Copper Ridge Loop — Thursday, Sep. 7, 2017

We hiked the Copper Ridge Loop over five days, from Thursday 7 September through Monday 11 September 2017.

Day 1: Hannegan trailhead to Silesia Camp. ~3000 ft climb over 8.2 miles. It was really smoky, so the views were closed down, and the breathing was a bit tough. The good news was that temps were in the low 70s, a big break from low 90s earlier in the week. Very few bugs/only a couple of bites with no repellent. Started just after 12pm, arrived in camp about 6:30pm. We refilled water at Boundary Camp. There's no water at Silesia, so you walk to Egg Lake to get it. It's a solid one mile round trip with about 500ft of loss then gain... not the most fun after Day 1 on the trail. Even without the big views, it was beautiful hiking and a great spot. This was definitely the hardest day, with the climb from Hannegan Camp to Hannegan Pass sucking, then the climb from Boundary Camp to Copper Ridge sucking more. Saw two other people on the ridge, not including day hikers early in the day. Composting toilet.

Day 2: Silesia Camp to Copper Lake. ~1000 ft climb/1500 ft descent over 3.2 miles. We woke up to clouds instead of smoke, which was nice. It was a short day, but lots of up and down. We saw Bear #1 in the first mile or so, and he was very shy. The lookout was great and we hung out there for two hours completely on our own (it was unstaffed). It was completely fogged in when we arrived, but we got some very nice peek-a-boo views through the clouds to Ruth and other peaks. We saw a marmot and an immature bald eagle. Copper Lake was really nice and we had a leisurely afternoon there. There were some small snowfields along the route, but not much in the way of active streams. We were glad that we set out with enough water from Silesia to get us the whole way there. Saw 4-6 people all day. At the lake at dusk we saw a curious weasel up close, then a pika swim by about 50 ft off of the bank. Composting toilet.

Day 3: Copper Lake to Indian Creek. ~3000 ft descent over 8.2 miles. We saw bear #2 a mile or so from Copper Lake. We were dreading this descent, but it was really not that bad. Compared to local trails, the grade was similar to Church Mountain forest switchbacks and nothing near as brutal as Welcome Pass. Crews had cleared most of the 28 logs that we heard were blown down, so we had to hop eight of them. They should all be cleared now. We had some rain in the morning and on the trail. The ford was not bad at all (a bit above the knees/gentle current), and the route was well marked. We were lucky to catch the last of the sockeye run. Indian Creek was very nice, and we had it all to ourselves. Burn ban meant no fires. Saw two trail crews, and 2-4 hikers. Pit toilet.

Day 4: Indian Creek to Copper Creek. ~1000 ft gain over 7.5 miles. We woke up to the first day of clear sky. Really nice forest walk, plus fantastic suspension bridge and cable car. There were reports of a wasp's nest on the cable car, but one of the trail crew guys told us that it had been cleared, and we had no problems. The cable car was very fun. It takes some upper body exertion, and the destination platform is pretty high... if you zone out, you could take a really big fall through the big gaps in the rail, plus there is a tall ladder. Not a problem for us, but I kept my A Game going while on the platform. Copper Creek has lots of sites and the creek itself provides some open sky and mountain views. We saw a Canadian couple with a black and white Chihuahua. That was weird since none of us had ever seen a dog in the NPS backcountry. We saw 10-12 people on the trail, with several of them headed towards Whatcom Pass and beyond. Pit toilet.

Day 5: Copper Creek to Hannegan Trailhead. ~2000 ft climb/2000 ft descent over 7.5 miles. We got an early start in good weather, made good time, then beelined it through very bright sun and hot brush to the trailhead. Saw 20+ dayhikers and maybe 10 other backpackers.

Great hike overall. It's not the easiest 35ish miles you can do, but it's not super hard either. Great scenery. Nice campgrounds. Good time of the year to do it if you prefer less bugs, not hot, and are tolerant of some rain and obstructed views.