To celebrate my 300th trip report I decided to do a long lollipop loop hike to little known Nellie Falls on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River.
Grace, Jodi, and I started this journey at the Dingford Trailhead. The 6 mile dirt road to the trailhead is in better than usual condition but I would still recommend a vehicle with a little clearance. We mountain biked 4.7 miles up the gated Middle Fork Rd to the Goldmyer Hotsprings turn off. We locked up the bikes here and continued up the Middle Fork Rd for another 3 miles. There were some very impressive old growth Red Cedar and Douglas Fir trees along the way. One particularly large Doug Fir just downhill from the road had a very unusual triple crown. It looked almost like a candelabra that you usually only see on a very old Cedar. There are also some view points that take in some very colorful Vine Maple glowing fluorescent yellow and orange. Fall color this year is quite good.
The marked Middle Fork trail heads downhill from the road. About 1/10 mile down this trail you will briefly see the top of Nellie Falls. To get a view of the falls we had to make a difficult steep brushy trailless descent through tall Blueberry bushes and over fallen logs. After losing about 200 feet in elevation the base of the fall is reached and safe viewing rocks out in the creek can be reached. This is an impressive cascade type waterfall that is 150 feet tall. I suspect that it is a spectacular site during the spring runoff.
We slogged back up to the trail and headed west toward Goldmyer Hot Springs. The well constructed trail crosses the Middle Fork river on a sturdy bridge. The next couple miles goes through both virgin and logged areas.
About 1/2 mile from the turnoff for Goldmyer Hot Springs the trail traverses a spectacular old growth Douglas Fir forest for a about 1/4 mile. There are dozens of huge tall handsome trees. This is one of the best groves that I've seen.
After biking and hiking in cold wet conditions for over 5 hours, the side trip to Goldmyer Hot Springs was absolutely perfect. We soaked in the 105 degree water for about an hour before heading out. There's also a 45 degree plunge pool that feels very invigorating. 2 or 3 hours at the hot springs would have been better but we had some time constraints.
The 4.5 mile downhill bike ride back to the trailhead was muddy but easy.
RT 17.4 mi (9.4 miles on a mountain bike and 8 miles hiking) with 2400 feet elevation gain. Overall a wonderful way to spend a rainy fall day.
Comments
polarapfel on Nellie Falls, Goldmyer Hot Springs
Fantastic. Thank you for sharing the report and the images along with the video.
Posted by:
polarapfel on Nov 15, 2024 04:57 PM