Lower Twin Falls

RATING - 51.8

VR - 5.4 (Med) HR - 7.0 SR - 14/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Very Difficult

LOCATION - Mt. Pilchuck

TYPE - Segmented Horsetail

HEIGHT - 236'

WIDTH - 45'

DIRECTIONS - Head east from Verlot for 4.5 miles and turn right onto FR 4020. In two and a half miles, take the right onto FR 4021. Take the left at the next fork and park. Hike along the trail, passing Upper Ashland Lake at the 2 mile mark and Lower Ashland Lake in another 3/4 of a mile. From there follow the trail (which is currently "closed") to Twin Falls Lake in another two miles. This section of the trail is a little rough with some broken bridges and walkways. The trail seems to disappear at one point but if you look for blue ribbon you'll find it. Just before the lake, you should see the lower falls through the trees. A steep scramble will get you to the bottom and a huge boulder that is a perfect viewing platform.

Twin Falls is a fairly popular destination along the Mountain Loop Highway (at least it used to be before they closed the trail). As the creek leaves Twin Falls Lake, it begins by dropping over several small drops before disappearing over the cliff. From the bottom, a tall, segmented drop is seen tearing down the cliff wall for about 250'. Most books and websites estimate the height of the falls at 400' but I think this is a vast overestimate (I could be wrong though) and the topographical maps seems to support my height. The name Twin Falls obviously refers to both waterfalls put together but there is too much distance (and a lake) between them to consider them one waterfall.

Many pictures can be found of the upper falls, dropping into the lake, but I had never seen a picture of the lower falls until I took mine. This is very surprising considering that it's visible from the trail, and wasn't all that difficult to get to from there. I have to imagine that other people have been to the bottom of the falls but pictures had yet to show up online.