I did this as a trail "run" on Aug. 12th.  Went clockwise up the ridge first and then down and out through the Chilliwack River Valley.  

The view on the ridge are phenomenal.  The trail is in great condition and no obstacles or issues to worry about.  The only thing I'd note is what's noted on here -- no water between Boundary Camp and Egg Lake, so definitely fill up near Boundary (there was a stream flowing over the trail about 1/4 mile up from Boundary that I used to fill).

About 2 miles past Cooper Lake, the trail starts to get a bit overgrown as you head the long way down to the Chilliwack River.  Starting about 2 miles from the river ford and lasting until Indian Creek Camp there are LOTS (100+) blowdowns.  This added significant time to my descent, and even ended up having to use GPS to find the trail again after some of the more serious blowdowns.  I could imagine this being very challenging with a full day pack and heading uphill.  And even without the blowdowns, the trail is pretty overgrown all the way to Indian Creek Camp (would recommend wearing pants -- my running shorts were soaked and lots of scratches on lower legs).

Salmon are spawning at the river ford before Indian Creek Camp, which helped to lift my spirits after all of the blowdowns. The next several miles back to Hannegan Pass are a relatively uneventful mostly uphill slog through the forest.  The cable car is in very good shape and adds a unique experience to the trail.

Overall, if I were to do this again I would just do an out-and-back on the ridge to Cooper Lake.  The blowdowns, overgrowth, and relatively monotony of the Chilliwack River Valley just didn't terribly excite me.  To me, the only redeeming features of this half of the loop were the spawning salmon and cable car.  But, to be fair, it could have been the 20+ miles I already had in my legs at that point.

For anyone interested in trail running, my GPS had 35.1miles, 9700ft of vertical.  Total time of 8.5hrs.

What an adventure! We hiked from Hannegan trailhead to the Ross Lake Dam via Copper Ridge and Whatcom Pass/Tapto Lakes, 62 miles over 8 days. The views were truly once in a lifetime. It felt like you could reach out and touch the glaciers and mountain peaks. Not to mention the rivers, creeks, waterfalls, and old growth forest! This hike is not one to be trifled with - we counted about 350 blowdowns and multiple areas with no trail to follow due to washouts. The bugs were relentless for a lot of the hike, although there were thankfully moments of reprieve. All in all it was a tremendous trek, and I highly recommend the Hannegan Peak, Copper Ridge/Copper Lake, and Whatcom Pass/Tapto Lakes sections. If you want solitude, try the Big Beaver trail - we didn't see anyone for almost two days. Feel free to reach out with questions, and here are details day by day:


Day 1, Saturday 8/6
Hannegan Trailhead to Boundary Camp, side trip back to Hannegan Peak
This was a great start to the trip. Most of the way up to Hannegan Pass you have great views of Nooksack Ridge, and patches of forest for some shade. Boundary Camp has a good size stream for water and sits in the trees belowthe pass. There were multiple flat sites. Beautiful wildflowers were blooming  on parts of this hike. The deer flies were aggressive and there were a few horse flies in the mix too. I cannot recommend enough the side trip up to Hannegan Peak. We are so glad we added that on (hiking back up for dinner and sunset after setting up camp) as the views were absolutely phenomenal of Mt Baker, Shuksan, Ruth Mountain, Nooksack Ridge, and more for a 360 view. We got a preview of Whatcom Peak and the Challenger Glacier too. If I came again for a shorter trip I would camp up at the Peak for the complete sunset/sunrise/night sky views, though you would have to hike up all your water or melt snow. We saw the most folks this day of any on the trip due to day hikers and folks coming back from Ruth Mountain. Thanks to our friends for joining us and making dinner!

