Spider Gap - Buck Creek Pass Loop, Image Lake via Miners Ridge — Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022

WILDFIRE WARNING: On Aug. 11 we witnessed a lightening strike that caused a fire 1/2 mile SE of (below) Buck Creek Pass Camp and East (below) Liberty Cap that was beginning to spread. Check USFS and fire websites for current fire info or trail closures.

General trip report: Hiked counterclockwise the Buck Creek -Spider Gap loop. Plentiful water sources at most stages of the loop. Snow free except for Spider Gap.

Day 1: Parked car at Trinity trailhead and started the trip with a 3 mile road walk to the trailhead at the end of FR 7211 heading up Phelps Creek. Figured it was best to do the road schlep first instead of the last day when our feet were tired. Spider meadow is gorgeous, has several nice campsites and privy. Camped at Larch Knob camp, also has privy, and with great views down the valley. Many camps are hidden away all around the basin - go find them but be careful to stick to trails and not trample the fragile meadow.

Day 2:
Climbed spider glacier to spider gap and down to Lyman lakes. Glad we hiked the snow early with spikes and poles - the snow was firm but not too slick. Stay to the right to avoid rockfall. At spider gap, descend straight down a hundred feet or so on rocks, then be sure to stay left and descend the main snowfield before you, do NOT follow the trail to the right (north) on rocks. Once descending the Lyman snowfield, stay right to avoid rockfall. Near the bottom of the snowfield and a few cairns on the rocks on the right mark the “trail” which is really a choose-your-own-adventure route to get you down to the lakes. A few cairns mark the way but it’s obvious where you’re headed if you lose the “trail”. Very buggy at upper and lower Lyman lakes, but gorgeous! Lower Lyman campsites are not right on the lake, and are forested, as no camping is allowed within 200 ft of shore. Tanked up on water at the outflow of lower Lyman, which was a bit cloudy from glacial silt. Camped at cloudy pass camp which is about 1/4 mile before (east of) cloudy pass. It’s in a beautiful basin with only 2 established campsites we could find (one buried in a stand of trees and very dark), a nice stream and a privy.

Day 3:
Hiked onward to Image Lake as an added bonus. A few blowdowns on the miners ridge trail requiring crawling or squatting. Set up camp at Image Lake. Campsites are 1/8 mile below the lake (no camping in lake basin allowed), there is a stream and 2 privies! Notices state a bear has been frequenting camp so hang food high or use a bear can. We saw said bear very near camp! Recommend the amazing side trip to the miners ridge fire lookout, which is staffed in summer by an amazing lady who also keeps an eye on the campsites at the lake (and the people who don’t store their food and toiletries properly!)

Day 4:
The most difficult day. Lots of elevation gain and loss. Retraced our steps to rejoin the PCT and then camped at Buck Creek Pass Camp. At the Buck Creek Camp there are 3 sites just below the trail which are rather exposed and less safe on a thunderstorm (see below), but the main camp with more campsites is further below those about 200 feet elevation below in a glade of trees. A spring at this lower campsite area is beautiful and has great water. Privy too.

Day 5: Awoke to thunder and lightening at 2am and since we camped at the higher, exposed campsites, decided to abandon our warm tents (with metal poles!) and descend to a lower forested area and hide out at lower elevation for safety. A lightening strike hit 1/2 mile SE of Buck creek camp (see note at top) and we saw a huge fireball go up afterward through the trees; a fire had been ignited by that strike. 2 hours later, thunderstorm had passed and we ascended back to our tents to warm up and sleep. We notified the other campers there and left camp early as we didn’t know the status of the fire. Descending Buck creek trail we could see the fire had spread to about 150 feet wide and was going very strong in the dry forest just below Buck Creek camp and Liberty Cap, with flames sometimes twice as high as the trees. Descending Buck creek trail is hot and dusty, and goes through an old burn for several miles. Was glad we were descending it rather than ascending in the heat. Many water sources along the trail. Berries are aaaaalmost ripe! Bridge over Chiwawa River is out. There are two logs crossing the river where the bridge was forming a wide V-shape makeshift bridge which looks very precarious. Instead, we found a flat log about 100 feet upriver from the bridge that proved much easier to cross while balancing carefully. 2 of us made it across dry, one fell in but managed to scramble out safely. Lost 1 pole. Remember to unclip your waist and chest straps so you can ditch your backpack if needed if you fall in.

Returned to car and got delicious ice cream at the market by the Wenatchee river bridge.