Powderkeg Falls

RATING - 40.0

VR - 6.0 (Med) HR - 5.0 SR - 10/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Very Difficult

LOCATION - Mt. Pilchuck

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 117'

WIDTH - 25'

GPS - 48 04.645' N 121 47.173' W

ELEVATION - 1906'

DIRECTIONS - No directions provided. Dangerous access.

Powderkeg Falls is the best waterfall on Heather Creek. Just downstream from the bottom of Upper Heather Creek Falls, the creek drops over a two-tiered waterfall, slamming into the cliff halfway down and exploding outward in a mass of white water and spray. I named the waterfall because of the explosion of water, but all the logs laying around sort of look like the exploded remains of the keg as well. I'm not 100% sold on the name so it might end up changing. Let me know if you have any thoughts.

On my first trip to the falls, the volume was so high that it was very difficult to take pictures. I will probably return in the future with a normal volume of water because I suspect one can get some nice pictures here. It is probably necessary to cross the creek to get a view of both tiers together and I wasn't willing to do that with the creek as high as it was. When the volume is high, a second segment appears to the right of the upper tier that, according to Jeffery Abbott, makes the waterfall look like a long-eared owl.