Washington Exposure: Franklin Falls in the SNOW!!

November 14th 2011... When I had heard that the first snow was falling in the Cascades I could not wait to get out and up and have my first winter snow hike with Molly... She loves the snow .. and for once I can see the tracks of all the little animals that she uses the nose of hers to follow.

First thing I always do is check the pass report and make sure that I could get to where I was going. Well things change especially when it is really snowing. The picture to the left here was taken after I had been sitting in the same spot for the last 45 minutes or so waiting or the pass to open up once again. Sitting in a 2 + mile long back up is not my idea or Molly's idea of fun. Especially when the back up starts at the exit that I was wanting to take. The only problem was getting there as it was a parking lot all the way to Denny Creek.

Finally after sitting for a little over an hour and a half the pass reopened and about a half hour latter we were moving once again. Our destination was Franklin Falls. I had been wanting to go there all summer but just never got around to it.

Denny Creek is only about an hour drive from Seattle and with the hike to Franklin Falls being just over 2 miles round trip with little elevation gain makes this one of the more popular destinations during the summer months.

Very excited to be on the trail!

So we made it to the exit about 1 pm only about an hour latter then what I had planned on. One of the things that you have to watch out for during this time of the year is that we only get so many hours of sun light during the day and with the sun setting about 4:30pm I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to make it back to the car and then to the freeway before it got dark out.

Well a couple of things we learned on this hike that winter and summer are totally different and just as much fun. First for Molly she got to were not only her pack, which makes her all excited when she see's me taking it out as she knows that it is time to go and play for the day but she got to wear her booties in the snow for the first time. Not that she really likes it when I put them on but I think her paws were a lot warmer for having them on.

Last bit of trail down to the falls

As for me I got to put on the new ski coat I got along with rain pants and my new gators. Gators for those of you that don't know what they are are protect you from getting dirt, mud and snow in this case in your boots. Sort of like a tub sock that goes up to just below the knee. I was glad to have them as there was just about a foot or so of snow on the trail..

Surprisingly enough we did not have the trail to our self's. It has been one of the interesting things that I have discovered that no matter how much of a back country trail you might be on her in Washington the odds are with you that some one else will be on the same trail. This time we came across a couple on there way back to the trail head.

With hiking in the snow the real challenge is not keeping warm so much but being able to find the trail, follow the trail and find your way back once you have found your destination especially when it is snowing as it can all just disappear on ya.

Franklin Falls

It snowed the entire time we were on the trail which made it one of those almost dream like travels through a winter wonderland.

The trail for the most part was in great shape with little streams here and there that ran down the middle and mud was only in a couple of places and not rely a problem at all. The only part of the trail that was a bit tricky was going about the last bend and down to the falls. It was narrow and rocky with a short steep drop to water below. Not that far of a drop but far enough to seriously hurt ones self. After about 35 minute we arrived at Franklin Falls.

So once we were there Molly just had to get into the stream for a drink dragging me behind. Was a bit of a challenge keeping her dry for the most part as I really didn't want her soaked for the hike back to the car.

The entire hike took us just a little over an hour and by the time we made it back to the car Molly was more then ready to be out and done with the snow for the day.

Below you will find a link to all of our pictures that I have on Pacasa and a map with pictures as well