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Copper Pass

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Featured In: Day Hiking: North Cascades, by Craig Romano.
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Hike to a heathered high divide at the headwaters of the Twisp River. Following an old prospector's path first through lush forest then across sun-kissed slopes flush in floral splendor, the way isn't easy but it has its rewards. From the lofty pass enjoy up-close and personal views of some of the North Cascades more distinguished peaks. To the north Liberty Bell Mountain rings out, while Stiletto Peak sticks out like a knife in the south. Visit in fall and watch Copper turn to gold thanks to the larches.

Three worthy trails disperse from this trailhead. Take the one heading west, Twisp Pass Trail No. 432. The way starts off easy enough as it parallels FR 4440 for 0.4 mile to its terminus at the appropriately named Roads End Campground. Now with road gone, enter the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness. Following alongside the Twisp River, the trail alternates between lush groves of forest and warm, brushy avalanche slopes. The grade is gentle. In late spring songbirds are abundant in the shrubs and thickets lining the valley floor. Look for the elegant western tanager among the avian choir.

Eventually the grade steepens. At 2 miles, at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Twisp River, come to a junction (elev. 4400 ft). The trail left heads to Twisp Pass. Instead, bear right onto Trail No. 426, the path less chosen. Following the North Fork in cool groves of old conifers, the trail marches up the broad valley. Cross the North Fork at 3.5 miles (elev. 5200 ft) and prepare to work. The way now climbs steadily and steeply. Hastily built by prospectors intent on reaching their claims, the trail heads for the pass in a most direct fashion.

Forest yields to meadows matted in heather and wildflowers. At 5 miles crest the 6760-foot pass. Wipe your brow and take in the views. Early Winters Spires, Stiletto Peak, and Frisco Mountain, all familiar sights along the North Cascades Highway, reveal different facades from your new outpost. The big snowy peak to the west is Goode Mountain. In fact, it's all good up here.

Driving Directions:

From Twisp follow the Twisp River Road west for 24.6 miles. The road is signed "Twisp River Recreation Area" and becomes Forest Road 44 at 10.8 miles, and becomes FR 4440 at the pavement's end at 18 miles. Turn right at the "Twisp Pass Trail" sign and in 0.1 mile come to a large parking lot and horse unloading area (elev. 3600 ft). Privy available.

Recent Trip Reports

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There are 9 trip reports for this hike. See all trip reports for this hike.

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Copper Creek, Copper Pass, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section K - Stevens Pass - East to Rainy Pass — Nov 28, 2010 — DrGui

Day hike

Issues: Blowdowns | Water on trail | Snow on trail

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Decided it was time to hit the Pacific Crest trail before Highway 20 closes for the winter (many years it...

Decided it was time to hit the Pacific Crest trail before Highway 20 closes for the winter (many years it is closed by now). I appear to be car #4 on Highway 20 past Diablo (31F) for the day. The snow plows had not started so I had a lovely drive on 1-2" of fresh snow with my new snow tires. No ice under the snow and handling was lovely, even on the corners.

Arrived at the trail head (25F) to see the first plow coming up the road from the east. Cross the road and put on the snow shoes and fired up my GPS with trail maps (the only sane way to snowshoe off a major road in the winter). Almost immediately I sank to my knees with the snow shoes on, the snow was soft dry powder. "High stepped" to the trail head and saw a pretty clear indentation of the trail under the snow -- so I was happy, could just follow the indentation.

Hit a few spots where dead falls had happened that caused me to assume the trail changed direction -- but since I could not immediately pickup the trail I checked the GPS (usually showed me to 15' accuracy in the trees which was nice)and got back to the trail (and thus saw that it was a snow covered dead fall from the last wind storm.

Reached the branching point and decided that a run up to Copper Pass would be sweet since avalanche danger was very low. Unfortunately after 1.4 miles, the trail disappeared with some dead falls and I was unable to confidentially locate the trail (even when the GPS said I was standing on it) so I headed back and resume the Pacific Crest Trail South. The trail was largely level and wide, which makes snow shoeing through virgin power snow nice.

