A Four-Day Escape into the Snoqualmie Wilderness

In early September, four gentlemen—Alki, Cultus, Tilliram, and the writer—determined to leave the busy city of Seattle to enjoy the relief of forest and stream. We fixed our destination at the Snoqualmie Falls. To make the trip successful, we hired a cook who owned four trained deerhounds and was profoundly learned in the mysteries of the culinary art. We boarded the 7 a.m. train for the Newcastle coal mines and arrived at 9 o'clock. We were not favorably impressed with our steeds—small, wild-eyed Indian horses—but we made the ascent to the high divide separating the Snoqualmie river valley from the Lake Washington basin. After a successful hunt where we bagged several blue grouse, we arrived in camp at 3:30 p.m. The Snoqualmie River falls are at the junction of the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers, making a perpendicular leap of 270 feet. The canyon is a wild and weird place, filled with the rumbling thunder of falling waters. Our cook, Ike, was a jewel, providing fried grouse and trout that would make any man’s generosity increase. We ended our trip rejuvenated and refreshed after four days in the woods.