Hannegan Pass and Peak, Whatcom Pass, Little Beaver Creek & Big Beaver Trail — Friday, Aug. 31, 2012

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

We were rained out at Whatcom Pass a few years ago and have been determined ever since to return in nice weather. We had a great weather window so did a traverse over Whatcom Pass to Ross Lake. Started at Hannegan Pass, down the Chilliwack River, up Whatcom Pass, down into the Big Beaver Valley, over Beaver Pass and down the Big Beaver Valley to Ross Dam. Hannegan Pass was very pretty as usual, but this time was only a precursor to coming attractions. The hike down the Chilliwack river is a good forest walk on a very good trail. The cable car crossing is unique and fun. Camped at U. S. Cabin our first night. The two new avalanche chutes just east of U. S. Cabin and just starting up the Brush Creek trail have both been cleared by trail crews so are now easy to cross. Once we started up the Whatcom Pass (Brush Creek) trail, the scenery just kept getting more spectacular until we reached the top, but it is a tough up-hill climb. A beautiful campsite with a view on top of the pass. And even better is the short hike south from the top of the pass, which gets you up close and personal to the immensity of Mt. Challenger and the Challenger Glacier. Going down from the Pass is a fantastic downhill section where the views of Challenger just keep getting better. It was a good trail down the hill but may not have been nearly as much fun if we were going up. Once we reached the bottom of the pass, however, the trail degenerated into continual, thick, man-eating brushy sections. Very slow going. This kept up until just past the twin rocks campground. The rest of the Little Beaver and Big Beaver trails were generally pretty good. In the forest almost all the time with peek-a-boo sightings of the surrounding peaks. Camped at Beaver Pass and then 39 Mile. We thoroughly enjoyed the Big Beaver Valley from about 39 Mile down - a very easy trail with many amazing old and huge cedar trees. Then we skirted Ross Lake on a hot trail to the dam and up to the car, with a refreshing stop for a popsicle at the Ross Lake Resort. In summary - 48 miles, 5 days, 9400 feet elevation gain and 10,300 loss, no bears (but lots of bear sign), only a few berries, only a few bugs, great weather, only about 10 logs to crawl under, over or around, no snow on the trail, no wet crossings, lots of brushy areas and many miles of spectacular scenery.