Derrick Lake

One day, during the cold dark months of winter I was perusing my Alpine Lakes Wilderness map dreaming of sunny summer backpacking trips, when I discovered it--Derrick Lake. It was an unassuming blue spot on the western edge of the map bearing the same name (and spelling) as my boy! At this discovery a dream of reaching the shores of this unknown lake was born.

Fast forward six months to a warm August weekend. After much research and map studying, Derrick and I decided to set out on our adventure to see this lake for ourselves. Now, this was no easy task. Derrick Lake is about 2 miles from the middle fork of the snoqualmie trail. However, those 2 miles involve some intense bushwhacking/route finding up some gnarly terrain. So here is where I give you a word of caution that this hike is not for the casual hiker. It involves very strenuous, at time dangerous, scrambling, crawling, creek jumping, and lots of route finding. In other words, if you are not an experienced off trail hiker with good navigational skills, please don't attempt this--you will only hurt yourself, or worse. And if for some reason you do decide to make this trek, please treat this area kindly and minimize your impact.

Ok with that said, here is the story of our adventure. We left Seattle Saturday after a brief stop to purchase our new epic rafts (think glorified pool toys) and hit the trail head somewhere around noon. The first mile was a relatively flat hike along the middle fork of the snoqualmie river to the Cripple Creek Bridge.

Bridge over cripple creek

Cripple Creek

Here at the bridge we found a boot path heading up the right side of the creek. The path was relatively easy to follow through the forest, despite some rather large blow downs that require some acrobatic skills. We were excited to try out our new rafts, but a little distraught by how much extra weight they added to our packs (these were not fancy light weight pack rafts).

An example of one of several multi-tree blow downs

After slogging along the boot path we eventually hit Tin Cup Joe Falls, a multi-layered waterfall that is very scenic, but a little difficult to get a view of. At this point it was time to cross the creek and begin the really adventurous section of our hike.

The lower section of Tin Cup Joe Falls

After hopping a few rocks we made it across the creek and were faced with a wall of dirt that had to be climbed using protruding roots to wedge our way up. Once above this obstacle we were a little unsure of where to go. In hind sight (we found a much better route on the way back down), we should have bared right and we would have connected with another slight boot path, but at the time we figured we needed to keep going up--so up we went. We were scrambling along to the right of a smaller trickle that enters Cripple Creek just below the falls. The going was extremely slow and filled with salmonberry and devils club. Eventually we hit a rock face that we weren't about to climb and began traversing towards the main section of the falls. Eventually we ended up right next to the upper section of the falls and discovered the boot path we should have been on the whole time.

This is NOT the way to go

The upper section of the falls

Now when I say boot path, don't go envisioning a nice big trail. Really it is just a faint trail of where people have walked in the past and it might not exist year round. But luckily for us we were able to follow this for most of the way. We even found a few pieces of flagging tape left by another hiker. This next section was one of the steepest of the hike and we were starting to regret our heavier-than-normal-packs. And when I say steep, I mean climbing-on-your-hands- and-knees-through-the-dirt-holding-onto-foliage-for-dear-life-steep.

One of the steep climbs (the photo makes it look much mellower than it was)

A nice view across the river valley

Now eventually the steep section did mellow out a bit and transform into what I like to call the "huckleberry fields of despair". Rarely, would I use the word "despair" in conjunction with "huckleberry", but the situation warranted it. Envision for a moment, thick huckleberry bushes taller than your head that you must force your way through as they slap you in the face and attempt to rip off your pack and clothes, while you trod uphill. The upside--many of the berries were ripe! And if I had to chose, I'd definitely pick huckleberries over devil's club and salmonberries.

At some point in the early evening, our boot path returned us to the creek. We then descended into the creek bed for our final challenge of the day--the creek climb. Now, this section would have probably been kind of fun had it not been for the heavy packs and fatigue (both physical and mental) that was setting in. It has been a relentless day, but we were determined to make it. The creek just below Little Derrick Lake descends through a narrow shoot of almost vertical rock walls leaving no real option, but to climb up through the creek. This section of the hike would be near impossible during high water, but luckily the creek was at a reasonable height leaving rocks exposed. However, it was still a tough slow climb, made more intense by the rushing water, constantly reminding you how bad a slip in this area could be.

Where we dropped down into the creek

The climb up the creek (again, this picture makes it look easier than real life)

Luckily, we made it without a slip up to the point where a few large drops make it impossible to stay in the creek and we had to climb up the hill side to the right. This was probably the sketchiest section of the day. Exhausted but feeling accomplished we arrived just before dark at Little Derrick Lake and shortly after to Derrick Lake. We were surprised to be greeted by a group of 3 camping on the left side of the lake. They congratulated us on making it up, directed us to a second campsite over to the right, and informed us that they were heading out first thing in the morning.

Little Derrick Lake

Looking out from Little Derrick

Derrick Lake was a beautiful place with large granite rock slabs allowing you to slowly wade out in the clear waters. The next day was a beautiful one. Despite the extra weight, we were glad to have our rafts and spent the day lounging out on the lake. We had considered exploring some of the upper lakes, but decided to spend a lazy day instead. It was a pretty perfect day.

Derrick Lake Panorama

Reflections

Moon over Derrick

Derrick on Derrick Lake

I think the raft will become a permanent addition to the gear

They also make nice camp chairs

The way down was less intense than the way up, but had some scary moments none-the-less. It took us about 6 hrs to descend and left us quite sore. We passed another group coming in as we were on the way down. Again, I would caution anyone who is considering the hike to only attempt it if you have experience route finding and the ability to climb very steep terrain.