Nooksack Cirque — Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024

It is a wonderful time of year to go to Nooksack Cirque. The fall colors are glorious.  It did not rain, thankfully.  And, the river was low.  More on that later.

The road is OK for cars if you have enough clearance, however, it was muddy from previous rain. A concern. The last turn to the trailhead involves the road dropping down to the trailhead. Be aware that coming out if the there has been any rain, the rise in the road will be very difficult to deal with since it was very muddy for me and my van barely made it. Luckily it is in the last 1/2 to mile of the drive.

I arrived at the trailhead at 12:30 pm, on a Monday, and only three cars present.  Plenty of space for more. 

A second concern is finding the trailhead. I spent an wasted hour trying to find the correct trail to get to the old roadbed. Advice!  When you see the sign "Nooksack Cirque"  look to the south, and go down the trail on the opposite side of the parking lots.  When you go downstream and go across the log to cross the river, take the immediate left. Ignore all the other trails.  The one to the immediate left follows along the river until you arrive at the trailhead registry, 

The trail is in great shape.  it is gradual rise to the river.  Where the trial meets the river, there are three great camping sites. 

I had hoped to wade the multiple channels of the river and rocks to go far up the river to obtain the best views of Mt. Shuksan and the cirque. Luckily at this time of year, the water was only ankle deep to knee deep. Travel up the river is extremely slow, far slower than I anticipated. To do a mile over the boulders and crossing many channels took me far longer than I thought. I was not able to go as far as I wanted due to the daylight diminshing. With hindsight, I should have arrived far earlier. You can easily find many places to cross the river. Just wearing my Crocs was safe, better than watersocks since the rocks would be hard on your feet if just watersocks. 

The mountains and views are great. Remember this trip will be a  challenge unless you leave lots of extra time and know that going in the fall with lower water levels is essential be remaining safe, and travel on the river is far slower that you can imagine. There are no gravel bars to easily traverse.