that is that I don't do anything anymore other than sit at a desk - either at work or at home studying. We did get out for a ski day last week and have been to the climbing gym a couple of days. Keeping in mind my limitations and wanting to have time for some other things, I picked out a relatively short, close by hike. I had done the Talus Loop trail on Mt Si with Alyssa about 4.5 years ago, and according to my stats, it seemed to fit the bill. 4 miles round trip with just shy of 1500' in elevation gain. Aaron and I packed a few things in the morning and hit the road a little after 8am.
We had skied at Mount Baker the day before in about 13 degree temperatures and we froze, so we dressed for another cold day. We wore our soft shell pants, long sleeves, and a fleece as we hiked. We got to a fairly empty trailhead around 9am and took one of the last spots in the first row. We started out with hats on and put our hoods up. We had microspikes and puffy jackets in our packs, and I had one trekking pole. There were a couple other people who started about the same time we did, otherwise the trail was mildly quiet.
Aaron found a footbridge to cross along the Mt Si trail
We hiked along the Mt Si trail for the first 0.7 miles before breaking off to the Talus Loop, well indicated by the sign. The trail up to that point was a mix of dirt and compacted snow/ice. There was one particularly icy section, otherwise it wasn't too bad to avoid it.
[Left] Sign indicating the Talus Loop trail, about 0.7 miles in. [Right] Very icy section of the trail, we kept our microspikes on past this on the way down.
The Talus Loop was a bit less tracked out so not far along the trail we found some convenient logs and put on our microspikes. I also had short gaiters I had gotten a year and a half earlier from our wedding that I hadn't gotten the opportunity to try out, so I put those on too. I was also sporting my new hat from Aaron and I tried out the food pouch he got me - banana, mango, and coconut. It was pretty tasty.
Modeling my new gaiters along with my microspikes
We mostly hiked through the trees along the trail with a decent covering of snow. Once we passed the switchback, the snow got a bit deeper although there was still a good boot pack through it. The switchback corner is the connector trail to Mount Teneriffe, complete with a nice sign. We passed a group of six hikers as they took a break there. With the elevation gain we eventually warmed up enough to take our hoods off, but we never took the fleeces off. It was certainly chilly.
[Left] Aaron venting part of his head. [Right] More snow along this section of the Talus Loop trail.
Finally we emerged onto the snow covered talus slope. Most of the rocks were covered but a few poked through. This is the view of the hike as well, as we had a clear view of the mountains across I-90 in the North Bend area.
Snow covered talus slope
View of the nearby mountains in North Bend
After a few pictures we finished up the loop trail. Just after a little creek crossing next to a large uprooted tree, we popped back out on the Mt Si trail. We took a left to head back downhill to the car. On the hike out we passed several more people, although certainly winter level crowds. Most people had microspikes on which was good, as the trail was mostly compacted ice. A few didn't and we wished them luck, as well as wondered how far they would get. I certainly would not have wanted to hike on that trail, especially down it, without some traction devices.
Creek crossing next to the uprooted tree
Finally we spotted the cars through the trees, and arrived back at the trailhead 2 hours after starting. It was a short hike but it was good to get out on the trail. It was also perfect timing to grab a burrito for lunch on the way home. A cold day, but we got to see a few mountains and we got good use of our microspikes.
GPS Track
The Talus Loop trail on Mt Si in North bend