My boyfriend and I did the Copper Ridge Loop 7/23 - 7/26, with camping permits at Copper Lake-Indian Creek-Boundary. Overall, it was a great trip and was only mildly cursed. A few things of note:

-This trail is difficult. The pandemic has cut down on our typical hiking routine this spring/summer and that was extremely evident in the fact that it took 8-9 hours for us to hike from Hannegan trail head to Copper Lake. Besides the enormous elevation gain, the snowfields and fog along the second half of that route really slowed us down; this will hopefully be less of an issue the rest of the summer for others, but the snowfields that started from a little before Egg Lake and stretched to Copper Lake were extremely difficult to navigate in the fog, when we could only see 30 feet or so ahead of us on the ridge. Glory be I had the Topo Maps app with downloaded maps on my phone.

-At the time I was pretty disappointed with the lack of clear views along the ridge, due to fog and clouds, but looking back at my pictures the clouds were actually quite pretty, I think. But we did miss out on the 360-mountain-view that (I think) we were walking through. 

-When we were there, Copper Lake Camp was melted out enough to access the bear box and we didn't have to camp ON snow, just around it; there was still ice floating in the lake and it was pretty cold at night. Goes without saying we were alone at the lake. There were also pretty wild wind storms. Our first real view of the lake was the next morning when the fog lifted. If I were to do this hike again, I would go mid August-September just for warmer/clear weather and no snow. 

-We ran into a ranger duo up at the Copper Mountain lookout; they had just gotten there the day before and had not been down to the lake yet, so had very little info to share but checked our permit, which we had on our phone since the Glacier station was closed.

-Copper Lake to Indian Creek was another long day, and mostly STEEP downhill. Shortly after Copper Lake we had to do a floor-is-lava style creek crossing that was pretty fun; snow fields extended until we started losing elevation. The river crossing in the valley went up to about our waist at a certain point and was pretty chilly. Indian Creek wasn't the most scenic camp (it's just in the woods) and there is no bear box (we did bear hang). Another group came around 7pm. We think there were only two camps there (or couldn't find the third) and they are fairly close together.

-Day 3 from Indian Creek to Boundary was certainly my favorite section; it had more variety of ups/downs/flats, the sky had completely cleared, and we had a lot of fun crossing on the newly renovated cable car. This section had a lot of brush covering the trails and downed logs to cross. Definitely saw more people on this section than the entire two first days. Boundary is a beautiful camp; we saw a ton of marmots as well as a mama bear and two cubs up on the ridge (bring binoculars!). We also saw tons of wildflowers, and a pretty sunset over the valley. Boundary could be a fun overnight if you lived in the area.

-Day 4 we hiked out and saw a lot of day hikers on the Hannegan Pass trail as well as incoming backpackers. Finally got some clear mountain views. We returned to our car to find a flat tire (not because of potholes - a NAIL). A nice group from Bellingham helped us get on the spare tire and we trundled down the road on our donut until we had cell service. Since it was a Sunday, we ended up getting stranded in Bellingham until Les Schwab opened on Monday morning and had to call out to work. It wasn't all bad - we took showers at the hotel and watched a few truly great episodes of Law and Order SVU.

We went for a two night trip 7/17-7/19. We had originally been booked to stay at Copper Lake on night 1 and US Cabin Camp on night , but due to some extenuating circumstances, we got to the trailhead a little later than we wanted to on Friday.

About a mile after the junction, we began to hit significant snow pack and low visibility, which slowed us down enough that we ended up finding a free camp site at Egg Lake. It was still quite snowy down there, but we were able to get water from the lake by walking around it and our camp site was snow-free. There were also several sketchy snow bridges between the junction and the lake, just be aware. 

The second day, we continued up the snow to the look out and were lucky enough to have a clear day, so the views were fantastic. After the look out, we trenched down to Copper Lake, which was also still quite snowy. Around this segment, we were able to glissade several parts of the hill, but it is easy to lose the trail in the snow. I would recommend following your GPS if you have one!

Just about a mile and a half from Copper Lake, the snow started to dissipate as went delved further into tree cover, but to get to that point we had to cross several very steep snow fields, so be cautious!

The trail in the woods was incredibly over grown and there were long segments where we couldn't see out feet due to all the brush. It seems like we were one of the first groups to go through this year, so with enough foot traffic this shouldn't be an issue. I would recommend long pants while going through this as we experienced it until maybe a mile past US Cabin Camp and we certainly came out of it a little scratched up. 

