Big Creek Falls - North Bend

It was a gorgeous sunny day and this hike was like a winter wonderland.  I got good use of my trekking poles, but didn't feel that I needed snowshoes or other traction.  The snow on the trail itself was just patchy, but the way it lay over the evergreens, weighting their boughs down and the ice that formed in the streams was lovely.
I had tried to get here before in my car, but it couldn't handle the 12+ miles of pot-holed dirt road.  I gave it a shot on a snowier day than yesterday, but ended up having to turn around where the road was completely covered with water and I couldn't see how deep it was.  This time my friend, Dan, drove his 4 wheel drive and got through all the obstacles with no problem.
I was following the Washington Trails Association's online description for this trail and never saw some of the signs they described, like for Taylor River Rd, nor was the trailhead marked for anything but Snoqualmie Lake (17 mi round trip), so I wasn't sure we were in the right spot at first.  We were aiming for Big Creek Falls, 5 miles in.
At about 2 miles in, we crossed a bridge over Marten Creek.  It had a tiny waterfall, and a really nice deep pool below.  I think it would be a terrific spot to hang out on a hot summer day, but yesterday it looked a bit too nippy.  (picture of me with Cedar & Clark Kent, courtesy of Dan)

The dogs were very hyped by the snow and rolled in it, bit it and chased each other.  It was pretty cute. 
As we walked along, we saw other un-named streams crossing the trail as well, and most had icicles gleaming in and around them.  It was truly beautiful.

Let's zoom in on those stick-cicles....

At 5 miles in, there was the waterfall and bridge over Big Creek.  There were two things that caught our attention here... one is that the bridge is a huge road-grade bridge.  I believe this was an old logging road, but it has long since overgrown and eroded, leaving just a trail cut through with streams and in places overgrown with young cedar, spruce and fir, so when you come out of that onto this bridge it looks extremely out-of-place. The second is that the waterfall itself is just stunning... icy clear water roaring down over the barely-broken face of sheer rock.  No picture can really do it justice.

We ate lunch on the bridge and Dan had brought a nifty little butane stove, not much bigger than a travel mug that he boiled water in and made us some soup.  It was really tasty and warming, since once you stop moving, you lose your heat really fast.  Poor Adventure Dog got all frosted.

It was a great hike, and hardly any elevation gain so you really couldn't feel the 10 miles.  All the people that we met on the trail seemed to be enjoying the pretty weather.  There were mountain bikers, other dogs, groups, couples, and one man who ran the trail and then ran back to the rest of his group and hiked it again with them!  I'd like to do this one again in the summer.