Another recent trip report, another alpine lake hiking plan! I saw a few days
ago that two parties have made it to Malachite Lake on the north side of the
Alpine Lakes wilderness. Reaching Malachite sounds pretty sketchy, but since
I've never been to this area, I figure it's worth a shot. What's more, even if
I don't make it to Malachite Lake or nearby Copper Lake, I will definitely
reach Trout Lake, since it's at about 2000' and completely melted out already.
All of these lakes are on a trail called the West Fork Foss Lakes Trail, which
is reached just past the town of Skykomish on US Highway 2. The weather
forecast is calling for a mix of rain and sun today; ever the optimist, I hope
the sun makes a good showing in the afternoon so I can have some views.
The drive up to the trailhead is pretty, though with with the clouds and a bit
of rain, I can't see much scenery. I drive past the Tonga Ridge Road, where I
hiked with Jeannie and Allie almost 20 years ago, and the Necklace Valley
Trailhead, where I have never been. After a brief stop to cut some branches
that are partially blocking the road, I reach the West Fork Foss trailhead,
and unsurprisingly, my car is the only one there. Normally this trail would be
packed with hikers, but the high lakes aren't melted out yet, and a rainy
Friday isn't exactly when the hordes show up. This trail is one of the more
well-travelled access points for the ALW, and leads to no fewer than seven
lakes - more like 10 or 11 if you're counting those with poor or no trail
access.
I suit up in full rain gear today, figuring I can always strip it off later if
needed, and set off on the level forest trail. The trail immediately enters
the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and shortly after that I am treated to the sight
of waterfalls pouring down the steep cliffs of Malachite Peak to my right. One
after the other empties into the West Fork Foss valley, though they're too far
away to hear or get a great picture of. Country like this, with its imposing
summits and plentiful waterfalls, must have been the
inspiration for Rivendell
from J.R.R. Tolkien's
Lord of the Rings. After about three-fourths of a
mile, the trail crosses the West Fork Foss River on an impressive bridge of
steel and wood. The river rages below.
After crossing the river, I climb gently through mixed forest for a few
minutes and come upon the largest Douglas Fir tree I have seen in my life. The
size of this tree is astounding, and it's hopeless trying to get a picture of
it. If I had another hiker with me, posing a person next to the tree for scale
would be just the ticket. I estimate the trunk must be at least 12' in
diameter, and interestingly, the roots of this monster are entirely
underground. Normally at the bottom of a tree, you will see it flare out, and
you'll often see part of the roots. Not so with this one - it goes straight
into the ground without any sign of widening. I'll have to ask my forester
friend if this is common with really large trees.
Just before I reach Trout Lake at 1.5 miles, I come across another amazing
natural sight. A giant avalanche, or more likely several avalanches, has come
across the trail from a chute on Malachite Peak, making it all the way to the
river below. On its way, it has dumped several large trees over the trail and
knocked down almost all of the trees that were nearby. I knew about this from
trip reports, but it's quite another thing to see it in person. The snow is
stable and easy to walk on, but unfortunately it has been piled up in
alternating ridges and valleys that I must scramble over, along with all the
downed trees. I estimate it's probably piled up 10' deep in places, so it may
be a while before the tread of the trail can be found and cleared. I make it
to the other side without incident, and soon reach Trout Lake.
Trout Lake is not large or extremely deep, but it nonetheless a pretty lake
with numerous campsites on the west side of the lake. There is a large grassy
day use area, and as I run my hand through the water, I imagine kids swimming
in the lake, and casual day-hikers launching floaty toys. As expected, there
is no snow here, and this is an easy beginner-friendly destination, only 1.5
miles and 500' up from the car. The clouds are preventing me from capturing
any of the surrounding peaks with the lake, so I hope for better weather on
the way down. I press onward, beginning the ascent toward Malachite Lake and
Copper Lake.
The trail passes through some interesting rocky sections and I start to
encounter blowdowns in various stages of clearing - most completely untouched.
I suspect that since this trail isn't really melted out, the Forest Service
hasn't bothered to take a log-out crew through yet. My trusty trail saw is
going to get a workout today! One blowdown I encounter is so massive that I
wonder if a crosscut saw team could even manage it - probably 5-6' in
diameter. Fortunately, it has fallen across the trail in such a way that you
can walk underneath it without too much trouble.
I start to hear the sound of
rushing water ahead, and as a I reach a prominent switchback, I arrive at what
I believe is Middle Copper Creek Falls. As with the Foss River, this creek is
roaring right now, and the waterfall is rather spectacular. A rock formation
in the middle of the channel looks almost like giant-sized stairs, and makes
for an interesting effect as the water rushes over it.
