Hiked from Canyon Creek trailhead for an overnight at Chancellor, just shy of 20 miles round trip Despite some obstacles along the way, it was an excellent outing with plenty of solitude. Hike starts with a steady but moderate grade for the first few miles, with plenty of creeks and trickles on the way if you are hiking with a dog (like me). At 3.6 miles you cross the cool and refreshing Boulder Creek on a log bridge, also with a nice flat spot next to the creek for a tent.
At 6 miles you reach Mill Creek and one of the first obstacles on your challenge course adventure. The once stately and stout bridge over Mill Creek is completely collapsed (see photo), requiring use of a makeshift ladder and ropes to descend. Upside is there is a plunge pool at the bottom for a dunk. The ladder climb was too much to pull off with my dog, but just upstream from the bridge is a tree across the creek that is easy to walk across and rejoin the trail. After crossing, the trail climbing up from Mill Creek is less well traveled and requires a little bushwhacking and log scrambles until you reach the intersection with Mill Creek trail (0.5 miles).
From there the trail is quite pleasant with some nice stretches of moss lined trail (as mentioned in a previous report), talus fields, and a couple of sketchy scree slopes to step across. The trail eventually drops down to Cedar Crossing (8 miles from trailhead) with a substantial steel and cedar bridge across Canyon Creek (remnant from the old mining days). Don't get your hopes up - there is one challenge left. Just after the bridge there is a total washout of the trail, requiring a scramble/slide down loose scree to the creek, then back up to the trail.
From Cedar Crossing the trail follows the west side of Canyon Creek for a very gradual grade, much of it along an abandoned mining road. At just shy of 10 miles you reach Chancellor where several other trails converge. There is a bridge across the creek to a flat campsite, a couple of creepy old cabins, and the old logging road up towards Harts Pass. Chancellor was a nice place to camp for the night before hiking back out the next morning.
Comments