Day 2, Sunday 8/7
Boundary Camp to Copper Lake
This day featured lovely views all along Copper Ridge and at the lookout, and a very picturesque lakeside campsite. Also, more bugs! The flies were relentless in the morning at Boundary Camp and on the early part of the hike until we got above the tree line and had some more breeze on the ridge. Views from the lookout were wonderful, and similar to the views at Hannegan Peak. It would be great to see at sunset or sunrise. The hike up to the lookout was pretty steep and tough work since we were doing it mid-afternoon in the sun. Not a ton of spots for water on the ridge, though we got some from a snow melt trickle a bit after the lookout. Copper Lake was beautiful, probably my favorite camp of the trip. I would love to go back and have more time there. We swam and enjoyed the views for the evening. If you swim out into the lake you get a beautiful view of the mountains past the point where the creek flows out, like an infinity pool! There is a great outflow creek for getting water. When you arrive at the lake, follow the small trail to the right to reach the three campsites. Thank you to our camp neighbors for recommending the farthest site which has lovely views of the lake and mountains, and great access to the little peninsula for swimming. There were mosquitoes and flies biting here, but most of the time we could escape them if we found a breezy spot. We saw 25 people today.

Day 3, Monday 8/8
Copper Lake to Indian Creek
Today the real work begins! We dropped off the ridge pretty quickly into the trees, saying goodbye to our mountain views for the next day or so. The trail was in good condition until partway down the switchbacks to the Chilliwack River, where the blowdowns started! We crawled over, under, and through 117 trees and logs on the trail. 70 were before the river crossing, and 47 between the river and Indian Creek camp. The worst sections were those nearest the river. Plan on lots of extra time for this stretch. There are also  sections where the trail is washed out or destroyed by blowdowns, and we had to do a lot of peering in multiple directions before settling on a possible bootpath. There was helpful flagging in a few spots but not really enough to make it easy to follow. We were relieved when we made it to the Chilliwack River, particularly because it was a surprisingly lovely spot! We relaxed in the shade on the river bank for about an hour, soaking our feet, getting water, and watching the sockeye splash around in there. You have to ford the river, but it only came up to about mid-calf for us and was fine to do in our Tevas. The section immediately after the river is so messed up by blowdowns etc that we weren't sure if we were on the proper trail until we made it to the junction with the Chilliwack River trail. We stopped to check our compass at one point to make sure we were still going the right way. We took the first site from the trail at Indian Creek camp which is nice and spacious, although lots of bugs. The other two sites were also fine but had even more blowdowns to access, and the only other group we saw camping opted instead to camp along the creek. The breeze by the creek was great for escaping the bugs up in the woods. Note that there is no water from about a mile after Copper Lake until you reach the Chilliwack River. We saw 8 people today, 3 of whom we'd camped with yesterday.

