Alta Basin Falls

Take Interstate 90 to the Lake Kachess / Stampede Pass exit, about 10 1/2 miles east of Snoqualmie Pass or 8 1/2 miles west of Easton, and turn north toward Lake Kachess. After 5 1/4 miles the pavement ends and the road makes a sharp bend to the left (Kachess Campground is to the right) and becomes FSR-4930. Follow the often rough (potholes and washboard) gravel road uphill for about one-third of a mile, then bear right at the fork and continue to the Rachel Lake Trailhead about four miles from the end of the pavement. Set out on the Rachel Lake Trail, which begins by climbing moderately and then levels off to a gradual pace. At the 2 3/4 mile mark the trail crosses the unnamed branch of Box Canyon Creek without a bridge, with the falls located about 300 feet upstream. A trail leads partway up to the falls on the right side of the creek, but better views are had from a small campsite on the left side of the creek.Rachel Lake is the largest water body on the fantastic alpine environs of Rampart Ridge to the east of Snoqualmie Pass. The lake itself is a fairly popular dayhiking destination, even though the trail isn't quite up to the standards of many other hikes in the Interstate 90 corridor. What most don't realize about the Rachel Lake Trail is there are at least a half-dozen major waterfalls which can be found along the headwall below Rachel Lake as the various forks of Box Canyon Creek cascade down into the valley from the ridgeline. Perhaps the best waterfall along the whole trail is actually the first (significant) waterfall encountered. Just before beginning it's steep climb up the valley's headwall the trail crosses the largest tributary to Box Canyon Creek in the valley, the unnamed stream which originates in the tarns on the east side of Alta Mountain, as well as the two small tarns adjacent to Lila Lake. All of this water collects in the large basin below Alta Mountain and Nobox Peak, then flows down to join Box Canyon Creek right at the base of the valley's headwall. As the stream makes its final descent, it produces this beautiful 115-foot tall, two stepped waterfall - consisting of a steep horsetail-style drop of 78 feet followed by a more gradual 37-foot tall sliding cascade which terminates in a nice swimming hole. The falls can be easily seen from the Rachel Lake Trail where the trail makes an unbridged crossing of the stream, which can potentially be a thigh deep crossing in the early summer if there are no logs to balance on. Like all the other waterfalls in the Box Canyon Creek basin, the stream producing this waterfall relies heavily on melting snow, and once its all gone the volume of water going over the falls will be greatly reduced. However, unlike the rest of the falls in the area, this is by far the largest volume individual stream in the upper basin and due to the larger catchment area it will retain a consistent flow for a much longer period of the summer.This waterfall has no known historical or colloquially accepted names. We struggled to find an appropriate title based off the surrounding geography, but ultimately settled on calling it for the massive basin which drains the east side of Alta Mountain (the basin is not officially named as far as we know, but rather the name reflects where the stream originates from).