Indian Creek — Monday, Aug. 5, 2013

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR!! The meadows are thick enough that you can't see the large rocks in the trail. My hiking buddy and I nearly fell several times. Lack of water, when you get a chance, make sure you refill your water supplies. LOTS of bugs, not mosquitoes, but swarms of biting flies. Several dozen blow downs on the trail. Tiring, but not terribly difficult. WHY TO GO!! Berries! Wildflowers! The views of all the peaks! Relatively easy trail (no exhausting elevation gains) The first few miles of this hike are relatively easy, having no more than a dozen knee level blow downs, and one at about chest level. There is fairly constant water access for the first two to three miles. We came across creeks on trail about once an hour. The meadows in these parts are roughly chest level as well, and the trail is easy to spot. Once the trail begins to climb the ridge berries become more abundant, although many bushes of huckleberry still bore green fruit. Water becomes sparse, only accessible at campsites now. The climb is gentle, but hot due to lack of full shade. When the switchbacks end at what felt like a little more than 4 miles, the trail hits long (quarter to third of a mile) stretches through hot meadow. The longest one was likely just under half mile. A good idea would have been to fill water when we stopped for lunch at 4 miles because there were no shaded campsites with nearby water for at least another 4 miles. The meadows are full of gorgeous wild flowers. Be careful, as the brush covers the trail and exceeds head height at some points. The trail tends to be easy to find, although it can be tricky with the dry stream beds. There seem to be no campsites between roughly 6 and 9 miles. There was a nice looking site on the river, if you don't mind lack of shade. We pressed on for a few more hours coming across no water sources until we reached the campsite where we spent the night. There was a fire ring and a large nearby creek. Instead of pressing on the next day we decided to turn around and head back. (Report mileage aided by "Best Loop Hikes: Washington" by Dan A. Nelson)