Verging on Impassible

We hit the trail by 10:30 AM on Wednesday, August 14, planning to spend two nights in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. I was accompanied by my dad, who had explored these parts a few decades ago. Our itinerary was to complete a clockwise loop: ascending Indian Creek to Indian Pass, taking a short out-and-back to White Pass, and then descending via the White River trail back to the car.

The absence of other vehicles in the parking lot was our first indication that the trail sees little use—a fact reinforced by the words “trail overgrown” written next to the trail registration box that I thought little of...

Day 1

The first few miles up Indian Creek were of moderate grade and presented little difficulty in route finding. However, higher up, the blueberry and thimbleberry bushes began to increasingly obscure the path. About five miles into the loop, we encountered a couple and their son who were descending. They reported further overgrown conditions ahead and mentioned a bear sighting.

We made camp about ten miles from the trailhead, just before the trail steepened between Emerson and Indian Head Peaks. Grasses, deadfall, and thick vegetation added considerable resistance to the climb but did not present a major obstacle.

Day 2

We broke camp, had breakfast, and were back on the trail by 9:00 AM. As we climbed towards Indian Pass, parts of the trail were completely obscured by flora, causing us to slow down to ensure we stayed on the path.

We reached Indian Pass by 11:00 AM and continued north along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to a clearing just below the junction with the White River trail. After a brief lunch and some time enjoying the scenery, we ventured along the PCT towards White Pass, which I had visited a few summers ago from the westside during a successful Glacier Peak ascent.

At 1:30 PM, we retraced our steps on the PCT back to the White River trail junction, encountering about ten people during our two hours on this stretch of the trail.

This is where the trip became distinctly more challenging.

Finding the White River trail after leaving the PCT proved very difficult. What we initially thought was the trail quickly rabbit trailed out. We doubled back to the PCT and, with the assistance of GPS, located the official route. Waist-high trees were growing out of much of the trail, but we managed to circumvent these obstacles and descended 800 feet into the forest south of the White River.

The GPS track began to diverge from the physical trail we were following, and we were surprised to encounter a couple of Class 2+ moves with moderate exposure. At 4,600 feet, the trail became overgrown, and slide alder made the route impassable.

Our map indicated that we could hit a switchback below us, so we descended the fall line some 300 feet in search of the trail. This was no easy task; the fir and hemlock needles were exceedingly slippery, and on more than one occasion, I had to claw my fingers and boot tips into the soil to self-arrest.

After about an hour of bushwhacking, we found the trail and descended to where it met the White River.

At this point, the trail was only visible about 15% of the time—erosion and plant growth obscured much of the path. At 4,300 feet, we left the trail entirely and covered about half a mile to where our map indicated the trail crossed the White River.

We found our way across to the north bank of the White River, though no trail marked the crossing. We traveled three-quarters of a mile along the bank until we found another crossing to the south side. This section was slippery and involved crossing above a waterfall, leaving our boots wet. The trail occasionally reappeared through the shrubs and bushes but would disappear abruptly.

Out of the frying pan...

The map indicated another crossing back to the south side at 3,600 feet, which proved difficult. It took us a long time to find a suitable path down the steep side hill to the river. With no logs or large stones available for crossing, we traveled upstream until we found slide alder reaching across the rushing waters. We made it across, but in the process, a face full of alder branches knocked my glasses into the milky waters. Dang.

We breathed a sigh of relief, having gained the north side of the river—the side we needed to stay on to return to the parking lot. However, our troubles were far from over.

We headed a few hundred yards downstream and were greeted with the unpleasant sight of thick slide alder and vine maple groves. Our map indicated that we were on the trail, so rather than ascend the steep slopes to the north, we dove into the thicket.

Bad idea. We made perhaps 75 yards of progress over the next hour, and the trees tore my PrAna hiking pants, leaving my legs bare from just above the knee down.