Continuing upward, I pass one switchback after another, and eventually reach
Upper Copper Creek Falls, which is just as impressive. The theme of today's
hike is definitely going to be waterfalls! I stop to cut down a vine maple
that has fallen squarely across the trail. It has many branches and trunks, as
is normal for vine maples, but they're all easy to saw through and throw to
the downhill side of the trail. The sun makes an appearance, and I can see new
snow near the top of Silver Eagle Peak to the east, but so far the breaks in
the clouds and rain have been fleeting. I consider it lucky that it hasn't
been stormy or heavily raining, and at times I have been able to shed the rain
jacket.
The trail presses upward along an open south-facing slope, which means it is
mostly free of snow, though not of thimbleberry bushes and vine maples
encroaching on the trail corridor. Before long, I start to hear the
unmistakable roaring of another waterfall, and based on my research I expect
this to be
Malachite Falls, one the largest and best waterfalls in the area. Sure enough, I get
glimpses of it it through the trees, and this is one of the largest waterfalls
I have encountered yet. It's so tall that there is no way to see all parts of
the falls at once, so I settle for viewing different parts as I switchback up
the side of Malachite Peak. Even though it's somewhat distant from this
section of the trail, it sounds like a jet airliner preparing for takeoff.
As the trail gets closer to the falls, I come across a small but forceful
waterfall pouring right over the trail. Normally it appears there is a log
over this water crossing, but the log sits lengthwise in the water and is
angled slightly downward. Getting to the other side will be tricky, since
there is steep wet rock on both the uphill and downhill sides, and the wet log
placed the wrong way in the middle. At least I'm wearing rain gear to keep my
clothes somewhat dry, and I get out my trekking poles to stabilize myself as I
cross. There is no choice but to step on the wet log, or walk straight through
the water gushing from above - I choose the former approach and make it across
safely without getting too wet.
After this crossing, the trail reenters shaded tall timber, and the snow
beings to cover the route. It's generally not hard to follow the trail, since
there are boot prints in the snow, and pieces of the trail can be seen in
spots where the snow has melted. Before long, I reach what I call a "waterfall
garden". A fairly large creek rushes down and across the trail from my right,
but the main show is dead ahead. A huge cascade of water pours down to my
left, and the entire affair is surrounded by 4-5' of snow. What's even more
interesting is the log bridge across the large creek, which looks more like a
river at this point. If my map is correct, this is Malachite Creek, the outlet
from Malachite Lake. The interesting thing about the bridge is that while it
is entirely free of snow, there are snow "walls" about 7-8' high on both sides
of it. So, to cross this bridge, one would first need to climb up onto the
snow, then somehow safely descend one of these snow walls without falling off
the bridge into the water. This is made even more difficult by the fact that
the spray from the creek has undercut the side of the snow walls into an
overhanging cornice, ready to collapse.
I carefully climb up on the snow next to the bridge, but one peek over the
edge tells me there is no safe way across. I decide to ascend the snow on the
north side of the creek, to see if if might be possible to ascend to Malachite
Lake this way. The lake it about 400' higher, and the earlier trip reporters
went this way, which I can tell by their boot prints. While the snow is
generally firm, this area is full of large rocks and logs under the snow, and
more worryingly, there are many places where I can hear or see water running
under the snow. All of these factors mean it's highly likely the snow may
collapse under me, and this is not something I feel like dealing with on a
solo hike. I traipse around a bit, looking for a place to stop and eat lunch,
finally settling on a log with a great view of the minor waterfall I crossed
over a the bottom of the gardens.
After lunch, I make my way back down to the trail, marveling at the amount of
snow that still needs to melt before the trail is accessible. On my way down
the switchbacks, I stop to take a time lapse video of Malachite Falls, and I
am surprised to see a couple and their dog ascending the trail with overnight
packs on. They are apparently headed for Copper Lake, and I give them all the
information I can about the snow conditions above. Heading back down the
trail, I stop several times to clear out blowdowns that I bypassed on the way
up. I figure that since I didn't make it to the upper lakes, I might as well
spend my time clearing the trail for other visitors on the upcoming Memorial
Day weekend. As I'm in the middle of clearing a tree just above Trout Lake, I
meet the couple and their dog again on the way down. One of them (not the
dog!) apparently fell in the creek trying to cross it. Fortunately they seem
none the worse for wear, and it looks like they're going to spend the night at
Trout Lake.
As I pass Trout Lake, the views have opened up a bit, but it's still hard to
see anything up valley from the lake. I know there is another lake up the
valley called Delta Lake, and a huge one past that called Otter Lake, but it
will require some research or further recon missions to identify the best
route to reach them. I make my way across the avalanche debris, marveling
again at the waterfalls on Malachite Peak, and reach the car with just enough
time to make it home for dinner. On my drive out, the clouds are finally
dissipating, and I get a few parting shots of Malachite Peak from the road.
This has been a very successful hike and I'm really looking forward to
returning when the mountains of snow have subsided.
Stats
Time: 7.0 hours
Distance: 8.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 2200'
Sights: Malachite Falls
Alpine Lakes Mission
Lakes visited: Trout
Total lakes: 24
Percent complete: 8.0%
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