Chiwaukum Creek

Hiking in the late spring can be frustrating. We can be stonewalled by snow, by blowdowns, or by swollen creeks. We were stymied about a mile from Chiwaukum Lake at the Glacier Creek crossing.

The creek was a raging inferno and all but one log crossing was under water (photos attached). We could see the proper log crossing and where the trail continued on the other side but there was just no safe way to go across. The one available log over the creek was about 10 feet high and narrow - too narrow to do a comfortable balancing act across. We could have sat and inched our way over but still, to lose your balance at any point would have meant dropping 10 feet into a roiling torrent and to be whisked away in seconds never to be seen again. We weighed the risks with the payoff and agreed that it was just not worth it. We spent an hour scouting up and down the creek in search of other crossings but eventually gave up, which for us is not an easy task.

As for the main Chiwaukum Creek trail, it’s a pleasant trail, steep in spots but with enough flat spots in between to let you catch your breath. There are several very nice stream-side campsites along the way if one didn’t want to make the 8-mile one-way trip all the way to the lake.

The first 4 miles were clear of blowdowns and between that and Glacier Creek there were several across the trail but easily passible. The mosquitoes became more aggressive the further up the trail we went. Even with my favorite bug spray on, I still came away with a dozen welts from bites. Lot of wildflowers (including some sort of lewisia).

Wait a couple weeks for the creek to calm down before attempting the entire trail.