Copper Ridge Loop — Friday, Jul. 17, 2020

We went for a two night trip 7/17-7/19. We had originally been booked to stay at Copper Lake on night 1 and US Cabin Camp on night , but due to some extenuating circumstances, we got to the trailhead a little later than we wanted to on Friday.

About a mile after the junction, we began to hit significant snow pack and low visibility, which slowed us down enough that we ended up finding a free camp site at Egg Lake. It was still quite snowy down there, but we were able to get water from the lake by walking around it and our camp site was snow-free. There were also several sketchy snow bridges between the junction and the lake, just be aware. 

The second day, we continued up the snow to the look out and were lucky enough to have a clear day, so the views were fantastic. After the look out, we trenched down to Copper Lake, which was also still quite snowy. Around this segment, we were able to glissade several parts of the hill, but it is easy to lose the trail in the snow. I would recommend following your GPS if you have one!

Just about a mile and a half from Copper Lake, the snow started to dissipate as went delved further into tree cover, but to get to that point we had to cross several very steep snow fields, so be cautious!

The trail in the woods was incredibly over grown and there were long segments where we couldn't see out feet due to all the brush. It seems like we were one of the first groups to go through this year, so with enough foot traffic this shouldn't be an issue. I would recommend long pants while going through this as we experienced it until maybe a mile past US Cabin Camp and we certainly came out of it a little scratched up. 

The rest of the trail back to the pass was relatively easy and unencumbered. Along the meadows we spotted marmots and a mama bear with her two cubs! 

We didn't have any trouble finding water sources due to all of the snow melt. 

TLDR: It is VERY snowy from about a mile after the Hannegan Pass junction to about a mile or so after Copper Lake. Things seem to be melting quickly, but if you are going in the next two weeks, I would recommend bringing micro spikes at the very least!