Big Creek is one of the most beautiful and sought-after canyons in Washington state. This is a pretty strong statement considering how many gorgeous creeks there are in Washington, but not too many creeks get a 4.9 out of 5 rating on Ropewiki. Located in the middle of nowhere in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington state, Big is not easy to get to, requiring a 4-5 hours drive from the Seattle area. We organized a trip out there at the beginning of September to celebrate my birthday weekend in style. Combined with a run through Ape Canyon, this was definitely the highlight of our summer in Washington.
Big Creek is a high-flow technical canyon that requires a good team and good leadership. Although fairly short, it packs a punch. Fortunately, we had two people on our team who had done Big Creek before. Our friend Lorenzo is a local who has run it many times. For our friend Kym and I, it was our first run through. Max ran Big in the summer of 2023 and unfortunately, injured himself on the exit trail. He stepped through a false floor on a logjam near the exit and tore the MCL in his right knee, pretty much ending his canyoneering season that summer. After several weeks of inactivity, we returned to Utah for some intense “canyon physical therapy” that really helped his knee recover fully. We were determined to have a fun and injury-free canyon trip this year, so we left nothing to chance.
The approach to the creek is short and scenic. We put our wetsuits on and geared up in the parking lot, then walked down a well-worn trail to the top of Big Creek Falls, a stunning waterfall dropping 130 feet straight down an overhung basalt cliff, and our first rappel! After checking the water levels and satisfying ourselves that they were moderately low, we set up the first anchor at the top of the Falls. Big Creek starts off with a bang! The first rappel is absolutely gorgeous, descending right next to a giant waterfall plunging into a massive pool, with most of it free-hanging. Sharp rocks along the rappel line require slowly creeping the rope as each rappeler descends. Standing at the bottom, the views of people coming down are amazing.
Up next is a decent walk/swim down the creek through deep pools and logjams to the second rappel, aptly named Corkscrew Falls. Water spirals down smooth rock into a “rain room” at the bottom, where intense water sprayed us as we got off rappel and swam through a deep pool. Following this is a small jump into another deep pool. Finally standing on dry ground and looking back, I realized that the waterfall we just descended splits into two forks before joining together once again. Wow. The scenery here is mind-blowing.
At this point, the canyon narrows significantly. Towering walls rose up around us as we descended two 40-foot waterfalls in quick succession. Next, we entered a dark corridor filled with floating logs and water. We sat on huge logs in semi-darkness, taking photos of our party coming down. Then we swam to the end of the corridor and entered a basaltic cavern where we were greeted with an astounding sight. Ahead of us the cavern opened up on scenery straight from Middle Earth: giant tree trunks and cascading waterfalls as far as the eye could see. We gazed in awe for a few minutes, but we were cold and wet and it was time to head towards the light. In front of us was a ledge with a tiny rabbit hole that I was sure I couldn’t fit through, which didn’t stop everyone else from trying 😊.
One more rappel alongside a waterfall brought us into another log-filled pool, and then to the technical crux of this canyon. The next obstacle was a 30-foot waterfall dropping into a deep pool. There is a log that is rigged as an anchor, but this obstacle is normally done as a jump. We tested the depth of the pool below and threw down our packs. Gathering all of my courage, I ran to the edge and jumped out as far as I could. It was definitely the highest jump I have ever done, and the impact was pretty intense.
I barely got my breath back when we found ourselves at the final and most challenging technical sequence in the canyon. This is a series of two rappels with high stakes and consequences. The first anchor station is literally on the edge of a cliff, requiring a traverse line to walk along a slippery moss-covered slope. Max rigged the traverse line and rappel. Our friend Lorenzo went first, to guide us on the first rappel and set up the second. The water at this point rushes madly through a narrow constriction and bursts out like a firehose on the other side. It would be a very bad idea to try to go through the flow here. The trick is to rappel down to a “nose” and then curve around the nose away from the water until you reach a small ledge. There is another anchor there for the final rappel of 30 feet out of the flow.
The last rappel landed us in an incredible cavernous space, deep behind the waterfall, with a torrent of water pouring down over the entrance. We wandered through this magical cave, taking photos of the waterfall and the giant moss-covered boulder standing in the middle of the stream outside the cave. The stream curves around the boulder on both sides and we chose to go to the right. Just beyond the cave exit, we saw the most photogenic devil’s club plant I have ever seen. Now far be it for me to extoll the beauty of the most unpleasant plant ever created, but this devil’s club was amazing. The huge leaves were turning yellow and pink and were at the perfect height above our heads that the leaves were translucent, with the afternoon sunlight pouring through.
The creek walk out is short but also very beautiful. There are lovely sections of bedrock, pools and a slide. Soon we were at our exit trail and it was time to change out of our wetsuits. The slog back up is steep, with some good bushwhacking, steep slopes and fallen logs to get over. Eventually we found a trail that we followed to the top. We were almost at the top when I saw a tell-tale bright orange spot underneath some leaves. Bursting with excitement, I dug under the leaves to reveal a large lobster mushroom! Another one was nearby. The entire party was now staring at me like I was mad. Then, I saw some huge boletes underneath the old-growth conifer trees. I picked two, being about 90% sure that they were edible. We made it to the parking lot, where I also spied a large puffball that I picked (which sadly was too far gone). When we made it to our campsite, I called my parents to confirm the ID on the boletes.
Dinner at camp that night was chicken shawarma with sauteed lobster mushrooms and boletes. What an amazing start to my birthday weekend!