After a further 3 miles, I hit a wall, dropped in energy. High stepping through 4 miles of deep powder snow had caught up with me. Grabbed some tea and trail mix and headed back. Got back to the trail head about 30 minutes before dusk fell -- so it was actually good time.

A good work out, lovely snow and no rain or dampness....

More photos at: http://www.facebook.com/pho[…]486d2131e2&id=700341335

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Copper Pass — Aug 15, 2010 — yew

Overnight

Issues: Blowdowns | Overgrown | Washouts | Bugs

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Mrs. Yew did an overnight hike with a loop of Bridge Creek, Twisp Pass, Twisp River, then north to Copper...

Mrs. Yew did an overnight hike with a loop of Bridge Creek, Twisp Pass, Twisp River, then north to Copper Pass. This trip report is only for the Copper Pass Trail from Bridge Creek to the pass since it is not maintained.

There are about 20 blowdowns (?) over the trail from Bridge Creek to Copper Pass. It is very brushy but passable. Just above the switchbacks on the west end is a faint, old trail that wraps around the ridge and comes out about 2 miles east of Rainy Pass thereby bypassing descending down to Bridge Creek.

The flies were awful!!

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Copper Pass (#426) North Cascades -- West Slope — Sep 27, 2009 — Marty DLA Badger

Day hike

Features: Ripe berries

Issues: Blowdowns

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Copper Pass Trail from Highway 20 Mile Marker 160. Copper Pass is a scramblers and cross country travelers delight....

Copper Pass Trail from Highway 20 Mile Marker 160. Copper Pass is a scramblers and cross country travelers delight. This area was recently featured in the magazines favorite hikes section (Alan's favorite) and then with 2 trip reports on the website. I checked all 3 of my guide books (100 hikes 2nd and 3rd editions plus Craig Romano's Day Hiking North Cascades) and none of them discuss the route to Copper Pass from mile marker 160 on hwy 20. In fact, they all approach Copper Pass via the Twisp River with the 100 hikes series giving a brief description of the west side approach. Sometimes refered to as the 'Copper Pass, Stiletto Spur Trail'. Here is a trail description from highway 20, mile marker 160 (mm160).

Trail head is about 40 feet west of the marker, across the rock drainage ditch. The trail heads into the forest contouring around the ridge and is an easy to follow well established route. At one time, it was maintained as evidenced by the large, old deadfall that has been cut. The first 1/2 mile gains 200 feet and is a little brushy. The next mile gains 750 feet through some eroded side hill areas and two short switchbacks. At 1.3 miles from hwy 20, find the rock cairn marking the top of the main trail switchbacks from Bridge Creek. The main trail goes steeply downhill to your right and is shown on Green Trail Map 82 for Stehekin. From this first section, Frisco Peak, Bridge Creek to Bowman Mountain, and Goode Ridge can be seen.

Continue east through the open meadows with the head of Copper Creek in front and the Stiletto Peak ridge line on your right across the Copper Creek valley. The old lookout was at the high point on the west end of the ridge. The next mile rolls along fairly level until you get to the meadows at the head of Copper Creek. Then you gain 200 feet in 1/2 mile to enter the upper meadows. Blue berries are still here along with bears to eat them as evidenced by several piles of bear scat. Also startled one deer in this area.

The final 3/4 mile climb to the pass gains 650 feet. Part way up you will reach an obvious junction, go to the right towards the notch in the ridge running from Stiletto Peak. The trail to the left goes to a saddle at the head of Copper Creek basin you can cross to get the head waters of Early Winters Creek and descend to the hairpin turn on hwy 20.

Total trip length from mm160 to Copper Pass is 3 3/4 miles and 1900 feet of elevation gain. The trail has some deadfall throughout and the spur from mm160 to the main trail is a little brushy. There are 4 stream crossings, the first 2 were dry and the last 2 had running water. All are fords, no bridges. The first 3 come off the ridge between Copper Creek and Blue Lake. By the way, this ridge can be crested to descend the east side of Blue Lake I am told. The last stream is Copper Creek itself and probably has water year around.

