Melakwa Lake — Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

Great hike up to Melakwa Lake today! We began our adventure today at 8am in light rain, which quickly changed to mixed rain and snow about twenty minutes later. We both carried our snowshoes for the hike, anticipating deeper snow higher up. We never once needed to use them, though snow conditions are quickly changing up there. The Denny Creek crossing was fine on the way up, since there was no snow. Stepping across slushy rocks in the stream on the way down was much slicker. By the time we returned to that spot, snow had collected on the open rock areas. I recommend trekking poles to help with the crossing if it's snowy when you visit. The trail is obvious all the way until Melakwa Lake, and it gradually became more and more snow-covered. The first large waterfall (I think it's called Keekwulee, but I'm not sure) was beautiful with falling snow. A second waterfall which may or may not be called Snowshoe Falls was seen off the trail, but be careful on slick ground when trying to approach it. It's a long ways down! The last creek crossing, which is apparently two miles from the lake, required us to walk through maybe 1 or 2 inches of water. My waterproof boots were great for this. From here on out, the trail was compact snow until the lake. We had no need for snowshoes or microspikes, though if we stepped just off the edge of the trail, we post-holed as high as our knees in places. Snowshoes would have been difficult to maneuver on this trail since it was a bit narrow for them. After what seemed like forever, we reached Hemlock Pass and did the brief descent to Melakwa Lake. The lake was partially frozen but very beautiful. We arrived at about 12:30 and only stayed for about 10 minutes since it was very cold there. We headed back to the car at a fairly good pace (no photo breaks on the way back) and made it to the car at about 3:45pm. The forecasted winter storm rolled in while we were hiking, so the snow level dropped quite a bit. Much more of the trail was snow-covered on our way back than earlier. Conditions will change quickly, so pack more than what you will need and allow yourself plenty of time to complete this hike.