On the Trail to Silver Falls
Aug. 14th, 2022 09:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerSaturday a week ago we were at Mt. Rainier National Park. We had mapped out several waterfalls trails we wanted to hike. These were revenge travel for hikes we were unable to take on a visit five years ago. First up: Silver Falls.
Good news/bad news about Silver Falls: it's on the far opposite side of the park from where we were staying in Puyallup, WA. (We'd wanted to stay in one of the small mountain towns near this part of the park but they were all booked solid when this travel opportunity materialized just days in advance.) So the bad news is it was a 90 minute to 2 hour long drive.The good news was that it was a scenic drive. Given the choice of two routes there (the map included here should show them) we looped counterclockwise around the east side of park in the morning, knowing we'd continue counterclockwise through the park during the day and drive home around the west side in the evening.
We entered the park through the Stevens Canyon gate on the southeast side. The trail to the falls crossed the road just 1/4 mile past the entrance gate. We parked in a pullout, laced up our boots, shouldered our packs, and headed out on foot.
The trail plunged immediately into deep forest. Good news! But it also dropped steadily from the road crossing. Bad news! Downhill on the way in means uphill on the way out. Fortunately the trail level off after a bit. Then it hit its first creek crossing.
Uh... this dry stream bed is not a good sign for visiting waterfalls! Fortunately, Silver Falls is not fed primarily by this creek, it's on the Ohanapecosh River, which is fed primarily by glaciers on Mt. Rainier. And all it takes is a look skyward to see that the glaciers are still there and pouring down water in the summer melt.
The next side-creek crossing was a bit more promising. There's flow here. This little falls is absolutely not Silver Falls. This little cascade is only about 5' high. Silver Falls is... a lot bigger. And as we rounded the bend beyond this little canyon we could hear the roar of the water from the main canyon.
To be continued....
Good news/bad news about Silver Falls: it's on the far opposite side of the park from where we were staying in Puyallup, WA. (We'd wanted to stay in one of the small mountain towns near this part of the park but they were all booked solid when this travel opportunity materialized just days in advance.) So the bad news is it was a 90 minute to 2 hour long drive.The good news was that it was a scenic drive. Given the choice of two routes there (the map included here should show them) we looped counterclockwise around the east side of park in the morning, knowing we'd continue counterclockwise through the park during the day and drive home around the west side in the evening.
We entered the park through the Stevens Canyon gate on the southeast side. The trail to the falls crossed the road just 1/4 mile past the entrance gate. We parked in a pullout, laced up our boots, shouldered our packs, and headed out on foot.
The trail plunged immediately into deep forest. Good news! But it also dropped steadily from the road crossing. Bad news! Downhill on the way in means uphill on the way out. Fortunately the trail level off after a bit. Then it hit its first creek crossing.
Uh... this dry stream bed is not a good sign for visiting waterfalls! Fortunately, Silver Falls is not fed primarily by this creek, it's on the Ohanapecosh River, which is fed primarily by glaciers on Mt. Rainier. And all it takes is a look skyward to see that the glaciers are still there and pouring down water in the summer melt.
The next side-creek crossing was a bit more promising. There's flow here. This little falls is absolutely not Silver Falls. This little cascade is only about 5' high. Silver Falls is... a lot bigger. And as we rounded the bend beyond this little canyon we could hear the roar of the water from the main canyon.
To be continued....
