I left the Hannegan Pass TH at 8:00 Wednesday morning and enjoyed the early morning walk up to the pass. Berries are excellent in the vicinity of the pass. After a short break and visit with some people enjoying a day hike up Hannegan Peak, I ventured down into the Chilliwack valley.
Boundary Camp was reached in no time, and I realized that I was on schedule to be at U.S. Cabin Camp at a ridiculously early time. So I elected to drop my pack and venture up Copper Ridge with only my water bottle. The views were excellent from all along the ridge. Having done Easy Ridge numerous times en route to Challenger, I must admit to having dismissed Copper Ridge as ""second rate"" in the past. Not any longer. Copper Ridge offers an entirely different perspective of the peaks in the vicinity, and much better views of Challenger in particular.
I descended back to my pack at Boundary Camp and continued the descent down the Chilliwack. It's worth noting that most streams east of Hannegan Pass are dry. Hells Gorge, which I have photographed as a thunderous waterfall in mid-July, is nothing more than a trickle equivalent to the release of your kitchen faucet. Amazing.
I arrived to an empty U.S. Cabin at 4:00 pm and relaxed for the evening. Later, a couple arrived who were also en route to the same destination as I.
The next morning I was on the trail at 7:20 and at the cable crossing shortly after. The cable car has been repaired, though it is in some desperate need of some Moly Grease! It is slow, LOUD (upon hearing it on my return, I still had over a mile of trail to hike before reaching it), and challenging for the last 20 feet or so as you are pulling yourself uphill. It wasn't until my return that I realized the last 20 feet was easier with a two-handed lunge pull in which you could use your body weight, vs. the hand-over-hand method I had previously used.
From the cable car I followed the trail to the junction with the Chilliwack River trail and headed up Brush Creek, where a trail crew was busy at work repairing the damage inflicted in the winter of '03. It doesn't take a trained eye to see all the sweat they have put into this area - thank you.
WARNING: Yellow Jacket nest in the trail ~100 feet before the crossing of Brush Creek. I missed it the first time, though they didn't miss me...
The trail then climbs past Graybeal Camp and on up to Whatcom Pass. The views of Easy Ridge are amazing. Everything is so vertical from this side, and it picks up the morning light well.
I soon arrived at Whatcom Pass and the unsigned 3-way junction. I took a left and began my ascent up the ridge towards Tapto Lakes, my destination for the evening. The trail is quite straightforward and wastes no time climbing out of the trees of the Whatcom Pass area - my kind of trail! The views get better and better with each step, until all of Challenger and Whatcom are viewed unobstructed and one can peer all the way down their vertical rock to the canyon below.
I arrived at camp at 12:30 and took a short nap. I later wandered around the various lakes and enjoyed the different perspectives each offered.
Around 3:00 or so, the clouds began to roll in. The temperature dropped as the sun disappeared behind a thick curtain. I knew a change in the weather had been forecast, but was hoping it would hold out just one more day. Now it appeared that all my work would have to be repeated at a future date in order to photograph. Just as disappointment was becoming a certainty, the clouds began to part and allowed the evening light in. The lighting was incredible the rest of the evening.
The next morning I climbed back up the ridge and photographed early light on Challenger and Whatcom Peak. It was a beautiful morning once again. I stumbled upon the couple that I had shared U.S. Cabin with and visited for a while. They had chosen to camp on the ridge and descend to the lakes for water. Interesting choice.
I descended back to camp deep in deliberation as to whether I should stay for a second night. It was a tough decision. Ultimately, I decided that other opportunities existed. I packed up and hit the trail at 9:20, a late start for me.
The trip out was uneventful, other than my feet beginning to remind me of the mileage I had put on them and warning me that enough was enough. At Copper River Camp I stopped to soak my feet in the little water I could find and had some lunch. Ah, much better. This seemed to give me a second wind and allowed my to scoot by Boundary Camp, ascend to Hannegan Pass, and arrive at Hannegan Camp at 5:00. I set up camp, rested for about 20 minutes, then grabbed my camera gear and headed back up to the pass and up Hannegan Peak for sunset on Ruth Mountain. The legs were noodles by this point, and the feet hamburger. The going was slow. I reached the summit in about 40 minutes and enjoyed the evening light on Ruth Mountain and the Ruth Glacier. It was worth the effort.
The next morning was an easy trek out to a full parking lot at the TH.
Some final notes:
There is a lot of road construction along SR 542 on weekdays, starting at the town of Glacier.
Also, I was amazed at the lack of wildlife encountered along this trip, especially with the berries being ripe everywhere. Not a single, bear, deer...anything, other than the occasional chipmonk.
More pics to be posted soon at www.mountainscenes.com
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