Copper Ridge Loop — Friday, Sep. 9, 2016

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

In short, the bears are gorging, the salmon are dying, and the berries are divine. We arrived at the Glacier ranger station a half hour before opening to be sure we would be at the head of the line for overnight camp permits. And we were. Great start. The weather forecast being what it was, we decided to play it safe and hike the loop clockwise so as to have the best weather for the ridge views. So off we went. Day one was all uphill. I like uphill, so no problem. Copper Lake was our destination. It was a gorgeous day for a hike. We had heard the blueberries were exploding. I was getting a bit worried about the berry intel until we started climbing up the Copper Ridge trail. At first there was a clump here and there of good, not great berries. By the time we got to the top of the ridge however, we were in the midst of blueberry heaven. They were everywhere, including all around our camp. Delicious. We got the last camp at Copper Lake. It was small for our two tents, but we made due. (The ranger said they are working on a plan to add tent space to that site) A perfect sunset dinner was made even better when the eastern peaks became alive with that wonderful thing we call alpenglow. Simply amazing. What goes uphill must come back down. And that's what we did all day on day two. We caught site of a bear gorging on berries on the ridge and saw sign of others. Bear poo that is. Huge piles of bear poo. As others have reported, there are many trees still blocking that steep, switch-backy section of trail heading down into the valley. Most are step overs, with a couple climb-overs, and a few that are great fun doing monkey swings underneath. A ranger told me crews had cleared 90 trees so far this season. They've been busy. I knew it was the end of spawning season, but I had hoped to see some salmon still. At first we saw only decaying bodies, but after searching a bit we were rewarded with a few remaining salmon looking for love. It always blows my mind to think about how they fight so hard to return to their birth grounds after years at sea. The eagles and bears rejoice in their return as well. If you look, you can find logs over both river crossings. No wet feet required. Whereas Copper Ridge is filled with majestic ridge views, the Chilliwack trail brings you back to a lush, verdant forest. The trail is brushy at times and there is plenty of bear sign (poo) near Indian Camp, so make a little noise now and then so there are no surprises. US Cabin camp was our destination. You get to cross a great suspension bridge and everyone's favorite, cable car. We hadn't seen anyone for hours until, ironically, we arrived at the cable car crossing. As we were all from Seattle, it was kind of funny (at least to me) that way up here in the wilderness we still couldn't escape a Seattle traffic jam. Our camp at US Cabin was perfect. Big enough to spread out a bit, and quiet as we were the only people there. Showers came through overnight, but by the time I got up they were gone and the skies were clearing. It would be a beautiful day hiking back out to the trailhead. A perfect 3-day getaway. And a few notes for those wondering: -there are few bugs left. Unless you are the type that bugs love, you probably won't even notice them -water is available in all the places you'd expect this time of year, with some added springs flowing down in the valley due to recent rains -the road leading to the trailhead is somewhat pothole-y with a few of the holes being deep enough to be problematic for a low clearance vehicle. Take er easy. The end.