I've been itching to get back to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness again - the last
ALW lake I've been to was
Marten Lake
in January. Unfortunately, the huge snowpack this year means most wilderness
trails are still buried in many feet of snow. However, this week I noticed a
couple of trip reports for Snoqualmie Lake, which is about eight miles up the
Taylor River, beyond Otter Falls and Big Creek Falls. I haven't prepared yet for
an overnight hike, and am a bit hesitant to hike 16 miles in one day. The
Snoqualmie Lake Trail provides another option, though - one can bike the first
six miles of the trail, from which point it's only about two miles further to
Snoqualmie Lake. I pump up the tires on my trusty commuter bike the night
before, and toss it in the back of my Forester for the journey.
Having just hiked Otter Falls a few days earlier on Mother's Day, I'm familiar
with the conditions on the trail. It's a beautiful sunny spring day and I'll be
hiking and biking in shorts and a t-shirt. The first six miles are perfect for
biking in terms of the difficulty, only gaining about 600'. What's not perfect
are all the rocky sections of the trail. I have to get off my bike and walk
about 15 or 20 times. In addition, I need to get my bike across the rather large
water crossings at Anderson Creek and Otter Creek. This turns out to be
relatively easy, though, since I can just roll my bike through the water and
hang onto it for support. Views of Mount Garfield peek through the trees
occasionally, but this hike is more about forest and water than snow-covered
peaks so far.
I make good time on the trail, stopping a few times to cut away some blowdown
with my new saw. I reach Big Creek Falls in about an hour and twenty minutes,
including saw time. I have fond memories of Big Creek Falls from a hike I did
with Jeannie, Allie, and my brother Aaron way back in 2002. At the time, it
seemed like a long hike, but no doubt part of that was carrying Allie in the
backpack for a good stretch of it. The bridge over Big Creek is a sturdy hunk of
concrete, left over from decades ago when this trail was an active logging road.
The creek is roaring today with the spring runoff from the Dream Lake basin high
above. I hop back on the bike and ride another 10 minutes or so up the trail on
generally good tread, only having to get off once or twice.
At this point I reach the junction with the Nordrum Lake trail. I stash the bike
behind a stump below the tread, checking that it can't be seen from either
trail. Not that I should be too worried about bike theft - I've only seen one
other hiker so far on this weekday and there were only two cars in the parking
lot when I began. I say goodbye to the wheels for now and head uphill past an
ancient road sign for Snoqualmie Lake, eager to see what the Alpine Lakes
Wilderness has in store. I enter the ALW after a few minutes and come upon a
huge blowout that looks to have happened within the last few years. Massive
freshly-broken granite boulders litter the hillside, and a jumble of logs and
broken trees lie at the bottom. On this open section of hillside I get an
excellent view of the east side of Treen Peak. A neat set of switchbacks has
been constructed through the slide, delivering me to the other side without
incident.
The trail heads upwards through old-growth forest, with increasing numbers of
small stream crossings, and a few blowdowns along the way. About a mile in, a
roaring sound steadily grows and I suspect I must be nearing the Taylor
River. This river parallels the entire trail from before I parked the car, all
the way up to Snoqualmie Lake, which is its source. However, the river has been
quite distant since the first mile or so of the trail. I round a corner and
suddenly come upon a deeply carved rock chute with water gushing out of it at an
enormous rate. The sound is deafening and mist fills the air. I later discover
this was historically called Nordrum Falls, or sometimes Taylor Falls. Above the
massive plunge waterfall is a large tiered cascade that takes my breath away.
This is a great time of year to be observing waterfalls!
I carry on up the trail, starting a switchbacking section past more small and
medium-sized falls. I'm on my eighth mile from the car, and I'm feeling the
unexercised muscles I used on the bike. Still, it's a lovely trail in open
woods, and not too steep - a perfect example of what an Alpine Lakes Wilderness
trail should be. I start to encounter snow on the trail at about 2800' or so,
but it's easy to cross. As I near the lake, I come across a granite rockslide
section, where the trail is basically a stream, followed by an even larger
stream crossing. This is all part of the adventure and it's not hard to cross.
