Muir Creek in winter
Muir Creek (near Muir Creek Falls) from the east
As I mentioned a couple days ago, my first goal on my snowshoeing adventure last week was to see Muir Creek Falls in winter. There isn’t a single photo of the place in winter on the internet. The normal trail to the falls is 3.9 miles each way. I wasn’t up for 8 miles in snowshoes, especially since I had a late start and wouldn’t be arriving until late afternoon. So, in looking at a map, I decided to try to get there from the Claude Lewis Trailhead / Sno-Park parking lot. The two places appeared to be only about 1,000 feet from each other on Google Maps.
The parking lot was easy to find and well plowed. I was the only person there. There were no trails or prints of any kind so I had to forge my own path, something snowshoes are pretty good for. The snow varied from a few feet to over 10-feet deep in places. The snow was very soft, and I sank 6-12 inches with every step, even with snowshoes. Although the going was mostly flat, after 1,000 feet or so I came to the scene shown in today’s photo. Muir Creek was right in front of me, but it was a hundred + feet down with no trails or feasible way to make the descent.