Day 4, Tuesday 8/9
Indian Creek to Tapto Lakes
This was our big day of up, up, up! About 4000 ft of elevation gain. It was our midpoint and our peak in terms of elevations and spectacular, jaw-dropping scenery. We started hiking at 6:15 to give us time to get as far up the pass as we could before the heat of the day. Thankfully it was a bit overcast today because this would have been a killer hike in the heat! A very cool and bouncy bridge gets you over Indian Creek. There were 28 more blowdowns in the stretch just after Indian Creek, for a total of 145 in this Chilliwack River area. We were so happy when we reached the first recently sawed log - thank you so much to the trail crews!! We reached the junction with the Brush Creek trail surprisingly quickly, and stopped to filter water there since we didn't know if there would be any going up the pass. This turned out to be unnecessary as there were plenty of water crossings all the way up to and including Whatcom Camp. The wooded stretch up to Graybeal was pretty mellow until we got to the washout section just before camp. It is difficult to find your way here, thankfully we had encountered a man who gave us great trail tips and who told us to generally keep left in the washout, follow footprints, and not wander too far on the rocky stream bed/wash areas. He had met a group who got lost in this area for at least an hour. After Graybeal things start getting steeper and you start getting cool views of the surrounding mountains and waterfalls tumbling down to Brush Creek. It was really neat to be able to see the Brush Creek drainage transition from a wide rocky channel that shows the full power of the creek at high flows, to an idyllic little brook up at Whatcom camp, complete with a lovely meadow and wetland area surrounded by flowers. I have to thank the deer flies in this section - they were so relentlessly biting my legs that I literally ran up the trail at times. We moved so quickly to avoid them that we were shocked how soon we arrived at Whatcom Camp. The pass is just a short way from there, and the climber's trail to Tapto Lakes turns off to the left at the pass. It is very steep in the beginning and we had to pull ourselves up with our hands at points. It levels off somewhat into an astoundingly beautiful meadow with full views of the Challenger Glacier. We literally gasped with awe. This area is a must see! I spent forever going up because I would just turn and stare at the view every 5 minutes. Then you continue up and over the ridge where you can see Tapto Lakes laid out in front of you. We hiked down and camped in an existing site in between two of the lakes. This spot has a spectacular view of Whatcom Peak reflected in the smaller lake, truly gorgeous. We swam in one of the lakes (briefly, it was cold!) and sat in the tent looking out at the views for a long while (it was buggy... mosquitoes this time). I also wandered around the lake basin a bit, and would love to come back with more time to explore the area and get closer to the waterfall. Sunset was astounding, and after that an almost full moon came up over the Challenger glacier, turning it briefly golden. It was wonderful to wake up throughout the night and look around at the moonlit views. We also saw an interesting bar of light move across the sky around 4am, which we think was a group of Starlink satellites. We saw 14 people today, 9 of whom we had seen at prior camps. 

Day 5, Wednesday 8/10
Tapto Lakes to Stillwell Camp
This was probably our toughest day mentally, because it was much rougher trail conditions than we expected, even after what we'd heard from prior reports. It was sad to leave Tapto Lakes and the spectacular views up there. The descent to the pass was steep but doable since we already knew the way. The switchbacks down from the pass were also quite steep and we were glad we were going down that way and not up - in some points they are just tight switchbacks traversing a very steep rock slide. We got down pretty quick off these and were surprised that the trail from here to Twin Rocks was mostly either completely overgrown or one of a series of rock slides/dry creek beds that you had to climb down into and up out of. This section did have really cool views of the opposite ridge and tons of huge waterfalls coming down to form Little Beaver Creek. We left Tapto Lakes at 8:30 and didn't get to Twin Rocks until around 2pm. We filtered water here and had a lunch break, wearily contemplating all of the blowdowns and missing trail we'd heard lay before us. The stretch from Twin Rocks to the junction of the two Beaver trails was a long slog through 179 blowdowns and one long confusing trail washout with footsteps going in multiple directions. We found our way through but it took a good bit of poking around to keep on the right trail. When the logs are cleared this section would be a nice walk through the woods with some good views of the creek. We also think we happened upon a bear den here - following a faint path around one series of blowdowns, we found a spot with multiple piles of fresh bear scat and a deep, bear-sized depression in the ground. After we got to the bridge over Little Beaver, there were only a few more blowdowns but it still felt like it took a while to get to Stillwell since you have to hike down to it off the trail, through yet more blowdowns. We took the first camp that the trail comes to. The access to the main creek is hard to find as the original route down is now a cut bank, but there is another faint footpath that goes down to it near the stock camp. When the water is lower you could probably also walk in the side channel to the creek, but right now it's flowing. This camp has a nice, calm feel with large trees and open understory, and a nice setting along the creek once you find your way down to it. Strong winds in the evening kept the bugs away, but it seemed like it would be pretty buggy normally. We saw marmots, pika, and lizards today, and 7 people (many of them PNTers).

