Shriner Fork Cascades

Deer Creek is the easterly of the tree significant streams which merge at the triple junction along the Eastside Trail, cascading down from the Pacific Crest along the eastern boundary of Mount Rainier National Park. Recently it's become clear that the Deer Creek drainage harbors a huge number of previously unknown waterfalls of significant stature, several of which are not terribly difficult to access. Originating in the basin immediately east of Shriner Peak is a major tributary to Deer Creek which we casually refer to as the Shriner Fork. This stream merges with Deer Creek just a few hundred feet upstream of the Highway 123 bridge, and features several significant waterfalls hidden along its length as it spills down a rather inconspicuous hanging valley. The Shriner Fork Cascades are a series of six distinct falls and cascades grouped closely together about one-third of a mile upstream of the Highway 123 bridge over Deer Creek. The falls are broken into two distinct parts, the upper set featuring drops of 16 and 23 feet in back-to-back plunges, followed by a 37 foot drop which splits into three different segments. The creek then bends hard right and spills down the lower set of three in drops of 12, 25 and 11 feet, with the final drop coming as the creek splits around a large outcrop of rocks and trees which form a small island (and it may be possible that during low flow periods the creek may abandon one of the two channels). Topographic data suggests there may be two more falls immediately upstream as well, with drops of about 15 and 20 feet respectively, but we did not have enough time to investigate on our first survey. The stream which produces this waterfall is surprisingly significant, at least during peak snowmelt season. The basin which it drains from is certainly not large, and while it rises from near 5000 feet and will retain a great deal of winter snowpack in the north facing pockets of the ridge east of Shriner Peak, the volume of the creek will certainly drop considerably late in the year (but will likely not run dry). This will ultimately result in making the falls easier to access, but greatly reducing its scenic qualities at the same time. The waterfalls in the upper Deer Creek drainage are not developed and all require off-trail travel to visit, ranging from moderate to extremely difficult bushwhacking. Those who are not seasoned in off-trail travel through brushy terrain are discouraged from visiting this area.We have not come across any sort of documented name for this waterfall, however the presence of several pieces of flagging tape along the creek suggests that it isn't at all an unknown feature. We opted to title it for the fact that it seems to be the major waterfall along the unnamed stream we refer to as the Shriner Fork (of Deer Creek), and refer to it as "Cascades" because of the stair-stepping nature and segregation of the multiple steps of the falls.