After a few more minutes of fruitless flailing and no signs of a navigable trail, we decided to head up the fall line to scout the terrain and look for a high route. After a quarter-mile of clawing through alder and vine maple, we reached the side hill above the river. We headed east above the tangle of brush but were forced to resume bushwhacking due to a steep canyon that blocked our progress.

We found what looked like the trail and followed it east for about a mile, but it was slow going. Eventually, we reached a conifer forest that was navigable and spotted a faint trail. Though we were miles from where we had hoped to stop for the night, impending darkness forced us to make camp, cook our last dinner, and catch some sleep.

Day 3

We broke camp, ate our last planned breakfast, and set out on the trail again with high hopes for a smooth trek along the White River back to the trailhead. It was not to be.

A few hundred yards beyond our camp, we found ourselves in a burned area. Intense forest fires had scorched the land last year, leaving ash and dead fir needles obscuring the trail. This greatly slowed our travel as our footing frequently gave way on the ashy ground, and wind and water had erased any signs of previous wilderness travelers.

Moreover, the fires made travel through the groves of alders and vine maples even more arduous. Rather than bending as we struggled to find a path forward, the stiff branches would break, scratching our arms, hands, and especially my bare legs, which were unprotected by my shredded pants.

We attempted to travel up the side hills around the brambles, but we were frequently met with washed-out gullies and precarious scorched logs that threatened to give way as we climbed over them. There was no choice but to plow ahead through the thicket, keeping our eyes fixed on the goal ahead. The poor trail conditions and the need to frequently route-find greatly slowed our travel and sapped our energy. Though we had exhausted our planned food supply, we were forced to camp yet another night.

Day 4

Hunger and nerves made for a fitful night’s rest. We were up at first light and back on the trail soon thereafter. We knew that worry would be setting in among the family, and we were determined to make it back to the trailhead by nightfall.

Trail conditions were slightly better in the morning. Though we often could not see the trail beneath the heavy shrub cover, we could usually feel it underfoot as we walked. In the forest, there were more frequent signs of human activity—sawed logs, an antique piece of webbing, and weathered ribbons tied to branches—that showed the way forward.

Travel remained challenging. At one point, we descended a stream that we mistook for the trail and had to battle through slide alder for 45 minutes to travel just 100 feet back to where we had lost the path. The heat in the open meadows was also draining.

However, the burned forest gradually became mixed with live trees, making the trail more frequently visible. A major stream crossing about eight miles from the trailhead left our boots soaked and our hearts racing as we navigated the dodgy path through the current. The stiff woody plants gradually gave way to thimbleberries, and I was actually relieved to travel through groves of stinging nettles, which at least did not pierce the skin.

At about 3:00 PM, we stopped to rest on a log beneath a Douglas fir and nibbled on some nuts we had packed as survival rations—a good source of cramp-resisting nutrients. By our calculations, we should meet the Boulder Pass trail within the next mile. We hoped and prayed that this junction would mark the transition to a maintained trail that would ease our final five miles back to the trailhead.

We were correct. For the first time since the PCT, we found a well-maintained trail that made travel straightforward. Even the huge tree that had recently fallen across the trail some 5,000 feet from the trailhead proved easy to bypass thanks to snapped branches and a clearly worn boot path.

The sight of the bridge at the trailhead was a glorious relief. We were out of the wilderness.

As we drove back towards Coles Corner, a Chelan County Sheriff pulled up alongside us. His first words: “You know that trail hasn’t been maintained since 2005, right?” Well, we did now—learned that one the hard way.

We thanked him for making the drive out, relayed the message of our safety to the rest of the family, and continued on to the 59er Diner for dinner. Fryer grease and chocolate malts never tasted so good.

Takeaways:

1. The White River Trail is in VERY bad shape. In 10 years, it will likely be completely impassable. Avoid!
2. Always check trip reports, pack extra food, and be comfortable navigating even when GPS batteries run low.

