Chronology

This chronology includes a few events that are outside the Middle Fork watershed, such as road developments in the South Fork and major events at Snoqualmie Falls. They help to set the context of what was happening in the Middle Fork relative to the immediately surrounding area.

Names of the Middle Fork drainage

• Avalanche Mountain: Named by John Roper in a trip report published in the March 1995 issue of Pack & Paddle magazine. John wrote “Avalanche Mountain seemed a good name since (1) avalanches make ‘snow thunder’ or ‘rock thunder’ and (2) the Source Lake basin, just south, is famous for this treacherous phenomenon — of both the snow and rock varieties”
• Bandera Mountain: Named after the Bandera railroad station in the South Fork Snoqualmie valley per a suggestion by The Mountaineers in 1918. An alternate suggestion of Bandanna Mountain which appears on early maps was rejected, but may be the root of this ridge north of I-90 being known as Banana Ridge. The reason the station was named Bandera remains unknown.
• Blethen Lake: Named for Col. Alden J. Blethen, owner of the Seattle Times Newspaper. The land around the lakes was more recently owned by the Cugini family until being sold to the DNR in January, 2017.
• Bryant: Bryant Peak was named for Sydney V. Bryant of The Mountaineers. Bryant was the first chairman of the Snoqualmie Lodge Committee. The lodge is one of the most popular of the club’s resources for members. The name was proposed by the Mountaineers in October, 1924.
• Burnt Boot Creek: Named by a prospector (Revington?) in 1888 or 1889 after he fell asleep by his fire and, well do I need to say it?.
• Camp Brown: Named after Robert Brown, civil engineer for laying track on the Middle Fork railroad who was run over and killed by a backing locomotive in 1928.
• Chair: Chair Peak was named by prospector Harry Whitworth in 1887 for “its striking likeness to an old armchair” as viewed from Kaleetan Peak.
• Chikamin: Chinook jargon word for both “metal” and “money” is the name for this peak.
• Dutch Miller Gap: Named after Andrew Jackson “Dutch” Miller who prospected La Bohn Gap deposits in 1896.
• Gem Lake: Named by The Mountaineers in 1919 presumably because of it’s scenic location. The 1916 annual describes it as “a sparkling gem of water that empties into Snow Lake through a small cascading stream.”
• Goldmyer: William Goldmyer (1843-1924) was the first settler of what is now the Sand Point neighborhood of Seattle in 1868, but also a logger, farmer, Fall City resident, and miner. What is known as Goldmyer Hot Springs today was first developed by William as Crystal Hot Springs Resort in the early 1900’s.
• Hinman: The mountain whose western glaciers are headwaters of the Middle Fork was named in 1934 for Everett dentist-Mountaineer Dr. Harry B. Hinman who led the Mountaineer’s first outing up Mt. Stuart in 1914.
• Kaleetan: This peak was originally named “The Matterhorn” but was later renamed, by The Mountaineers, for the Chinook Jargon word for “arrow head”.
• Lake Kulla Kulla: Chinook jargon for “bird”, or alternatively Hitchman says it means “enclosed” which is an apt description.
• Lemah: This five-fingered peak is named for a native word for “fingers”.
• Little Big Chief Mountain: Named for Lorenz A. “Little Big Chief” Nelson, member of the 1925 Mountaineers Summer outing in the area.
• Little Comrade: This prominent point just west of Russian Butte was dubbed Little Comrade by Gabriel Deal and Yana Radenska on their probable first ascent in 2009.
• Low Mountain: Named by The Mountaineers, not for its lack of height, but for John and Alonzo Low, original Seattle settlers who prospected the area with the Dennys. Official naming paperwork was done on March 15, 1918.
• Lundin: Lundin Peak is named for J. W. Lundin, a pioneer forest ranger.
• Mailbox Peak: Named after the mailbox that has been on the summit since the 1960s. Unofficial name first used in print in a trip report by Sally Pfeiffer in the May 1991 issue of Pack & Paddle magazine. The actual mailbox has experienced many incarnations, with the 15th version appearing in the spring of 2017.
• Marten Lake: Once there were many native Pine Martens in this area, but due to heavy trapping, few remain.
