On Sat. July 8 I planned on hiking to Lake Byrne which is near Glacier Peak. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the White Chuck River road had been washed out at least a couple years ago! This is why I should read trip reports and road condition reports!! So when I arrived at the road washout, at 1.7 miles from the road beginning, I was a little pissed to say the least. The White Chuck River trailhead is at 10 miles from the road beginning!
Because I got there at the relatively early time of 8:20 AM I decided to try and make it to Kennedy Hot Springs which is at around 5 or 5.5 miles from the beginning of the trail. This means that a total round-trip distance of 26 to 27 miles would need to be covered.
So I took off running up the old road. The road was washed out at two locations in the first couple of miles but was in relatively good condition all the way to the trailhead. In fact the road was actually pleasant as the area does not appear to get many visitors, the forest was lush and the river rumbling could be heard at all times.
The first mile of the White Chuck River trail was relatively nice if not a little over-grown in spots but thereafter the route became downright challenging and dangerous. I counted 11 landslides which I had to either skirt around in the riverbed or climb up and over. A few of the slide areas were a little nervewracking to cross below as rocks were heard falling! I made it to the confluence of Kennedy Creek and the White Chuck River only to find that most of the manmade structures and the trail had been obliterated by the river. I found the remnants of a camp area and a toilet (wallowa) after crossing Kennedy but I couldn't find a way to cross the White Chuck River. I couldn't find the hot springs. Besides I was worn out and it was already 2 pm, so I started back. I found an interesting cache near the Kennedy creek camp area: A USFS owned First Aid kit and backpack stored in a bucket. It appears that this is all that is left of the USFS patrol cabin which reportedly was located near here. I ran back to the car and made it back before 7 pm.
This was one of the hardest hikes I have ever done due to the fact that a good portion of it was actually cross-country travel and travel across slide zones. Someone could probably mtn. bike to the trailhead if the bike is easy to carry around the first two road washouts. But most people won't find the White Chuck trail to be very appealing. The most appealing aspect was that I had it all to myself even though I was in a large wild valley bottom.
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