Followed the Mt David Trail a mile to a viewpoint overlooking a waterfall. Back at the trailhead, we also headed up the White River Trail for a ¼ mile to the wilderness boundary.

Road Conditions. The last 4 miles of the White River Rd were unpaved and rough, but in good condition; the only maybe problematic section (e.g. after heavy rain) was right at the start of the unpaved section.

Trail Conditions. No obstacles.

Highlights. Impressive river and pleasant forest. The White River Trail had some giant trees and nice river access points.

Crowds. Only a couple of cars at the trailhead at noon, and we didn't encounter anyone on the trail.

During last weeks wet streak, my partner and I tackled a long sought after circumnav of Glacier Peak.  We knew the weather for the trip was going to be iffy, we had been watching a persistent wet/stormy streak in the forecast (like everyone else had been), but decided to have a go of it.  We discussed exit strategies in case things got weird (for whatever reasons), and felt comfortable in our abilities. 5 days, CCW, starting from White River TH.  A full circumnav can be done via a number of starting points, and with a few trail variations.  I'll only describe our route in depth, but will mention some alternates when appropriate.

A few notes/thoughts:

• My partner and I each had Garmin Fenix (3 and 5), as well as phones with Caltopo and Google Map, to compare against our Green Trail and Caltopo generated paper maps.  GPS signal drift/Environmental Impact was very real.  Between deep canyons, tall trees, and bad weather, we both regularly were clocking an additional 2-6 miles at the end of each day, even when pausing GPS tracking during lunch/breaks.  Understanding the terrain and how it matched up to our paper maps ending up giving us more accurate distance and elevation data, but the digital options WERE nice to have.
• Neither one of us did ALOT of conditioning for this, though my partner has been on more of a regular exercising kick than I’ve been.  She’s also got extensive experience thru-hiking, and had a much better understanding of her needs and abilities for a high volume, day-after-day romp.  We both wondered at times if a 6 day schedule would’ve been more prudent than the 5 days we took (my ankles and knee would say yes), but my heart and mind were glad we did 5.
• There is a huge range of trail quality in this circumnav.  The PCT had, for the most part, incredible tread.  Alot of rumors swirled about some blowdowns and overgrowth on some sections (namely Milk Cr.), but by and large, the PCT was g2g.  The relatively few blow downs, especially between between Fire Cr. Pass and Red Pass that couldn’t be simply stepped over WERE notable, but the “reroutes” above or below the impass were often crappier than just climbing over/under the trees.  Indian Cr. was a long forgotten mess, but the trail was always there.  YMMV.

Day 0 - Road to White River TH is chunky but passable for most vehicles.  Few cars and a clear skies as we slept at TH Sat. night, and started day on Sunday under mostly overcast skies.  Self register at TH, Federal Pass/FS pass.

1. Day 1 - White River TH to Little Giant Pass TH - ~20.75mi, 6500' gain - First half of day was pretty cruiser, second half left us mostly soaking wet (varied weather and soaked shrubbery) on a lot of unmaintained/barely there trail.
   
   

