Dixie Peak and Blowdown Mountain via logging roads

I parked at the Mount Teneriffe Trailhead and rode my mountain bike up the Mount Teneriffe Road-Trail to the T-intersection in the road at 3,560'. Actually I rode up to about 1,200' elevation and then pushed my bike for the remaining 2,360' vertical feet, it's a steep road.

I stashed my mountain bike at the T-intersection and took the left branch of the road. Right after the road turns sharply right at 3,860' I took the short logging road to the left to check out Rocky Butte (point 3,880+). Not a lot to see here, the rocky part of Rocky Butte is only visible from below.

I then returned to the main road and headed towards Blowdown Mountain (point 4,560+), which has a logging road that leads to just S of the summit. I couldn't find any place that was clearly the summit since it was pretty flat and covered by dense groups of young trees, no view here.

From Blowdown Mountain I followed the ridge to the NW to Crater Lake Mountain (point 4,351). Reaching the ridge was a bushwack, pushing through young trees growing close together and climbing over slick old blowdowns. But once I passed that short, brushy section the ridge was easy to travel. Crater Lake Mountain was a partly tree-covered and partly exposed summit with views of Dixie Mountain to the east.

I returned to Blowdown Mountain and followed the ridge to the east (more ugly bushwacking) over point 4,440+ and then across the ridge to the N to Dixie Peak (point 4,606). Dixie Peak is covered by meadows separated by thick groves of trees. I pushed on to the slightly lower peak (point 4600+) to the NE of Dixie Peak, this attractive little peak has 360 degree views including Mount Teneriffe, Mount Rainier, the North Fork Valley, and the entire Olympic Range. It almost made the slog and bushwacking worth it to me.

I then returned to point 4,440+ and descended its S face to the logging road and quickly returned to my bike at the T. The ride down was gratifyingly swift if not exactly enjoyable (it was mostly non-stop heavy braking).

Date:

2004/10/12

Elevation gain:

3,815 feet

Trip type:

mountain bike, scramble, bushwack

USGS quad:

Mount Si

In:

Middle Fork Snoqualmie Drainage

Car-to-car:

7 hours 6 minutes

• 18 minutes driving there from Lower Queen Anne to I-90 and I-405
• 32 minutes driving there from I-90 and I-405 to Mount Teneriffe Trailhead
• 1 hour 44 minutes ascending via bike from Mount Teneriffe Trailhead to T in road
• 1 hour 12 minutes ascending from T in road to Blowdown Mountain
• 20 minutes ascending from Blowdown Mountain to Crater Lake Mountain
• 28 minutes ascending from Crater Lake Mountain to Blowdown Mountain
• 42 minutes ascending from Blowdown Mountain to Dixie Peak
• 10 minutes ascending from Dixie Peak to point 4,600'+
• 1 hour 1 minute descending from point 4,600'+ to T in road
• 32 minutes descending via bike from T in road to Mount Teneriffe Trailhead

References

• Book: Secrets of Si: The Mt. Si Guidebook
• Trip reports: Washington Trails Association (search for 'dixie')

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