Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Melakwa Lake
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Hike up the trail as it rolls under the I-90 westbound viaduct to the Denny Creek waterslide at 1.3 miles. You'll pass Keekwulee Falls and Snowshoe Falls at 1.4 and 2 miles and will then climb the long, steep valley of Denny Creek. The path crosses the creek periodically and ambles through dense forest and across rocky avalanche chutes. At about 3 miles the trail gets serious about climbing and weaves up a series of switchbacks to Hemlock Pass at 3.5 miles (elev. 4600 ft). The trail slides through the forested pass (yes, it's largely a hemlock forest), before dropping gradually over the next mile to the shores of Melakwa Lake. Avoid walking though the fragile meadows as much as possible--there's enough rock and established trail that you won't need to further damage the already trampled heather and wildflower fields around the lake.
Driving Directions:
From Seattle drive east on I-90 to exit 47 (Asahel Curtis/Denny Creek). Turn left over the overpass and proceed to a T. Turn right and travel 0.25 mile to Denny Creek Road (Forest Road 58). Turn left and drive 2.5 miles, turning left on the paved road just after the Denny Creek Campground. The trailhead is at the road's end. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
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Snow on trail
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I started today with good sun shining down on my shoulder heading up to snow lake retracing my steps from...
I started today with good sun shining down on my shoulder heading up to snow lake retracing my steps from the weekend before(Dec 4)searcing for an ice axe which had slipped out of Isiah's pack.We didn't see it and we figured as much.There was a good amount of snow all the way up and at the saddle.We continued down to Snow lake and headed across the west side of the lake which seemed as solid as the rest of the lake but was closer to Chair Peak and is the deeper side of the lake. I'm sure it was all in my head but I felt a little uneasy being out on that side.We made our way up to chair peak lake by scrambling up thru the trees and snow, by which time the sun decided to split and the clouds rolled in! I couldn't see much of anything really. The one thing I could see is that my good friend and hiking bro Alex,did not like the route that we took up to Chair peak lake. He called it exposed,I call it adventure.Sounds like the same thing to this cowboy.We didn't see many tracks up there,just some ski tracks.We then proceeded up to the saddle at Melakwa pass and ate some food huddled in the trees. We headed down to both of the Melakwa lakes which were frozen as well and covered in snow. I expected to see some folks but none were to be found! I didn't see a single print till about 3/4 of a mile from the lake. We followed the blue diamonds in the trees for a bit till we ran into a set of prints which was someones turn around point.(pansies).We ran into a bear about a mile above the falls,he took off thru the trees and across the trail and up the east slope and minded his own buisness.He could clearly see that I wasn't gonna take any lip out of him. We came to the falls and made it down to the trail head where we saw a fair amount of folks coming back from the falls. Eleven miles total from point A to B. I'll see you on the mountain and you will know it's me when you hear me howl!! Gorillaz in the mist baby!!
Day hike
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Snow on trail | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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Road plowed till ~3/4 miles from Danny Creek TH. Put on snowshoes from get-go at 7:30 AM. Hikers from Saturday...
Road plowed till ~3/4 miles from Danny Creek TH. Put on snowshoes from get-go at 7:30 AM. Hikers from Saturday all turned back at Keekwulee Falls (~3100 ft). Made our own tracks from that point on. Snow total accumulation was 1-2 feet deep, with a soft crust underneath after Hemlock Pass. Mostly cloudy everywhere except the lake, which was sunny. Freezing cold but awesome views!
Day hike
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Water on trail | Snow on trail | No water source
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Flickr: http://bit.ly/melakwa-lake-ii
Melakwa Lake was supposed to be our stopover on the way to Kaleetan Peak. Overnight snowfall had added more...
Flickr: http://bit.ly/melakwa-lake-ii
Melakwa Lake was supposed to be our stopover on the way to Kaleetan Peak. Overnight snowfall had added more inches of snow in the area and it snowed on and off while on the trail. I almost didn’t make today’s hike because we got home relatively late the night before from Lookout Mountain. Due to the lack of sleep, two of us couldn’t make the 6:30 carpool time from Bellevue and had to start hiking an hour to an hour and half later than the other two. The hike to Hemlock Pass was uneventful with more switchbacks than I remembered from three years ago. The four of us eventually reunited on the ridge just past Melakwa Lake. There was more snow on the ridge and two people didn’t bring snowshoes with them. This made trekking up the steep slope a lot more unbearable than it already was for the two people. We soon scratched the plan to Kaleetan Peak and returned to the lake to hang out for a while before calling it a day. Spikes were used from trailhead to the lake for traction and balance. The trail had been stepped on enough that snowshoes would simply be an overkill. Another snowy day hike in the neighborhood. Day hike
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail
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With summer over and days growing ever shorter, I decided to get an early start for a trek up to...
With summer over and days growing ever shorter, I decided to get an early start for a trek up to Melakwa Lake. A little too early, it turns out; a mile from the trailhead at the famous waterslide, I arrived to find Denny Creek running a little high and draped in ice. The improvised log crossings, wobbly and unstable under the best of conditions, were now covered in a mixture of slime and ice - not a good option for crossing. I thought about rock-hopping, but the higher water made for some awfully long hops for a short-legged hiker. I would survive a dunking, but I didn't think my camera would. That left one option: off with the boots and socks for an icy wade. It was excruciatingly cold, but it got me across the creek. I later spoke to other hikers who, with a later start, found the area ice-free. Mother nature one, me zero. Next time I'll bring a pair of waders.
Once across the waterslide, I was quickly reminded of how rocky this trail is, crossing a seemingly endless series of talus slopes. Near Keekwulee Falls there is a small area with recent slide activity - something to keep in mind when traversing this section. Quick: what is the first thing to do when you hear rocks falling? There is a lot of water and mud on the trail now (which was mostly ice at 8:00 AM), so consider bringing traction devices for this hike. Trekking poles or a walking stick are also useful on rocky trails like this where the footing is treacherous. I recently hiked Granite Mountain, a trail with 1,000' more vertical rise than Melakwa Lake and about the same length, but I was considerably more fatigued after Melakwa Lake. Hiking on lots of loose rock adds considerably to the difficulty factor of a hike, I decided. But all's well that ends well. At the lake the sun was shining from a blue sky, which was nice since it was a bit nippy in the shade. The lake gets its name from the Chinook word "melakwa" meaning "mosquito", but that's no longer an issue at the lake - it's just too cold for the little suckers. Unfortunately the season for fall color at the lake passed some time ago, so don't expect to see any flaming red bluebery bushes; all that's left are a few red berries on the Sitka Mountain Ash that abounds in this area. But still, it's always a beautiful lake whatever the conditions. BTW, according to an old mountain guide I knew, the first thing to do when you hear rocks falling is - nothing! Stop and visually locate the rocks before making a move. Makes sense; how stupid would it be to run headlong into a landslide? These photos and more at: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/
Melakwa Lake
— Nov 01, 2011
— Nathaniel
Day hike
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail
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Trail was wet and icy but no snow on it (yet...) There were minor patches of light snow along the...
Trail was wet and icy but no snow on it (yet...) There were minor patches of light snow along the side of the trail but nothing serious- just lots of slippery ice.
The Denny Creek Crossing was a bit iffy- has to be careful of my footing as I don't like swimming this time of the year. Hopped across on some rocks and it wasn't too bad- the logs that were there were covered in ice and slime so I would caution people against that. Other than that... it was just really cold and beautiful! Saw Pika and only a couple other hikers. |
Melakwa Lake. Photo by Shadow's Mom.
2011
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