Day 6, Thursday 8/11
Stillwell Camp to Luna Camp
Thank you so much to the trail crews! It was so delightful to walk on maintained trail after all the blowdowns. We celebrated every cut log we saw. There were a few blowdowns after Stillwell, but none at all beyond Beaver Camp. The crew had also improved several of the creek crossings which made them very easy to get by, and brushed many parts of the trail. Switchbacks were pretty mellow going up the hill to Beaver Pass, then pretty much all downhill. In the woods all day. I got stung twice by a wasp just before Beaver Camp, ouch! Luna camp has a couple flat sites but no easy access to the main creek that we could find. There is a lovely little step-pool creek next to the camp though. We found a spot over past the toilet where we could get a view of the main creek and some of the sunset. We saw 0 people today, and none yesterday evening either.

Day 7, Friday 8/12
Luna Camp to Pumpkin Mountain Camp (Ross Lake)
Good trail conditions continued today, thank you trail crew! No more blowdowns. The trail from Luna to 39 Mile was a mellow, quiet forest walk. After 39 Mile you start getting into some really nice old growth forest, with a couple huge, beautiful wetland areas and some creek views. I wished we had more spots walking along the creek, it was a lovely turqoise to deep blue color, deep and slow moving, very calm water but powerful. More like a river than a creek! The huge trees were lovely to see, and nice other plants around too. We saw tons of tiny frogs on and around the trail, so many that we had to slow down several times to give them time to clear the trail. Pumpkin Mountain is just past the cool bridge over Big Beaver Creek, and has a couple sites in the woods and one spot where you can sit near the lake or get in for a swim! You can also make your way down to the creek from the sites to get water or check out the view of the rapids. We saw 10 people on the trail today (our first human contact in almost two days), and more out and about on the lake or lakeshore in the distance. Thanks to my in-laws for joining us and bringing fresh veggies for dinner!

Day 8, Saturday 8/13
Pumpkin Mountain to Ross Lake Dam/Hwy 20
Our last day, it was sad to go! The hike from Pumpkin Mountain is a mellow walk through mossy woods with a few hills and views of the lake here and there. We crossed several creeks and some nice little waterfalls along the way. We saw 7 or 8 people along the trail before the dam, then loads more on the dam trail. The dam itself is pretty impressive to see, and a great spot to see the water on either side. It felt very cool to finish this long trek! And interesting to see pavement, cars, power lines again after a week away in the mountains. What a great trip all around, with spectacular views and some challenging conditions to help us grow as hikers. Thank you to all the folks who keep these trails accessible to the public.

Happy trails!

I only did the first half of the loop, so the "good trail conditions" are only up to the intersection with the Brush Creek trail. My friends finished the loop though in good time, so I don't think the obstacles others have mentioned are all that bad. The snow is only on Hannegan Peak, and is no issue at all. Lots of people camping up there! It looked amazing, but ugh, hauling a full pack up there would make that grind an unpleasant one. Oh, and bugs were only bad at the Hannegan Camp, and it was mostly black flies. I went all the way through to Ross Lake on the PNT, but I'll make that a whole different report, because things totally changed once I was off the loop. Please enjoy the story on my blog. https://kellbell-whywouldanyonereadthis.blogspot.com/2022/08/hannegan-peak-at-last.html

Got to meet up with an AWESOME group of 5 ladies I’ve had the pleasure of hiking with each summer for four years in a row now!  We stopped off at the Ranger Station and were able to get permits for the Copper ridge Loop Trail!  The trail up to Hannegan Pass was smooth, then we took a detour up to Hannegan Peak for some Epic Views (and snacks)!  We had one gal in our group need to head out at this point.  Now down to 4 gals.  The trail down to Copper Creek Camp was smooth and well graded, but still a bit of a knee buster, but good times.   Next POI was the hand propelled bridge across the Chilliwack River.  This was very cool!  There’s nothing like swinging in a little bird cage over a roaring river : )  We had one group member take the Brush Creek Side trail to log some more PNW Trail miles and the rest of us continued on the loop.  Down to 3 gals.  Next the trail was smooth sailing down to Indian Creek Camp.  There were quite a few downed trees from there to The Chilliwack River Ford but with plenty of flags, we didn’t have any trouble.  The river crossing was fairly straight forward with plenty of flagging and low water.  I think at the deepest part, the water never went over my knees.  Lots of spawning salmon! The climb up from the river to Copper Lake was a bit rough with some trail obscured areas and 3,000ft of climbing with only one little dribble water source!  But once we broke out of the trees, the views really started opening up and WOW!  Our camp at Copper Lake Camp was my favorite of the whole trip!  So glad we did the loop counter Clockwise!!  Heading all the way out from Copper Lake Camp to the TR was STUNNING!!  Wow!  What Views!  And the Copper Ridge Lookout was pretty awesome!  We boiled out pretty quickly once at Hannegan Pass.  What an incredible trip making memories together!  Another one for our life record books of treasured experiences.  Hike On & Happy Trails All!  We are Blessed!

