Hike 7: Snoquera Falls

On Sunday, April 18 the sun came out and the temperature was in the 70's. That's hard to beat for mid-April in Seattle, and it was just right for a hike. On Friday night we stopped at REI and asked the ranger what trails he recommended that weren't covered in snow. He suggested that we try a hike southeast of Seattle, about 20 miles east of Enumclaw off of Hwy 410. A couple of summers ago, we took that highway on our way back from Mt. Rainier, but we didn't realize how many trails and campgrounds were waiting to be explored in the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest. We might go back again this summer and spend a few days camping so that we can enjoy more trails.

After missing the pulloff spot for the trail that we originally were aiming for, we ended up going farther east and turning around. In our pursuit we actually found a small airfield in the middle of the forest. Odd placement maybe, but who wouldn't like to land a personal aircraft there? After turning around we got to another trail that the ranger recommended, so we decided that it would suffice.

Needless to say, Snoquera Falls exceeded our expectations. It was a scenic hike with a few views along the way. But the best part was the waterfall at the end. Here's my first glimpse.


We only saw one person on our way up to the falls and four people on the way down. It felt like we were the only people in the whole forest...a sharp contrast to some other hikes we've done along the I-90 corridor.


Our photos can't really show how tall the waterfall really is.






Not only did we have the waterfall to admire, but the view to the south was notable as well.


On our way down we saw this animal skeleton. Not sure what it was...


To cap it off, when we were driving back, we saw two elk cross the road. They were pretty tame, but neat to see anyway.



At the beginning of this post I mentioned how we stopped at REI on Friday night...for their 20% off sale...to get backpacks. Details in the next post...