Aug 27,2002 White Chuck River trail to Glacier Red Pass/White Pass via Glacier Peak Meadows. Trail is fine and bypass of washed out Kennedy Creek Bridge nicely signed and flagged through 1/2 mile meander on a gravel bar. Helicopter was transporting crew and materials for rebuild of trail and bridge at Kennedy Creek. BUILD IT STURDY, BOYS ! Bugs manageable. Dogs everywhere. Responsible owners needed. The only wildlife we saw outside of the ubiquitous marmot, was a deer crashing through our camp at dusk, followed by a black lab about fifteeen seconds later.

If you want a secluded trail this is not for you. The trailhead was crowded when I arrived at 0830. The trail itself is very nice with nice views of the river which was running pretty hard for late August. The trail is a little more work than advertised due to some climbing switchbacks that give up the altitude gain almost immediately. Not too bad but not the gentle slope implied by the guide books. There are a couple of impressive avalanche chutes which appear to be ready to go again at any time. The log bridge over Kennedy creek is out so a temporary log is used to access the hot spring area. Look for cairns and trail ribbons and you should be able to find the right way. The hot springs themselves were occupied and didn't look all that inviting anyway. The flies were out in force and annoying at the hot springs and all the way back. The trail back was uneventful except for the crowds.

Hiked up the Whitechuck trail on a beautiful Saturday. The trail is in pretty good shape. Only a few blowdowns and these can be easily negotiated. Snow starts about half way to Kennedy hotsprings but is melting fast. No bugs to speak of yet. The river is running very high which does create a problem with the foot log across the river to Kennedy hotspring down.

The White Chuck River Road 23 is driveable to Mile Post 9, then is snow covered part of the way the last mile to the trail head. It also has a couple of trees down across the road. So I parked just before MP-9. Once at the trail itself, the first 50 yards had snow, then bare trail in the forest. The trail has a few places before getting to the river where snow is a foot or two deep. After leaving the river and switchbacking up hill over a ridge, the trail is bare again. Going back downhill, the snow comes back, getting deeper as I headed toward Kennedy Hot Springs. Since I didn't bring my snowshoes, I turned around about 3/4 mile from the junction in the trail to the springs. One large old growth Doug Fir had fallen across the trail, so you needed the crawl under it. Met some climbers who has come out from Wisconson and up from California to climb Glacier Peak, then on to Baker and Shuksan. Also met one young guy who was backbacking with his dog. He had the right gear, except for boots. He was wearing only tennis shoes with no socks, since his shoes were soaking wet from the snow. He said he didn't think there would be snow on the trail. Must be new to the area.

As often as not, my hikes are simply for the purpose of having the time to walk and think or, if with a friend, a long hike in which to chatter freely and aimlessly. One of my favorites in this category is the White Chuck Bench Trail. About 6 miles southeast of Darrington this 13-mile round trip hike has only moderate elevation gain but is peaceful and quiet. Today, the weather was sunny but cold, in the low thirties. Snow frosted all the trees and the mountains were covered, though the roads were bare and dry. Starting early, the trail was snow covered, yet usually visible, and the branches of trees and the trunks of brush were heavily encrusted in snow, bending down to either obscure the trail or coldly smack you in the face if you didn?t stoop low enough. The creek crossings are in decent shape, though a bit scary when the logs are snow covered. And it appears that the Forest Service is in the process of replacing the log that spans Black Oak Creek with a real bridge. There are many, many blowdowns along the trail and many washouts. The worst of the washouts is at about the two-mile mark. The runoff follows the trail, so you have to walk beside the stream to rediscover the trail. Just above it is another old washout that has destroyed the trail. You have to follow the gully made by the rushing water to get back on the path. In addition to these two, there are numerous old wash-overs that have left gravel, silt and mud on the trail. At about a mile from the upper terminus a giant cedar has fallen into the White Chuck River and taken a ten-foot chunk of the trail with it. You?ll have to climb up a small embankment to get around this, but it ain?t difficult. In this section, the snow was the deepest, which made it hard to find the path at times. Luckily, an unerringly accurate rabbit preceded me and I was able to follow him back to the trail every time. This is where the trail is the most scenic. Huge old cedars standing guard on the side, their reddish bark, their green tops frosted by the snow and all of that against the background of a brilliant blue sky. Beautiful.