Beanstalk Falls

Beanstalk Falls is located about two-thirds of a mile almost due south of Spray Falls in Mount Rainier National Park. There is no trail to the falls, and a bare minimum of three-quarters of a mile of fairly difficult off-trail hiking is necessary to reach the falls. Specific directions to the falls will not be provided. A distant view of the falls can be had from the Eagle Cliff viewpoint along the Wonderland Trail, located about 1.5 miles in from Mowich Lake.Beanstalk Falls is a moderately low volume waterfall within Mount Rainier National Park, found along an unnamed tributary to Spray Creek which drains from a small basin nestled along the north edge of the moraine left in the wake of the retreating North Mowich Glacier. The falls drop a total of 120 feet in two distinct steps; the upper plunging 42 feet, and the lower spraying an additional 78 feet down a fractured cliff face. Below the falls the stream cascades steeply down a long talus slope created by rocks cleaved from the prominent cliffs on the south side of the drainage. Though there is no trail to the falls, and up close views require a long, difficult cross-country hike, under good lighting conditions - and when enough water is present in the creek - the falls can be distantly seen from the Eagle Cliff viewpoint along the Wonderland Trail en route to Spray Park. The basin which this waterfall drains from covers an area of about four-tenths of a square mile, and is situated entirely above the 5000 foot mark on Mount Rainier. The high elevation will ensure the heavy winter snow pack will sustain the flow of the falls well into the summer months, but once the snow melts off, the volume of water present in the creek will drop considerably - though chances are it won't ever completely dry out.This waterfall has no known names, and had not been known to have been previously documented prior to our survey of the area in August of 2016. We chose to name it Beanstalk Falls since it's located next to one of the few locations where one can climb up above the cliffs which line nearby Division Rock and form Giant Falls a short distance to the southwest, and access meadows and up close views of the North Mowich Glacier (with considerable effort at least - do not attempt this if you don't have extensive off-trail hiking experience).