Franklin Falls

December 14, 2016

Giant Floating Marshmallows (photo credit: Jen M.)

A much needed mid-week day off was spent clicking another hike off my bucket list - Franklin Falls.

Located just a stone's throw off Interstate 90, a dozen or so miles outside of North Bend, you can find the 109 foot final drop of three-tiered Franklin Falls (the first two tiers are obscured from view). Although classified a 'cascade' style waterfall, during the winter months it veils out into an impressive ice show. It was this ice show I was in pursuit of. Due to it's winter reputation, the ease of the trail, and its close proximity to Seattle, this is an extremely popular destination - thus my decision to head out on a weekday.


The road to the trailhead is cleared only a small portion of the way. Not knowing exactly what conditions lay ahead, my trail partner, Jen, and I parked at the bottom and started walking the three miles of roadway. We were about 1/3 of the way up when two young men in a 4wd picked us up. Fun guys - they were headed up to climb the ice flow in preparation for a spring ascent of Denali. We bounced, jostled and laughed in the backseat as they bombed their way up the bumpy, snowy road. Once at the trailhead they packed up their gear as we strapped on our snowshoes to start the quick trek to the falls, and we parted ways.

 

photo credit: Jen M.

The snow on the trail was fairly compacted most of the way up. Plenty of visitors were attempting it in snow boots and hiking boots (there was even one idiot up there in sneakers) and there were places where they had post-holed down over a foot into the snow. We passed a few who were struggling to gain footing as they slipped and slid up/down the trail. The trail is only about a mile in length (one-way) but must have seemed much longer to those without proper gear. I was very thankful for my snowshoes! All around us was a beautiful, thick forest with an occasional seasonal cabin tucked in under the boughs. The blanket of snow was broken by the meandering South Fork Snoqualmie River, which contained snow covered boulders that looked like giant marshmallows. Other than the sound of our snowshoes and the quietly flowing water, no sounds could be heard. The silence was bliss.  

  

Winter wonderland

Once we had reached the falls, I was awestruck. Franklin Falls was resplendent. The icicles formed by the mist from the falls 'flowed' over the surrounding cliffs and boulders, giving the impression of a curtain of ice. The water of the falls themselves flowed freely, the white of its flow contrasting with the blue of the ice. There was a layer of light blue ice partially covering the dark blue of the pool at the bottom. The colors of the ice and waters were in sharp contrast to the grays of the cliff walls, and greens and browns of the forest. The wind here was strong, bitingly cold and blew spray from the waterfall, which froze as soon as it landed on us. Jen's long hair had little ice strands peeking out from beneath her hat. We watched with fascination as Forrest and Thatcher, the young men who gave us the ride up, began their ascent of the ice flow. The bitterness of the cold chilled us, despite our layers, so we didn't linger too long. 

photo credit: Jen M.

 

Ice Climbers prepare for their ascent

Franklin Falls

Back at the trailhead our adventure continued. A Bronco full of young folks was stuck in the snow. We threw our shoulders into the task at hand and helped to push them out. In return, they asked if we'd like a ride back to our car, an offer we weren't about to turn down. We made it less than a mile when we came to a backup - a family on the way up in their Acura were seriously stuck and were blocking the narrow road in both directions. From reports, they had been there an hour. Although they had all-wheel drive, they were unprepared for winter driving conditions - no snow tires, no chains, no sand ... in fact, my car was the only one up there that had any of that, and it's a Mustang! Nonetheless, we helped get him down to a point where a young man with a winch-equipped Jeep could tow him down the road, and everyone was once again on their way. Our adventure ended after what seemed an eternity when we arrived back at the car ... which the snowplow had managed to barricade in.

The trip to Franklin Falls was a wonderful way to spend a mid-week 'mental health' day. The falls didn't disappoint, leaving me with a spectacular memory I won't soon forget.

photo credit: Jen M.

Hike 57
Distance: 3 miles
Elevation gain: 400'
Max Elevation Achieved: 2,600'