From this point, the snow starts to get deeper and I'm soon walking over a
couple feet of it. I have my GPS with me, but it's really not necessary, as
there are obvious boot prints in the snow, and even without those, this route is
easy since once can just follow the roaring sound of the Taylor River all the
way to the lake.
The river is a beautiful greenish hue that contrasts nicely with the white snow,
and I've had to don my sunglasses a few times to avoid snow blindness. The snow
is consolidated (packed down) for the most part, so I don't sink in too much,
but once in a while a misstep will lead to postholing, where one's leg sinks in
knee-high or more. This dumps snow in the top of my hiking boots, but it's a
warm day and a little snow doesn't bother me. I'm very close to the river now,
and as I pass some large trees I come upon an amazing sight. The river is
pouring down a massive waterfall to my right, then through many braided channels
it takes a 90 degree turn along the trail. I guess that this must be very near
the lake outlet, as I can see daylight just above the waterfall. It's probably
150' away from me, but I can see and hear the power of the ice-cold water
frothing over the falls, which seem to be a continuous 30-40' cascade.
After taking in this scene for a few minutes, I continue on through the
snow. Any sign of solid ground is long gone, and from the surrounding trees and
river, it appears the snow is at least 3-4' deep here. I follow the bootpath in
the snow up a short climb to the left of the waterfall, and soon enough I am
greeted by the sight of Snoqualmie Lake! The trail reaches the lake just at the
outlet, and indeed the mammoth waterfall is just below it. The trail is about
20' above the level of the outlet, and I can see that there is an open beach
next to the water here. However, hoping for slightly more expansive views of the
lake, I press on through the snow another 100' or so, and I find another small
beach facing south with a lovely rock to sit on and enjoy my lunch.
The lake itself is almost entirely covered in snow and ice, with only small
parts melted out right next to the shoreline. Based on my topo map, I know that
the part of the lake I'm seeing here is only about half of it, but it still
looks pretty large - Snoqualmie Lake is probably in the top 10 largest lakes in
the Alpine Lakes Wilderness by area. Due to the long day and the large amount of
snow around the lake, I elect not to explore any further, but I will be back
some day to visit all the higher lakes in the area. It's very quiet here, as
there are no other humans present, nor do I see any wildlife. Snow still covers
the tops of nearby peaks, though from my lakeside lunch rock, no notable summits
can be seen.
I pack up my lunch gear and start the long trek back. On the way down, I
plunge step through the snow next to the large outlet waterfall - standing only
15-20 feet away from it is quite thrilling. On the way back down the trail I see
two solo backpackers who will probably be spending the night at the lake. Most
likely they will be snow camping, which can actually be a lot more comfortable
than a sloped or rooty camp site, as long as you have the right insulated gear!
Upon returning to the junction with the Nordrum Lake trail, I head up
toward Nordrum Lake about 1/4 mile to check out the Taylor River crossing. Since
there is no bridge here, it appears a ford is required, but it also appears to
be completely impassable at the present time. The water is moving fast and deep
and though one might jump across it, jumping over deep water onto a wet rock is
probably not advisable. Nordrum Lake will need to wait a month or two for the
water to go down. I return to the crossroads and find my bike, and start
rolling.
Within an hour or so I have successfully navigated through all the rocks and
stream crossings down the Taylor River trail. I don't hop off the bike to walk
as frequently on the way down, relying on some creative mountain bike moves to
keep myself moving. I wish I had better tires for this type of adventure, but my
bike is holding up quite well for a 20-year old commuter model. A bike with
actual suspension would be nice here, but for this sort of logging road
adventure once or twice a year, it might be overkill. I return the car a bit
shaken up, but thrilled to have completed over 16 miles in around seven hours.
This is probably my favorite hike of the year so far - the waterfalls were
thrilling and it was great to be on the real wilderness trails again, and see a
hint of what's to come as the snow melts.
Stats
Time: 7 hours
Distance: 17 miles
Elevation Gain: 2100'
Sights: Big Creek Falls, Nordrum Falls, Snoqualmie Lake Falls
Stats
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