Deep Devil by Devils Slide 6 lies in North Fork Snoqualmie River Valley. Tolt Reservoir nearby supplies 30% of drinking water for 1.5 million people in the Seattle area. Meanwhile, Tolt River flows 16 miles through Carnation before draining into the Snoqualmie River.
See more trip photos here.
Deep Devil at a Glance
Access: NF-5700 @ Road 31070 (permit info)
Round Trip: 11.4 miles
Elevation Range: 1080′-2480′
Gear: none
Route Info: Rich P
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
The Preface
Like Hancocks Comb, one can drive up on a $275 yearly motorized permit. From the road’s end, it’s only a 400′ scramble to the top of Deep Devil. But biking is another excellent way if one doesn’t want to walk the whole stretch.
Snoqualmie Permits
> MOTORIZED RECREATION ACCESS PERMIT
> NON-MOTORIZED ANNUAL PERMIT
> NON-MOTORIZED ONE-DAY PERMIT FOR INDIVIDUALS
> NON-MOTORIZED ONE-DAY PERMIT FOR FAMILIESSnowshoeing is also an option depending on the road conditions during the snowy months. The first three miles of the logging road stay relatively flat. Then the bulk of the attitude gain occurs in the latter half of the trip.
See more trip photos here.
Road Walk to Deep Devil
The drive past Gate 10 worsened with countless potholes. So that slowed down the rest 3.5-mile drive to the starting point. Then I parked by the fork west of Lions Mane, and we crossed the gate down to Tolt Reservoir Road.
We were in the trees the first mile with the view of spur roads and logging machinery. Soon, the landscape expanded over the second-growth and logging debris. Then we were back in the forest for the next two miles.
See more trip photos here.
En Route to Black Lake
To spice things up, we went to check out Black Lake. We took the old section of Tolt Reservoir Road through the light brush and a washout. Then we saw the serene lake below Devil Slide 6 through a few small openings along the south shore.
Soon, we went out onto the main road and continued to the next fork. We turned left on the unnamed path over the saddle of Deep Devil and Devil Slide 6. Then the view of Snoqualmie River Valley slowly emerged behind us.
See more trip photos here.
The Final Stretch
Despite clouds hovering over the peaks, there was a constant view of the long ridgeline behind Mount Si. Not sure if any of the high points would be visible without the mists. But I was happy to see into the valley finally.
We reached the road’s end two miles from the saddle on a steeper incline. Two big logging piles below the summit awaited our arrival. Then it’s only 400′ through the old clear-cut to the top of Deep Devil 40′ higher.
See more trip photos here.
Deep Devil Summit Views
The densely treed summit looked like it was once pointer before logging. But we only stayed a few minutes before returning to the log piles. The area mainly offered east and south views of North Fork Snoqualmie River Valley.
I was too lazy to find a way to explore the north of the summit. But only the west end of Tolt Reservoir plus the dam were visible. Then to the far south were Tiger Mountain and Rattlesnake Mountain, not tall enough to be in the clouds.
See more trip photos here.
Leaving North Fork Snoqualmie River Valley
As much as I enjoyed the views, it was disheartening to see that logging had devastated every hill insight. Perhaps it’s midweek, but even on our fourth trip to the tree farm, we had yet to see other hikers.
About ten trucks drove past us earlier after we started walking. But we dillydallied our way down the mountain in complete silence. We skipped the old road through Black Lake and stuck to the main path instead.
See more trip photos here.