Hannegan Pass and Peak, Chilliwack River — Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2020

Overview: this was a beautiful introduction to the North Cascades for us, and what a delight. We hiked in and then mostly stayed put at Copper Creek and US Cabin and did day hikes from there. We would have loved to do Copper Ridge, but the snow made it challenging, and we were about a day short on doing the whole loop. The snow is melting fast, so the Copper Ridge should be way more accessible in about a week.

Hannegan Pass and Peak - this is a lovely trail, perfect in morning, but very exposed in afternoon, making it very warm. This is quite a popular trail, most people were trying to wear face coverings while passing others. The peak trail is mostly clear except for a few patches of 200+ feet of snow along the trail. These are easy to navigate and fun to glissade down. Fun fact: there is cell service (1-2 bars) at the peak - don't know if that's good news or not.

Copper Creek campsite. This is beautiful. There are two toilets at Copper Creek, one on either side of the creek. The one on the east side has no lid. Campfires are allowed and we enjoyed our time around the campfire in the evenings. Water access is about a 3 minute walk.

US Cabin campsite. Also nice, water access is a bit less clear to get to but still fine. Trail leading into and out of US Cabin is overgrown, but there were rangers and work crews in the area that I think were going to work on this the day we left.

Chilliwack River ford and cable car. This structure is amazing and looks brand new! What a treat to be able to cross the river instead of taking the ford, which is sketchy, deep in places, and fast. Bring gloves, the cable car isn't difficult to operate with moderate arm/shoulder strength. The signage for short trail down to cable car is easy to miss, if you get to the ford, you've gone too far.

Fauna. We saw marmots, deer, and 6 bears: two mother bears right near the trail with one and two cubs, respectively, and a brown-colored probably boar about 1/8 mile away up in the meadows. Bugs were somewhat annoying, and we got several mosquito and no-see-um bites when we didn't use repellent in time.

Flora. Green berries on huckleberries and blueberries. They should be ripe in 2-3 weeks! I wish we could go up again to taste. Columbine, avalanche lily, glacier lily, tiger lily, thimbleberry, salmonberry, indian paintbrush, and red heather are all blooming. Plus a bunch of others that I don't know.