Middle Fork for Presidents' Day: Granite Creek Trail

An unusually fierce winter storm cycle elevated the avalanche hazard and, more pleasantly, dropped lots of low-elevation snow over the 2021 Presidents' Day weekend. Given the repeated closures of I-90 and high volume of skier traffic recently, we opted to take the path less traveled and visit the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie, near North Bend, WA. Past the trailhead for Mailbox Peak the Middle Fork Road was unplowed and under about 6 inches of fresh snow. Our Land Rover purred along -- it was wonderful to see this familiar area transformed from its usual shades of green to sparkling winter white!

Granite Creek Trail

We began our skin up from the Granite Creek Trail parking lot along the Granite Creek Trail in a light misty rain. The hope was that as we ascended, the precipitation would become consistent snow rather than the rain, and the snow underfoot would become lighter and drier. If conditions allowed, our goal was to explore the Thompson Point area, reached via the trail to Thompson Lake. My research indicated that there are some slopes of concern with potential avalanche hazard on the approach to Thompson Point, so we decided to assess conditions as we proceeded. Along the Granite Creek Trail itself we were not concerned about avalanche hazard due to our own assessments of the conditions, the history of the area, and the thin snow pack at this lower altitude.

The Granite Creek trail begins as a converted logging road, wide and gracefully curving, making for good skinning upwards, despite the occasional steeper pitch. At about 1.3 miles at the junction with the Granite Creek connector trail we turned left towards Granite Lakes and Thompson Lake. Here the trail flattens and parallels Granite Creek, which we heard roaring below us. The large and solidly built bridge over Granite Creek was covered in untouched fluffy snow: each post of its railing had a pointed white cap. After the bridge the trail shrinks to more of a single track. 

We skied upwards- this trail steadily gains elevation all the way to Granite Lakes. Multiple small streams cross the trail. Some were buried under the snow but unfortunately for us skiers, the majority were exposed and running through V-shaped snow banks. What would have been simple for a snowshoer required some occasionally tricky maneuvers for a skier! We crossed at least 15 of these streams. One or two required us to remove our skis and walk across. 

The weather was somewhat fickle: although precipitation was a constant, we saw snow, graupel, rain, misty fine sleet, and tiny icy pellets. Interestingly as we climbed upwards, gaining about 3,000 feet, to the junction where the Granite Lakes Trail splits off from the trail to Thompson Lake, we saw rain at higher elevations and snow at lower elevations - the opposite of what we had anticipated and hoped to find!

Breaking trail through the wetter, heavier snow plus fording the numerous streams took its toll. And no technical fabric can withstand hours of Pacific Northwest precipitation! We were soaked! I actually changed into a spare wool shirt that I had brought since I was so wet underneath my hardshell Mammut jacket. We decided to turn around at the Granite Lakes / Thompson Lake junction and began the downhill skinning back to the trailhead. Given the need to ford the streams and the gentle slope angle overall, we had to keep our skins on until after we crossed the bridge over Granite Creek. From there we optimistically removed our skins, only to discover that the trail and the snow conditions weren't quite right for a nice downhill glide. More slogging ensued until finally, at the junction with the Granite Creek connector trail, we were truly able to ski downhill continuously back to our vehicles. 

A strenuous and damp but unique experience in the Middle Fork!

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