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Upper Wahkeena Falls Trail

Last post 03-25-2008, 8:11 AM by Navigator. 5 replies.
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  • Upper Wahkeena Falls Trail

     10-27-2006, 11:56 AM

    Here's a quick "lost" trail and it's easy to get to too. It leads to the upper part of Wahkeena Falls. It's a bit reminiscent of Eagle Creek, with some definite cliffside sections, safe enough for the careful hiker, but keep the pets and little children away. The entire thing is only maybe 1/3 mile long, but it takes an hour or so to discover. If you're like me, you might find that the rare solitude next to a large fall extends your time by a bit.

    Hike up the Wahkeena Trail #420 about 0.7 miles, just passed Lemmon's viewpoint until you see this sign on a tree to the left.




    Off to your right you can find a really overgrown little trail. To start it heads southward, parallelling the Wahkeena trail, but dropping down the slope. There's a single switchback in a bit. Though the trail is overgrown, it's still fairly easy walking. The biggest obstacles are spider webs and this maple:




    A little ways down you'll find Necktie Falls. This is a terrible picture, but it will give you an idea. I'm posting it really tiny, so you can't see how blurry the photo is.





    Then the trail steepens a bot and we come to this old guardrail. This piece seemed fairly solid, but other parts are rusted and broken. I wouldn't trust any of it.



    The steepest part has steps cut from the rock.




    Now, we're in the narrow canyon with the waterfall itself. This portion is pretty much hidden from the highway and trail overlooks, but you can see it from the camping area.







    Here's another view of the trail. Note the shaky condition of the railing.






    Here we are at the pretty stuff.








    Here's one last shot from the end of the trail. If you look close, you'll see a glimpse of the paved trail near the base of the falls.




    A beautiful place, but be careful!

    What do you suppose is around that next bend?
  • Re: Upper Wahkeena Falls Trail

     10-27-2006, 12:12 PM

    VERY COOL! I'd seen that trail going up that way and wondered what was up there!  How recent are these photos?

    Where does the trail come out?  Or is it just an out-and-back?


    Jeff - Site Admin

    Someday you'll take me home to live forever....up on the mountain
    S. Chapman
  • Re: Upper Wahkeena Falls Trail

     10-28-2006, 9:12 PM

    Looks like the photos are temporarily lost in transition -- but I look forward to seeing them! I hiked this little spur one time in about 1978 or 1979, and the fencing was dubious back then! This is definitely not a trip for acrophobiacs, since the last section is pretty exposed. It would be GREAT if this were someday restored, perhaps with some stonework in lieu of the old chain link. It's a very cool spot.

    -Tom
  • Re: Upper Wahkeena Falls Trail

     11-03-2006, 2:33 AM

    • Joined on 06-02-2006
    • Bellevue, WA
    • Posts 263
    • Top 50 Contributor
    I hiked out on that trail earlier this year.  Its definitely a hairy little spur.  I've got a shot of the top of Wahkeena from that area on my site (http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall.php?num=1895&p=2).  Rather difficult to get that shot too.  Lots of brush lining the opposite side of the fence.

    A little history lesson here as well.  Despite what has appeared in several books, the smaller waterfall upstream is NOT called Necktie Falls.  Its an unnamed fall altogether (as far as my research has yielded at least).  There actually is no waterfall called Necktie Falls, rather the top part of Wahkeena Falls was once known as "The Necktie", due to the way the two streams cross over one another.  Several historical postcards showed the early trail (much easier to follow at the time, I should note) with the obvious formation captioned as such.  And in actuality, the Columbia River Gorge edition of the "Story Behind the Scenery" series of books captioned a photo of the falls more accurately than any previous photo had (the top of Wahkeena shown as Necktie Falls, rather than the smaller fall upstream).  What appears to have happened is the trail slowly fell into disuse, and since the name was apparently still fairly commonly known, it slowly drifted upstream to the smaller fall, until it was solidified by the reference in the first edition of Greg Plumb's books (not to belittle the man, because his books are a fantastic resource, but he didn't exactly put a lot of research into them).  So with this revelation, I've proposed the upstream fall be called "Little Necktie Falls".

    Bryan Swan
    http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com
  • Re: Upper Wahkeena Falls Trail

     11-03-2006, 8:33 PM

    I think you make a good case for the historic use of the name, Bryan -- the confusion is compounded by the fact that "Little Necktie" is also segmented in quite similar fashion to the upper portion of Wahkeena.

    -Tom
  • Re: Upper Wahkeena Falls Trail

     03-25-2008, 8:11 AM

    Gregory Plumb's doing a pretty amazing job, and especially considering he's not even from around these parts.  I suppose we all have our own favorite local falls we could add to his books, but sooner or later, he gets around to them.

    I'll add one more pic - Armadillo Rock at the base of the stairs.

    There's one other obstacle.  When I went there a few years ago, I took some nippers and cut out some of the Devil's Club at the switchback.


    And the Lord said, "Escape to the mountains." Gen. 19:17.
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