We just completed a 5-day, 4-night loop backpack going counterclockwise around the Copper Ridge Loop (from Copper Creek to Indian Creek to Copper Lake to Egg Lake and back).  Overall, the trip was amazing with incredible high alpine scenery, wildflowers in bloom, and enjoyable hikes through the forest.  We did, however, encounter several obstacles along the way that you should take note of if attempting the loop in the coming days. 

The good news is the trail up to Hannagen Pass, down to Boundary CG and to Copper Creek CG is in great shape.  The trail from Copper Creek to Indian Creek CG to the suspension bridge crossing is also in great shape (btw, the cable car crossing is working).  We ran into the National Park trail crew who were doing amazing work to clear the path.   After the suspension bridge over Brush Creek, we started to encounter frequent blowdowns and overgrowth all the way to Indian Creek Camp which slowed us down but were all navigable. 

The blowdowns got worse from Indian Creek Camp to the Chilliwack River crossing so we were slowed down considerably.  As you approach the river ford, the trail is completely washed out and overgrown.  We checked GPS which indicated the ford crossing was about 300ft down stream.  We ended up scrambling over trees and foliage for about 100ft and were able to see flags on the far side indicating the crossing on the other side.  It was about 8:30AM, and while the water was running fast, we could see shallow areas both down and across river.  Instead of continuing to bushwhack along the bank, we opted to enter the river and walk down stream.   The water was mostly knee to mid-thigh high and we made it safely across without much difficulty.  

The trail is also washed out on the north bank but NPS has flagged it so we were able to find it again. As we started the climb from the river toward Copper Ridge, the blowdowns were bad for the first half mile and the trail was washed out at the first stream crossing. There is a flag at the exit point which puts you on a rocky stream bed but there is no flag indicating where to re-enter.  We used GPS and were able to find the trail again about 100ft up and to the right from the exit point.  The stream was easy to cross.  We still encountered blowdown but the frequency and complexity lessened as we hit the switchbacks up to the ridge.  There was one location (three small streams were still running) to get water on the way up at about 4100ft half way along a long east-to-west traverse.

Our next challenge came after the second set of switchbacks which take you up to 5500ft.  We had to traverse a large snowfield with exposure but the snow was soft (early afternoon) and we were able to cross safely by kicking in steps and using our poles (see photo).  The trail from there to Copper Lake was relatively easy to follow despite occasional snow patches.  About half a mile before Copper Lake CG, we encountered a fast running stream and waterfall (~4PM) which required us to scramble across boulders with some exposure to get across safely (see photo).  All in all, it took us 11 hours to get from Indian Creek CG to Copper Lake CG.  Needless to say, we were very happy to see the Lake and find a great campsite (all campsites are snow free).  We did encounter lots of mosquitos at Copper.

The hike along the ridge to the Lookout and Egg Lake was a blast with jaw-dropping views everywhere.  There are still several snow patches but the snow was soft and easy to cross.  The trail to Egg Lake, the lake itself and the campgrounds are all snow free (but not bug free).  The ridge trail beyond Egg Lake back down to Boundary CG had a few snow patches but these were easy to cross and trail navigation was straightforward.  The Hells Gate crossing was snow free and also fairly straightforward using careful steps and poles.