• Mason Lake: While not in the Middle Fork drainage, this lake sits between Middle Fork peaks Mt Defiance and Bandera. It is named after Marshall C. “Cruse” Mason (1882–1953) who operated Camp Mason on the Sunset Highway that ran through the South Fork.
• Melakwa Lake/Pass: Appropriately named by The Mountaineers using the Indian term for mosquito.
• Middle Chief Mountain: First climbed during a 1945 Mountaineers special climber’s outing and named for it’s position between Summit Chief and Little Big Chief.
• Morpheus: Mount Morpheus was unofficially named by John Roper in 1995 for the greek god of dreams after nearby Dream Lake.
• Mowitch Lake: Chinook Jargon for “deer”.
• Nordrum: Nordrum Lake and Nordrum Lookout are both named for Martin Nordrum, a pioneer who built a cabin on his homestead near the confluence of Quartz Creek and the Taylor River in 1902. From 1910 to 1929 he was a maintenance man and fire patrolman for the U.S. Forest Service. Read a profile in the 2011 Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum magazine.
• North Bend: Named after the location where the Snoqualmie River bends to the North. Originally named Snoqualmie but name was changed by the railroad due to confusion with Snoqualmie Falls (current day Snoqualmie).
• Overcoat: Overcoat Peak was named by Albert Sylvester (who made the first ascent) for the overcoat he left on top.
• Paperboy: Jeff Howbert’s playful unofficial name of the 5013′ high point near Blethen Lake (see above).
• Pedro Camp: Pedro was the blacksmith for a prospecting crew that patented the Hardscrabble claims.
• Pratt Lake: Named by The Mountaineers to honor John W. Pratt in 1919. It was formerly known as Ollie Lake. The nearby lake just to the south is still named Olallie Lake.
• Pratt River: Prospector George A. Pratt staked claims for iron ore on Chair Peak in 1887. He built a primitive trail up the Pratt River valley to avoid tolls along the more established South Fork wagon road.
• Russian Butte: David Rushing had a cabin in the early 1900s at the base of the NW cliffs. From that direction the peak does looks like a “Butte”. Perhaps “Russian Butte” derived from “Rushing’s Butte”. The name doesn’t appear on maps until 1960.
• Si: Josiah Merritt staked a claim at the base of Mt. Si, being one of the first settlers when he arrived in 1862 after little luck in California searching for gold. He was a character and curmudgeon known affectionately as Uncle Si. The mountain in his backyard was named in his honor. He passed away in 1882 and is buried in the Fall City Cemetary.
• Snoqualmie: From the native word “Sdob-dwahib-bluh” for moon. The Snoqualmie Valley is “The Valley of the Moon”.
• Talapus Lake: Chinook jargon for “coyote”.
• Taylor: William Taylor, an early pioneer, came to the greater Snoqualmie Valley in 1872. He is the founder who first platted North Bend. Mr. Taylor was a farmer, county commissioner from 1888-1891, and operated the general store from 1895 to 1907. In 1929 he helped lay out the route of the Mt. Si trail (the ‘Old Trail’, now accessible from the Little Si trailhead) which was dedicated as the “Taylor Memorial Trail”. He passed away in 1941 at the age of 88 and is buried in the North Bend cemetery.
• Teneriffe Peak and Falls: The spelling matches that of a suburb of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia (not the Canary Island Tenerife). When he platted the town, William Taylor named several of the streets in North Bend after Australian place names because he had a passion for that continent. The could have led to naming this nearby peak after another Australian location, but no documentation supports that to date. Until 2009 when the DNR built an official trail to Teneriffe Falls it was known locally as Kamikaze Falls, presumably because the water spurts out from the top in a suicidal way.
• Thompson: Thompson Peak and, presumably, Lake are named for R. H. Thomson (landmark spelling is incorrect), a Seattle city engineer.
• Treen Peak: Named for Lewis A. Treen, supervisor of the Snoqualmie National Forest 1918-1931.
• Mount Wright: George E. Wright was a charter member of the Mountaineers. He contributed generously with plans and physical labor for trails and other improvements around the Snoqualmie Lodge. The name was proposed in October, 1924.

Much of the content on this page was contributed by Brad Allen from the former middleforkgiants.com