Hike or Snowshoe 1/17 Franklin Falls
Friday, January 17, 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM
7 miles, 700 feet elevation gain.
Meet at Everett Station Park & Ride Lot --
A
This large waterfall near Snoqualmie Pass becomes quite a sight when a mid-winter cold spell turns it into an icy spectacle. A well-trodden path on snow covered road and trail climbs gradually to the falls. This may be a hike on the snow (using traction devices, e.g. Micro-Spikes) or a snowshoe trip depending on the recent weather.
Expected Conditions:
I had to change the photo you see here, to give you a more realistic picture of what you will see on trip day. That spectacularly iced-over falls you saw on my booking page is (unfortunately) not what Franklin Falls is looking like right now. It hasn't been cold enough. But the falls and the trail leading to it are still a well-worth while trip. Access to Franklin Falls became much easier this winter, with the opening of a new sno-park area near the Denny Creek Trailhead. Instead of a 3.5 mile hike to reach the falls, it's now just over a mile. It's possible now to make a loop route which is about 2.3 miles, with a gain of 400 feet. Right now, the trail is snow covered and packed down quite solidly. You could use snowshoes, but traction devices like Micro Spikes or Yak Tracks will work best. I have a couple of extra pairs I'm happy to share for those who don't have any. Bringing snowshoes will be optional unless you hear any differently from me. There are plenty of trail reports for Franklin Falls that can give you a current sense of the conditions.
Other Considerations:
Because the route to Franklin Falls is now so much shorter, we will have time to do an extra hike in the area. The trail to Mailbox Peak is 3 miles, and 4000 feet elevation gain. We're not going to do that, but I just thought I'd see who's paying attention (LOL). A logical choice, since it leaves from the same parking lot, would be the lower portion of the Denny Creek Trail. It climbs up the creek valley mostly in forest, with some clearings that allow views of some cliffs and waterfalls. The Denny Creek Waterslides are passed along the way. It is considered a hazardous avalanche zone, however we are going to be in a period of low avalache danger for the foreseeable future, and there's virtually no risk in hiking part of that trail. I would anticipate we'd go about 1 to 2 miles up the trail, then turn around when it seems appropriate. One disclaimer: if you go up the Denny Creek Trail more than the first 3/4 mile or so, you will have done a total of 700 feet of gain for the day, the figure that I advertised. Go farther, and you'll exceed that. If the group is strong and conditions are favorable, we could get close to Keewulee Falls, and our total gain for the day would be around 1300 feet. But I have no fixed agenda, and anyone is welcome to stop when they've done enough.
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