My cousin, pup and I arrived at the trailhead around 1pm to find approximately 15-20 cars lining both sides of forest service road 58. We parked and walked approximately 1.7 miles down a bare forest service road 58 before the road abruptly turned snow covered. The area was well traveled and only slightly slippery. We made it to the trailhead and quickly realized our yak traks/ micro spikes were necessary, since the trail was snowy (still about 2 feet deep) and incredibly slick. The trail also had elevation gain that the road did not have, which made the trail that much harder to navigate without traction gear. Folks in hiking boots/ trail runners/ sneakers were all having a very difficult time. We made it to the falls and decided to go to the base, since we had our traction gear. We made it no problem, but we saw one fellow in sneakers (using the knotted rope) almost end up in the river. That would have been a long, cold hike out, assuming no injuries. Traction devices are highly advised for the entire trail. After taking some pictures and getting a bit cold, we headed back up the trail and veered left to take wagon road trail back. We only made it about a quarter mile before previous sets of footprints petered out and we post holed to our knees. The pup post holed to her thighs. Since we didn’t have snow shoes and weren’t entirely sure of the trail, we decided to turn around and head back down the Franklin Falls trail.
We got back to the vehicle around 4:30 and headed to Snoqualmie Falls. There was plenty of parking in the free lot and the upper overlook to the falls wasn’t too crowded (perhaps 10-15 people total). That walkway was entirely paved. There were a couple folks with day packs presumably gearing up to go to the lower view point (perhaps .7 miles each way). We had enough hiking so we returned to the vehicle and proceeded west to the nearest Dairy Queen to get a blizzard (adults) and a kids cone (pup). Then it was homeward bound.
Pup Report: the only available water sources during the trip was when walking along forest service road 58 and two little bare patches that had melt runoff on the trail itself. The trail was slippery but a low enter of gravity helped. Frolicking in the snow highly advised. Post holing up to all four thighs was definitely not fun, nor recommended.
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