Tribulation Falls

Tribulation Falls is a massive hidden waterfall along Big Creek where it makes its initial leap off the Indian Heaven plateau towards the Lewis River canyon. The falls begin by cascading 56 feet over a shallow incline as the creek spreads out to about one hundred feet in breadth across a shelf of volcanic bedrock. The sliding portion of the falls terminates at a huge amphitheater cliff where the creek pours 221 feet over a convex ledge and splits into several channels - the majority of the volume plunging off an almost undercut lip and then skipping down into a crevice in the cliff, while about one-third of the creek slides sideways to a slightly lower ledge, then veils out over a huge bulbous extension of the cliff in a parallel stream with a small island of trees growing in the middle, the breadth of the falls stretching to as much as 250 feet in all. Pouring into the falls just below the lip of the second tier is a tiny tributary stream that accentuates the scene from certain angles. Below the falls the streambed is choked with boulders the size of large cars which have fallen off the huge cliffs around the falls over the years. Big Creek isn't exactly a small stream, and while it may not appear to be a huge watercourse where it crosses the Lewis River Road above Big Creek Falls (at least in comparison to nearby Rush Creek), it is big enough to push Tribulation Falls to a truly enormous scale during peak flow. We surveyed the falls in mid-July when historic stream gauge readings suggest the streamflow hovers around 20-40 cubic feet of water per second. Peak flow is typically encountered in May when the volume of water averages nearly five times as high, and has reached nearly ten times that volume at times. With a river-sized stream flowing over this waterfall, we would expect the entire cliff to be covered in a solid sheet of water, making Tribulation Falls one of the largest waterfalls by square-acreage in the state of Washington. Unfortunately accessing the waterfall when the volume is this high would likely prove impossible. The canyon where the falls are found averages between 400 and 700 feet in depth, and features sheer cliffs of dark brown Andesite surrounded by tall, mature, and in some cases very old growth timber. For all intents and purposes this canyon would be extremely difficult to penetrate without the aid of a trail, and even with an established route down into the canyon the falls are not at all easy to access. The falls can be accessed by two routes - either scrambling down the steep slopes adjacent to the falls and along sheer cliffs, or descending a steep trail to the canyon belo and then bushwhacking upstream with multiple stream fords and log jams to navigate. Neither route is easy or recommended for inexperienced hikers.This waterfall has had no known documentation over the years, and has not been known to hold any unofficial or colloquial name. We have chosen to name it such considering the extremely difficult journey required to reach its base.