• Easy tread up the White River trail, turned off and headed up the Boulder Cr. trail to Boulder Pass.  Boulder Cr. trail makes you huff and puff a bit at the beginning and the end, but coming up through the basin means the trail settles down a bit as you occasionally get your feet wet, traipsing through some faint streams and staring at wildflowers and birds flitting about.  Small stream at Boulder Pass allows for water refill.  Lunched at the pass and grumbled as T-storms started talking.  We were worried about the smoke in the air.  The nearby airplane Lk. fire, as well as smoke drifting from Sourdough and elsewhere, left us wondering what the right choice would be, both for our health, and our enjoyment.  We decided we’d take a chance that the impending storms would work in our favor and clear the air some, so we donned our jackets and wandered down to the valley floor.  The Napeequa looks beautiful from up high, but the river, and it's valley, are not for the faint of heart.  Crossing the Napeequa meant safely crossing a crotch deep, cloudy river that was gushing.  Easily could unfoot a lighter or careless hiker.  The "trail” through the valley is evident, at times, but rather irrelevant.  Even when the rain let up for moments, we kept jackets on as we were constantly pushing our way through 8' willow thickets that line the river.  We slogged down the valley a mile and a half or so, and then started following the FAINT path up and out.  Terrible, unmaintained tread WILL lead you up to Little Giant Pass, but not without working for it.  Veggie belay and hope and pray your way up.  Once at Little Giant pass, we rested for a second, emptied our shoes, shook our jackets off, and put them back on for the descent down to the Chiwawa river.  Trail was great from the pass down 1000’-1500' or so, but then turned into an overgrown mess until about 1000' above the Chiwawa.  Finished the day getting down to the river by headlamp, found a clear spot for the tent 50 yds from the river, and kept the Chiwawa crossing for early the next morning. 
• Plan for somewhat slow going in Napeequa valley, up to Little Giant Pass, and for portions from LGP down to the Chiwawa.
• Once in the Napeequa, we headed South.  Heading North at the river bottom would set you up for the High Pass Route.
• Avoid a soup sandwich and keep stuff stowed IN your pack.  Having your gear hanging off your pack Puddleglum-style will likely mean a fair amount of backtracking in the willows where things got snagged and ripped off.
• Good water sources through the whole section.
  
  

• The previous days/night rain cleared alot of the smoke out of the air, which was a welcome relief.  We packed up camp, crossed the clear Chiwawa around 8a (knee high), and proceeded with a ~6mi road walk up to the Phelps Cr. TH.  A few cars parked near the Trinity turnoff (not sure if the road is still gated before camp/TH), and road up to Phelps TH was open/driveable.  Phelps Cr. trail was cruiser, and getting into the south end of Spider Meadows meant for breathtaking views.  We plopped on a rock in the meadow for lunch and spread out some gear to dry while the sun was still out.  Moody clouds hung over the ridges between Chiwawa/Phelps/Spider Gap, Dumbbell, but the rain didn’t start until we were on our way up, near Larch knob, to the foot of the Spider Glacier/snowfield.  Moderate rain and wind continued as we reached the snow.  Microspikes made for easy travel.  The glacier/snowfield is quite melted out, significant moats around the perimeter were larger risk than any of the few crevasses.  We moved cautiously given the low vis. and later season conditions.  Hollow spots were easy enough to identify and avoid.  Snow was broken up into 4 distinct sections, microspikes were kept on until the top.  Rocky descent down to a shortish section of blue ice glacier (not quite the Lyman glacier, but nothing shows up on the maps, so I’m gonna call it Spider Gl. North) meant for some deliberate footing.  A slip would have meant a 75-100’ slide right into one of a couple of maws in the blue ice, large enough for a person to slip into.  Didn’t get close enough to see more than we needed to, which is to say, we did what we could to minimize our risk and traverse past the spot quickly.  Fairly easy to follow trail/cairns off the lateral moraine and down the upper Lyman lakes basin.  Stunning landscape, chunks of fallen granite everywhere.  The basin had great trail, and lead us from upper to lower Lyman lakes with ease.  Huge views of Cloudy, N. Star, and Bonanza as we moved.  A handful of parties camped between upper and lower Lyman lakes, and around Lower itself.  We flew up to Cloudy pass, down to Suiattle, and had a sigh of relief as we stepped onto the PCT, finally.  Likely to be better/more reliable tread for a while, we ambled down to our camp for the night, Miners Cr.  For more miles and elevation gain, stay higher and follow Miners ridge.  Image Lake, and the Miners Lookout await you.  Steripen batteries gave up the ghost at this camp, so we switched to bleach for the rest of the trip.  Easy enough to do, just takes a little more forethought to account for the time needed.  Mice at camp kept us on our toes, a SOBO thru-hiker was already at this camp and passed out when we arrived.
• Much of Spider Gl. could be skipped if you’d rather bumble in the rocks right next to it.  It’s all settled in and fairly solid going.  Some sections do exist however that more or less force you onto the snow, so be prepared.  I didn’t think I’d want my microspikes, but was sure glad I had them to use.  
• Good water sources throughout the whole section.
  
