- Tenino — Thumbnail History (historylink.org)
The community that would become Tenino, located in Thurston County, was founded in 1851 when Stephen Hodgden (1807-1882) filed a claim under the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. In 1872 the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived, giving the local economy a major boost by enabling local timber and especially sandstone to be transported to market. By the time the city of Tenino was incorporated in 1906, sandstone quarries were anchoring the economy. But almost as soon as the city was incorporated, a series of major economic challenges arose. Most significantly, new building materials resulted in collapsing markets for sandstone. The Great Depression of the 1930s also took a toll on the already struggling local economy. In recent decades the city has found new life as a bedroom community for those working in nearby Olympia and Tacoma.
- Tenino (wa100.dnr.wa.gov)
At first glance, Tenino might seem like your average small town, but what you may not know is that pieces of this town can be found all over North America. Between 1889 and the 1930s, multiple quarries in Tenino produced sandstone for construction all along the west coast.
- Merchant Peak (summitpost.org)
The baby brother of the Skykomish River Group (bigger siblings are Gunn Peak and Mount Baring), this one is often overlooked as it is a bit more difficult to obtain and there is no true nice path to the summit. Smoot calls this Class 3 and I guess it is true but there are some pretty exposed parts and very steep bushwhacking to do on this one. Routefinding and scrambling on this one can be tricky and make it a very worthy climb. Chances are you will have this one to yourself. Through half of 2005, there were only 4 other parties that had made the climb so it is definitely not a crowded climb.