The rest of the trail back to the pass was relatively easy and unencumbered. Along the meadows we spotted marmots and a mama bear with her two cubs! 

We didn't have any trouble finding water sources due to all of the snow melt. 

TLDR: It is VERY snowy from about a mile after the Hannegan Pass junction to about a mile or so after Copper Lake. Things seem to be melting quickly, but if you are going in the next two weeks, I would recommend bringing micro spikes at the very least! 

Parking lot was in pretty good shape, and the bathroom was unlocked and decent. Not too full, but we arrived on a weekday. 

A good number of day hikers were on the trail leading up to Hannegan Pass (at least 15+ parties on a weekday). A couple of the drainage ravines still had compact snow to cross over, but only one or two required some climbing. Very much doable to get to the pass without any gear; a walking stick may help. 

Hannegan Camp was covered entirely in snow, with the thawed areas mostly soggy bog. Most day hikers continued up the pass to the vista at the top. Hannegan Peak will have snow, but I didn't venture up that trail, and direct sun will probably speed up the thaw. 

We saw three (distant) figures climbing Ruth Mountain, and a somewhat decent path leading down the north side of the pass which I presume is the  Ruth Arm path (which my map says is only 0.7mi away). The toilet at the pass is snow-free. 

Continued down the slope towards the Natl Park, trudging through a snowy slope. As it crosses into the open valley, there's a couple large snowfields. Footprints are faint, but the snow is compact and you'll eventually find the trail (I left a few small cairns to help navigate). Be careful of meltstreams, especially as thicker snowpacks melt. We put on some basic spikes and broke out poles. 

Boundary Camp is completely thawed but had a lot of mosquitoes. Views of the valley are great, and the four or five spots seemed about to fill up with some later arrivals behind us. The trail diverges here to Copper Ridge and Chilliwack River Trails.

We intended to hit Egg Lake Campground, but a bit weary of snowcrossings, opted for the lower elevation Chilliwack. Entirely snow free, though we did see bear cubs and on the trail 10ft away, the mama. We were so tired, we hiked in silence, and were equally startled by their presence (make sure those bear bells are ringing!). After a bit of nervous conversation, me pulling out a bluetooth speaker, and backing up slowly, they retreated and we continued to Copper Creek camp. We headed up the ledges on the left side (with a toilet) and only realized there was a second half across the creek when we saw a campfire later that evening. 

The descent the next day was fairly swift, and the snow did noticeably melt in just under 24hrs, especially in the main Hannegan valley. Within 2-3 weeks, the majority of the area will probably be pole and spike free. 

This spectacular loop is in excellent condition. All trails were well marked, the fall foliage was beginning to show, and there were lots of berries along the trail. I saw one black bear north of Copper Lake and a dozen salmon in the Chilliwack River.

Copper Ridge Loop is possibly the most enchanting non-enchanted named hike in Washington!  We did a 4 day/3 night CCW lap, staying at Copper Creek, Indian Creek, and Copper Lake campsites, and completely lucked out on the weather.  The trail is well described in other reports, so I'll list a few observations here:

1) There are currently leeches in Copper Creek.  They're about 1.5-2in long, black with a white tip, and wiggly.  They're a little hard to spot until you've seen one or two, and then you'll see them everywhere.  While we weren't bitten, it did stop us from dunking into the enticing pool right off the trail crossing the creek.

2) Berries are ripe and ready for picking!  You'll find blueberries almost everywhere along the trail above the valley, but there were two stand out patches: About 200ft down the trail after coming down Hannegan Pass, and along the ridge between the talus field (go down and around the snow field) and meadow after climbing up to the ridge from Indian Creek.  We easily filled a Nalgene in 15 min of picking.  Thimbleberries dot the valley and were just starting to ripen when we passed through.  I saw two patches of salmon berries (in a turn between Copper Creek and the first ford, and on the 'island' of the first ford), and red huckleberries dot the trail from the first ford onwards, and all the way up to the ridge.

3) Many sections of the trail are brushy.  Keep an eye out for Devil's Club; there are a few spots along the trail where it has been trimmed back but the main stalk still extends into the trail at shin or hand height.

4) Keep your water shoes on at the ford right after Indian Creek.  You'll cross once to a pebbly bank, pass through a sandy island, and then ford again to get back onto the trail.

5) Black bears are out and about, especially in berry patches along the ridge.  Make noise and keep your eyes peeled for them.