  

• Incredible trail and great weather made quick work of getting down to the Suiattle River.  PCT was good tread and clear, minus a couple larger blowdowns.  One blowdown in particular meant following a reroute that shot fairly deep into a gully before climbing back out.  Quite muddy, and off camber, a big slip/fall by my partner in this mess led to some epic bruising.  Down the gully in the brambles, we could see remnants of a yard sale from where some other hiker had had issues too.  Hopefully the food jar we saw down there wasn’t TOO important.  Trail followed the Suiattle for a few miles before crossing at an amazing bridge, then returning back towards the mountain (S) before heading up along Vista Cr.  Following the cr., we eventually hit a pile of switchbacks up to Vista Ridge.  The wraparound basin that drains down to the E. Fk. Milk Cr. was STUNNING.  Breathtaking views across the basin allowed views of the trail wrapping around the landscape, water was flowing all over the place, and the trail was good, and the weather was great.  We continued on until just before the trail start to drop into Milk Cr.  A handful of camp spots were present on the final ridge.  An early-ish night meant for a little more rest.  Was quite welcome.
• Mostly good water access through this section, though fill up before you start to gain Vista Ridge, as there are few opportunities until you get up high.

• Overcast start to the day as we began the descent down to Milk Cr.  Countless folks we passed (thru-hikers?) talked about how bad the Milk. Cr. area was in terms of blowdowns and overgrowth.  I let that build up in my head a bit.  Once headed down to the creek, and on the other side and headed back up, it was clear this section was NOWHERE as bad as some of the non-PCT sections we had already been on.  It was relative, I suppose.  Folks were comparing it to other parts of the PCT, which is likely to be well maintained, good tread.  Ah well.  We got up to Mica lake as the clouds and fog were blowing in, some light rain turned heavy as we were lunching, so we pounded our food, and got back to some wet trudging we headed up to Fire Creek Pass.  Stayed wet for what seemed like an eternity.  Passed a number of NOBO’s asking if the weather/conditions were better further on, had to tell them no - we were all likely to be in it for a while, regardless of our travel direction!  Some German guy was PISSED.  Rain did subside here and there a bit, but clouds were persistent and obscured most views.  Made for a very PNW feel.  Easier weather as we got down to Kennedy Cr.  The bridge has been out for years, so we knew we’d have another river crossing.  Yay!  Silted water made it a little harder to read what was in the river, but enough other signs helped in choosing the best place to cross.  Between knee and thigh deep (2-2.5’).  Numerous cairns point to a variety of former crossing points, we ended up crossing a little further upstream, where a path up from the bank and into the woods was a little more apparent.  Once across Kennedy Cr., the trail is pretty gross.  It smelled bad (sulfur - remember the Kennedy Hot Springs?!), was pretty mucky, and there were some nasty blowdowns that required just embracing it all and walking through the goop.  This didn’t last too long, however, and before we knew it, we were on a good trail along the White Chuck River.  We had initially planned on getting up to Red Pass for the night, but then adjusted plans to finish the day at the approach camp for the White Chuck Glacier Rte.  Instead of that after crossing the White Chuck River and hoofing it uphill, in the mud, in the rain, we snagged a dry spot under a big evergreen in a tiny little meadow.  This was our last night on the trail, we had been soaked most of the day and were about to get soaked again, so we set up camp, cooked dinner in the tent, and turned in a few miles before we had planned.  We figured getting up any higher/further this day would mean a REALLY late arrival at camp, and in spots that were high and little protection from the elements.  It would be better to make up those few miles in the morning, after a better rest, and treat the 1700’ of gain we still had left as a good warmup before the all day downhill pound we had ahead of us to finish this thing off.
• Numerous camp spots between Kennedy Cr. and Red Pass exist, some in the low woods, some in subalpine meadows.
• Between the terrain and the weather, we had good water sources throughout the day.
  