There is an old camp site (horse camp???) in the upper meadows (definate bear country) with a rock fire ring and rounds to sit on. This trail was once loved by the Forest Service as I noticed the old 2 mile and 3 mile markers on trees. Interestingly, the mileage matched my GPS distance from mm160. Makes me wonder what the mileage is from Bridge Creek to those markers. However, now all appearances are that boots are the only maintenance this trail currently
gets. I wonder if pre-highway 20 this trail connected to the old PCT trail up Granite Creek to Washington Pass or if the trail was put in after the highway to avoid the drop into Bridge Creek and save about 1000 feet of elevation gain.

At the pass, the route the Alan described is obvious (see picture). The saddles to crest the ridges to Blue Lake and Early Winters Creek (see pictures) are also obvious. Two backpackers came down off Stiletto Peak who had camped at Stiletto Lake. They went right along the ridge crest and were followed by a mountain goat to just above the pass. Scramblers could find happiness here for many days! However, as always bring a good map if you are planning on running the ridges.

Total wildlife tally: 2 black bears, 1 deer, 1 mountain goat, and 1 blue grouse.

Marty

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Copper Pass — Aug 30, 2009 — NorthwestFamily

Day hike

Features: Ripe berries

Issues: Blowdowns

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We hiked from the Bridge Creek parking area on Hwy 20 to Copper Pass. (This trail is not included...

We hiked from the Bridge Creek parking area on Hwy 20 to Copper Pass. (This trail is not included on many trail maps, though it is well marked and is in fairly good shape except it is somewhat brushy in sections and has quite a number of manageable blowdowns.)

The hike begins on the PCT, but shortly follows two well marked left turns to Copper Pass. The first mile or so of the trail is low in the valley -- some good blueberries here -- then the trail climbs sharply up a series of dusty switchbacks. (See note below on the trail junction marked with a small cairn at the top of these switchbacks.)

At the top of the switchbacks, the trail heads up valley and we enjoyed a very pleasant couple of miles traversing along the hillside with little additional elevation gain. Excellent views of Stiletto and other nearby peaks. The trail eventually curves around to the right through a beautiful small basin near the top of Copper Creek, for the final climb to Copper Pass. The blueberries were abundant and oh so tasty during the final mile or so before the pass.

On our return trip, when we got back to the small cairn at the top of the switchbacks we opted to explore the trail that continued to traverse the hillside, rather than dropping down into the valley. In general we lost elevation gradually as we continued this traverse, though there were a few short sections where the trail dropped quite steeply. This "alternative" trail, which was somewhat less well used than the main trail, intersected Hwy 20 at MM160 -- 1 mile east of the Bridge Creek parking area. It is a somewhat curious trail -- there is no parking area or other marking where it intersects Hwy 20 -- one wonders if many of its users are unintentional users who simply missed the turnoff at the top of the switchbacks.

Total distance from trailhead to the pass about 5 miles; elevation gain about 2,600 feet. While it was quite dry and dusty for the section of the trail that traverses the hillside, there were a few small streams that provided a welcome place to splash cool water on one's face, and just below the pass Copper Creek has some lovely little pools. Oh, and did I mention how good the blueberries were just below the pass?

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Copper Pass #426 — Aug 29, 2006 — Foist

Day hike

Issues: Blowdowns

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This report is a story about the evolution of hiking plans. My plan for this week was Horseshoe Basin in the...

This report is a story about the evolution of hiking plans.

My plan for this week was Horseshoe Basin in the Pesayten. Armed with helpful info from a frequentor of the Basin, I began the long drive from Seattle on Sunday. The plan was to basecamp in Horseshoe Basin and explore, rather than do any grand loops or long trips, so that I could bail in case the iffy weather got worse than iffy.

Well, so much for that plan. When I stopped at the gas station in Pateros, and while I was gazing out at the rolling desert hills and the impressive confluence of the Methow and the Columbia, I decided to give the Tenasket ranger a ring. Good thing you called, she said, because the Iron Gate AND Thirtymile trailheads are closed due to fires.

Okay, time for a new plan. I flipped through 100 Hikes in the North Cascades and hurriedly read descriptions, as I was completely unfamiliar with this area. In the end, I was deciding between the Golden Lakes loop and a loop up Copper Pass and back over Twisp Pass. I wasn't sure if the Golden Lakes loop was as spectacular between flower season and larch season, and I was concerned about motorcycles (if only I was here in the Fall!), so I opted for Copper Pass, which is in the Sawtooth wilderness area.

