Deception Creek (Washington)

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Deception Creek
Deception Falls (18324788519).jpg
Deception Falls on Deception Creek
Location
Country United States
State Washington
County King
Town Stevens Pass
Physical characteristics
Source Trico Lake
  locationWest of Stevens Pass
  coordinates 47°43′01″N121°11′36″W / 47.717054°N 121.1934337°W / 47.717054; -121.1934337
  elevation1,855 [1]  ft (565 m)
Length9 miles

Deception Creek is a river that is located in Northwestern King County, Washington. The river starts at the outlet of Trico Lake on Trico Mountain and flows north before flowing into Tye River east of Skykomish. The last stretch of Deception Creek before joining the Tye River forms a cliff that houses the Deception Falls, an 86 feet waterfall.

Contents

Course

White Creek rises in the southwestern quarter of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness boundary. [2] The river starts at the north shore of Trico Lake on the west skirt of Trico Mountain. A handful of additional creeks from Trico Lake as well as a creek from Talus Lake from the east, Marmot Lake and Lake Clarice from the west hills join Deception Creek about a mile downstream. The creek runs generally north-northwest for approximately 4.5 miles, at the western slopes of Surprise Mountain and later Spark Plug Mountain. Half way its course it meets Fisher Creek arriving from Fisher Lake.

It then picks up Sawyer Creek east of Forest Road 6830. Deception Creek keeps a fairly straight course north, creates an 86 waterfall, Deception Falls less than half a mile before flowing into the Tye River just south of the Old Cascade Highway.

Trail

Deception Creek trail starts at Deception Falls and travels along Deception Creek up to about half its course where Fisher Creek joins Deception Creek from Fisher Lake on the West. The trail at this point forks to the west as Fisher Lake trail and meets spur trail 1059.1, the Tonga-Ridge trail 1058 south of Mount Sawyer. There are approximately 2 miles from the Deception Creek trail to Fisher Lake. Approximately 2.5 miles south the trail reaches spur trail 1059.2, which connects to the Pacific Crest National Trail 2000. [3] Spark Plug Mountain is 6277 feet high and located to the East of the fork between Fisher Creek and Deception Creek. At the Eastern slope of Spark Plug Mountain is Glacier Lake and to the south is Surprise Mountain at 6247 feet high.

See also

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Spark Plug Mountain

Spark Plug Mountain is a 6,320-foot (1,930-metre) mountain summit located above the western shore of Glacier Lake, in eastern King County of Washington state. It's part of the Wenatchee Mountains, which are a subset of the Cascade Range, and is situated in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, on land managed by Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The nearest higher neighbor is Surprise Mountain, 1.0 mi (1.6 km) to the southeast, and Thunder Mountain is set above the eastern shore of Glacier Lake. The Pacific Crest Trail skirts this lake as it passes between Spark Plug and Thunder. Spark Plug Lake, elevation 5,587-ft, lies immediately below the north aspect of the mountain, and Little Spark Plug is the 6,016-ft peak on the north side of this lake. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into Surprise Creek and Deception Creek, both tributaries of the Skykomish River.

Deception Falls Waterfall

Deception Falls is a 94-foot (29 m) waterfall that flows from Deception Creek just over Stevens Pass, approximately 1856 feet above sea level, located in the U.S. state of Washington. Shortly downstream Deception Creek empties into Tye River. While flow may run dry in the late season, Deception Falls trail remains open in the Summer and Falls seasons. Deception Falls is located north of Interstate 90 in the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest. A hiking trail leads from a parking area to the falls.

Monkey Cage Falls is a 16-foot (4.9 m) waterfall that flows from Tye River just over Stevens Pass, approximately 1767 feet above sea level, located in the U.S. state of Washington. Access is usually approached with kayaks, a hiking trail leads from a parking area to Deception Falls upstream from which improvised trails lead to the edge of the Tye River with angled views of the waterfall.

References

  1. "Deception Creek". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  2. "Washington Rivers". National Park Services. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  3. "Deception Creek Trail 1059". Fs.usda.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-03.