Melakwa Lake

This trail had been on the list for some time, but other hikes and events seem to nudge it out each time. Saturday morning became the day to cross this one off the list.



The hike starts at the crowded Denny Creek trail head. All shapes and sizes and quite a number of kids use this as the parking lot for Franklin Falls as well as the ‘Denny Creek water slide’.

The trail starts innocently enough and is well maintained for the first mile and a half or so. Along the way the trail goes under the west bound lanes of I-90. It’s eerie and nearly unreal to be hiking through a well developed forest then see these monster columns rise from the forest floor supporting 4 lanes of traffic a couple of hundred feet in the air.

Shortly after walking under I-90, the trail drops into the Denny Creek water slide and all the sounds of many kids enjoying themselves.

After crossing Denny Creek, the trail climbs to Keekwulee Falls, which are really nice.

After the falls, the scenery stays great, but the trail gets ugly. The climb just doesn’t stop and between the roots and the rocks you really need to watch every step. Or so it seems. Unlike other trails, it just seemed that quite a bit of energy and concentration went to footing.

The wild flowers were really nice and we didn’t take enough pictures of them. There were some purple trilliums that were stunning.



The trail rises with many switchbacks, about half of them nearly underwater, to Hemlock Pass. After clearing the pass the trail drops gently to Melakwa lake. The lake was just becoming unfrozen. About a third of it still had ice, but it was melting fast. The water was nearly air-clear and very cold.

 

A great hike. We were tired at the end and Rex got in the back seat and collapsed. A good day.