Let me start by saying, I have been taking a young man hiking annually for the past three years. He is an intelligent polite young man that is truly interested in the outdoors. Each year, he has made improvements to his gear. This year I selected the Copper Ridge Loop for our annual trip. The night before we completed a pre-hike inspection to ensure we both had enough food, water, clothing and equipment. Our packs were weighing in with everything under 30 lbs. He and his mother went to the Ranger Station at Glacier on Sunday to obtain permits for the two places we wanted to camp.
Day one started at 0930 on Monday August 14th, the bugs were fine, the skies were partly cloudy, the temps were cooler than the week before and no smoke in the air. The first day hike was amazing. We were supposed to make Copper Lake the first day but that didn't happen. So Egg Lake it was. It turned out to be a good thing as we started our second day with a Black bear grazing on blueberries near us. We watched him for a bit and took photo's and selected another route down from our camp. As we made our way down the other campers were also watching Mr. Black Bear from their campsites.
Day two, we had a big hike to achieve, we were going to make our proper campsite, U.S. Cabins. Even the Ranger at the top of the ridge thought this was going to be a difficult task 15+miles. I must admit, the long down hill hike took a big toll on me as I now have four black toenails. Everyday, I started with three full liters of water and thankfully, I was able to replenish before we crossed the river. There we saw the spawning salmon and the remains of a few bear eaten salmon carcasses. The trail from this point has a lot of vegetation growing over the trail. We did make it to U.S. Cabins for camping by 8PM. They allow fires at this camp and there is water.
Day three was a lot of up hill and flies. No time for resting as the flies were a nuisance. We made the trailhead by 3PM.
I was very impressed and humbled by this trail. It is not one you should take lightly. If I were to do it again, I would do it in four days. Less pressure and more time for photo's. Not making any excuses, but it was tough for this 55yo man. And I do a fair bit of day hikes each year and usually one or two multiple day hike each year. This is not a well travelled trail, it has a fair bit of rocky surfaces, snow or ice fields, overgrown vegetation, river and creek crossings and bugs. So, if this hike is on your list to do, be flexible as it does have a generous amount of elevation gains.
Please forgive me for not posting photo's, but there are so many wonderful pictures on the web...
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