  

• Overcast as we struck camp and started up the last bit to Red Pass.  Beautiful wooded and subalpine meadows surrounded us as we hiked in the clouds.  Gained Red Pass in the clouds and continued down to White Pass, where cloudcover started clearing up and some beautiful views of the lower valleys started showing their faces.  Some smoke was still lingering in the White River Valley (Airplane Lk. Fire), but nothing like on day 1.  Indian Pass marks our departure from the rather good trail of the PCT and onto some sections that have clearly been long since forgotten.  Log cuts and trail infrastructure are still visible, and the trail can MOSTLY be found.  But with the exception of the very first and last mile or two, much of the Indian Creek trail can be described as bushwack.  When the trail goes through a mature section of trees, it’s mostly easy to see and follow.  But when it opens up into a meadow, good riddance.  Overgrown is an understatement.  If you can beat back the growth enough, you could usually see the tread, hiding down there underneath roots and stems and stalks and branches.  But be warned, you’re gonna get scratched up.Grin and bear it, or wear long pants and sweat it out.  As bad the trail is/was, we didn’t expect to anyone else on it.  But a solo gal, and older couple, and a pair of young bear hunters surprised us.  All headed the direction we had already come from, it meant we had 5 people beating down the trail for us already (they only had us two!)  Periodically, we came across signs someone else had been on this trail recently (in the TH sign-in when we started, we saw someone else was currently on trail attempting a circumnav, so maybe it was them?!)  The Indian Crk. trail is the better of one of two options for the Southern portion of a Glacier Pk. circumnav (White River Tr. being the other, and it’s likely in worse shape).  Indian Cr. trail is pretty rough for the middle 8-9 miles.  Towards its’ eastern side, as you get closer to White River, it eases up significantly and becomes a trail that most people would feel comfortable on!  Follow the White River for a couple miles, and the TH came into view.  Crossing the last bridge stumbling towards the truck was a relief for body, mind, and spirit.
• Indian Cr. trail has very limited water while “on trail”, but there are sections when getting off trail and heading over to Indian Creek itself, aren’t too difficult.
• Careful attention should be paid in the deep overgrowth along Indian Cr. trail, it would be fairly easy to follow something that LOOKS like trail but actually isn’t.  Fortunately, the bad trail sections alternately pretty frequently with better ones, so if you get of course, maintaining a consistent heading would likely keep you going.  Know your navigation skills.

Blog version (disclaimers)

Access: White River Trailhead
Round Trip: 15.6 miles
Elevation Range: 2280′-2960′
Gear: none
Dog-Friendly: yes

Route

1. Hike the trail through Boulder Creek to Thunder Creek in 7 miles.
2. Explore more of the trail or turn back to the trailhead.

Highlights

• Walking through the beautiful White River Valley
• Sun and solitude

Lowlights

• Massive brush in most places, with massive mosquitoes before Thunder Creek

Glacier Peak Loop

Short summary:

White River TH to Boulder Pass ~good trail, but a lot of mosquitos;

Boulder Pass to Littel Giand Trail ~ overgrown, Napeequa River - crossing

Boulder Pass Trail to Liberty Cap Trail - trail partially present, but easy to follow general direction;

Liberty Cap to Buck Creek Pass - good trail

Buck Creek Pass to PCT - almost perfect;

PCT to Miners Ridge, Image Lake, Miners Ridge Lookout - mostly good;

PCT to Fire Creek Pass - a lot of blowdown trees;

PCT to Red Pass and White Pass - super scenic;

Indian Creek to White River TH - you can't call this a trail !!

Full report at the link below.