I made a detour up to Winthrop to pick up a camping permit, as the loop trip would take me into the National Park (and the Twisp ranger station is no more). This permit went to waste, as it turns out. Anyway, I was packed for four days, so the plan at this point was as follows: I was getting a late start on Monday, so that night I would camp at the ""nice campsite"" (mentioned in 100 hikes) 3.5 miles in where the Copper Pass trail crosses the N. Fork Twisp. Tuesday I would hike over Copper Pass and down the dotted line trail (which the ranger said was followable) to Bridge Creek, where I would try to find a campsite within the Wilderness area (Fireweed Camp was actually full for that night!). Wednesday I would hike up the Stiletto Peak trail to the lookout, then camp at Fireweed. Thursday I would hike out over Twisp Pass.

Monday went as planned, and I found the ""nice campsite."" (The elevation in the book is incorrect, though -- the campsite is at about 4900, not 5200.) I hit the trail at 4:30 and got to the campsite at 6:00. Trail is pretty dusty for the first mile or so, but gets better. Some horse poop, but not too bad (much better than the Hyas Lake / Deception Pass trail). I saw no actual horses -- and no people! -- during my entire time on that trail.

While studying the map in the evening in my tent, I recalled that 100 Hikes described a route to the Stiletto lookout from Twisp Pass, and that therefore I could simply base camp where I was and hit the scenic climaxes of the trip in the next 2 days, eliminating the 4th day. This would also eliminate the need to find an uncertain campsite on the Stiletto Spur trail and would allow me to easily hike out if the weather got iffy. So new plan: day hike up to Copper Pass on Tuesday, then take a side trip up to Twisp Pass and maybe the lookout site on Wednesday on my way out to the car.

On Tuesday I woke up to clear blue skies above the valley -- looking good! I took a light pack and hiked up to Copper Pass, reaching the Pass at only 10:30. On the way, I passed what looked like the sketchy ruins of an old cabin, with a very old dirty glass jar sitting on top of the wood pile. The trail, according to 100 Hikes, was a miners' route unused and overgrown for years, but resurrected by the Sierra Club and Outward Bound. Kudos!

The Pass is beautiful. The valley on the other side of the Pass is spectacular, with lots of color, a little lake connected to meandering streams, and bordered by dramatic, pointy, brown cliffs. I scrambled up the ridge toward Stiletto Peak, resting for a while on a little bump at about 7100 feet (the actual summit of Stiletto was pretty close, but too steep for this simple solo hiker). It occurred to me that another interesting loop would be to traverse over the gradually sloped terrain and lovely meadows between that point and Twisp Pass, or meet the trail between Twisp Pass and the lookout. It looked like there MIGHT be a boot bath that does exactly that.

Meanwhile, the clouds were quickly becoming thicker and darker, and it was COLD and very windy. I remembered that the forecast was most dubious for Tuesday night and Wednesday, meaning that the weather would only get worse. I looked around from this spectacular spot, and decided that I had seen enough. It was already a nice trip, and although the Stiletto lookout is surely spectacular on a clear day, I would probably be hiking there in clouds and rain on Wednesday. Plus, I was ready to head back down at noon, so I would reach my camp at a little after 1 -- what would I do all afternoon? So my plan changed for the last time: I would just hike out on Tuesday, which would in turn enable me to take another overnighter this week on Thursday and Friday, when the weather promised to improve.

So in the end, I was on the trail for just under 24 hours! I looked at this trip as a long, fascinating, varied road trip, broken up by a nice overnight hike. I had driven up 90 and 97 on the way there, through those lovely rolling desert hills, and now drove back over Route 20 through the icy crags of the North Cascades. The weather made the drive back yet more dramatic -- the speed limit between Winthrop and Washington Pass was temporarily only 40 mph (""enforced!"") due to extraordinarily high winds. The FS had a fire information station up by the gas station in Mazama, and florescent ribbons hung from mailboxes and signs everywhere.

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