Copper Ridge Loop — Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020

Hiked the Copper Ridge Loop on a 3-day 2-night trip with a buddy. Clear skies made for beautiful views and conditions. I was able to hike this trail 2 years ago as well so it was interesting to see the differences in trail conditions.

Day 1: 14.6 miles from Hannegan Pass Trailhead to Indian Creek Camp. We got a late start due to us having to work earlier in the day and we hit the trail at 2pm. The weather was somewhat cool despite the clear skies so it made for great hiking weather. We cruised on to Hannegan pass by 3:45pm and took our first break, made it to the cable car crossing by 6:15pm (which looks recently rebuilt and nearly new condition. It seemed to work a lot better than it did 2 years ago). I also remember the stretch from Bush creek to Indian creek being very overgrown (and a very difficult to navigate blowdown), but it looks as if trail crews have done recent work and it was in great shape with no blowdowns, so thank you trail workers! We were able to keep a good pace and rolled into camp at 8pm. We took the last camp available which was furthest up the hill (also seemed the most secluded as the other two sites were near each other). We made a fire, had a very late but well deserved dinner, and then went straight to sleep.

Day 2: 8.3 miles from Indian Creek Camp to Copper Lake. We know this would be our hardest day with elevation, but thankfully it was also our shortest day of distance. We had a somewhat lazy morning at camp and hit the trail at 8:45. The trail from Indian creek camp to the river is a bit overgrown but manageable. Once you get to the river be sure to look out for the spawning salmon, definitely an impressive sight (double impressive when you calculate how far upstream they swim to get there). When I last hiked this there were two streams to ford but this time with the current flow it was just one. We followed the pink ribbons and had no problem finding the trail on the other side. Then began the long ascent. Normally I'm anti-headphones while hiking person, but knowing we would be climbing for hours without coming across anyone, listening to an audiobook really helped pass the time and endure the climb. Trail is in good shape aside from having to hop over 5 or so blowdowns. With a couple snack breaks scattered in we rolled into Copper Lake camp around 2pm. We took the spot furthest from the trail (I think it's the best spot by far, although somewhat dusty). We jumped in the lake (although it was sunny and looked very inviting, it's still very cold...) and then took a well deserved nap. The ranger came by and let us know that despite us pouring water on our campfire at our Indian Creek Camp, it was smoking when she came through an hour or so later. Definitely a good reminder to use way more water than you think you need to after you're done with your camp fire. Fortunately she was able to get more water on it, but definitely not a great time of year for us to make a mistake like that. Lesson learned. Up to this point during the trip the bugs haven't been that bad, but came evening at Copper Lake they came out in force. We had to get fully covered and put on a bug net. We watched the sunset on the mountains, went to sleep, and woke up a couple hours later to watch the stars. With no moon, the stars were next level. Well worth the midnight wake up call. 

Day 3: 11.4 miles from Copper Lake to Hannegan Pass Trailhead. We woke up early to watch the sunrise from camp right (it rises right in between Mount Redoubt and Bear Mountain) and as soon as that sun hit us we could tell it was going to be a hot day. We hit the trail at 8:30. This is really where we reap the rewards of our hike by soaking in all the ridge view has to offer. This is also why I personally prefer the counter-clockwise route of the trail verses the more popular clockwise route, because on your last day you get all the best views. Had a break at the ranger lookout at about 9:45, then we continued on till we basically ran out of water at Hannegan Pass at around 12:30. The heat definitely bogged us by the end and instead of taking a lunch break we opted for refilling our waters, eating a snack, and powering on to our car. After hiking in the national park and seeing maybe one group every 2-3 hours, going on the Hannegan pass trail felt like a shopping mall. We got back to our car at 2pm, making our trip exactly 48 hours on the trail.

In my opinion, this trail has the best variety of scenery, seclusion, and features (such as the cable car, suspension bridge, and lookout) to make it feel like an awesome adventure with a lot to offer. Only thing that would've made it better was if we saw some bears :) but maybe next time...