I day hiked to the Copper Ridge lookout and a viewpoint just beyond Copper Lake.

Started at 4:40am from the trailhead, back at 8pm.

Met one party of trailrunners who were doing the loop, and 3 parties backpacking either the loop or the ridge in & out.

The trail to Hannegan Pass is in good shape with the eroded sections fixed (for now) and lots of brushing work completed. I hiked this in the dark with headlamp, which was very doable.

The lookout is wrapped up for winter.

Almost no snow on the ridge. I brought microspikes but didn't use them.

Saw a few bear prints along the ridge and a bear at Copper Lake.

Plenty of water throughout the hike (creeks, tarns, and lakes if needed)

Bears were foraging. Foliage is spectacular. Weather was damp but not overwhelming. 

Our original plan was a late start, camp at the trailhead or Hannegan Camp, then do a series of 7-8 mile hikes from campsite to campsite clockwise until we were out. When we arrived at at the visitor center, however, the weather forecast was for thunderstorms on the ridge, and anyway none of the permits for our original itinerary were available, so we decided/were forced to try the counterclockwise route.

Day 1: We hiked out of the trailhead around 5 PM, arrived at Hannegan Camp at sunset, and decided to night hike (with headlamps) to get to Boundary Camp so that the next day's hike wouldn't be so long. We got there around 9, I think. It started to rain heavily just after we pitched our tent. From the trailhead to Hannegan Pass is probably the best valley on the trip, in terms of epic cliffs, fall colors, and waterfalls.

Day 2: Boundary Camp to Indian Creek Camp. The promised thunderstorm never appeared, and this was a nice 10+ mile mostly gentle downhill, with sun and the occasional early fall light rain. We took the cable car around 1 and arrived at Indian Creek Camp at 5 or 6. Passed a trail maintenance crew in the afternoon, which explained all the freshly maintained trails we had been seeing.

Day 3: Indian Creek Camp to Copper Lake. This was the day that we were dreading since includes an approximately 3500 foot climb (referred to by the ranger who issued our permit as "the big hill" and other hikers as "quite a hump") and neither of us were particularly hiker-fit. It was challenging, but probably doable for anyone who is able to make it as far as Indian Creek. It rained most of the way, but there were blueberries and magnificent views waiting on the top. (It was approximately 50/50 magnificent views/no views because you are in a cloud the whole time we were on the ridge) We saw our first bear about a mile east of camp. The toilet at Copper Lake lived up to its reputation. We set up our tents in the rainy and chilly dusk.

Day 4: Copper Lake to the trailhead. Started our day by hiking the remaining distance up to the lookout, where it snowing a tiny bit. A lot of up and down, fresh blueberries, amazing views, moody clouds, some bears in the distance, and a bit of rain. Saw some marmots preparing for winter on the hike up to the pass (and seemingly not caring that we were 10 feet away). We were at Hannegan Pass by about 3:30, and then the long slog down the valley (which was still totally epic) to the trailhead.

I liked the reverse loop. Either way you go, you have the same amount of climbing, and while it's more spread out the other way, doing the hike counterclockwise is probably easier on the knees, and it saves the ridge until the end. In my opinion, the ridge is the main event; it's good for morale to have it to look forward to, and it's nice to have the hard stuff already done once you get up there.

If you hike this in the fall, be prepared for rain and cold weather.

Dates backpacked: 9/1/18-9/3/18

Miles Hiked: 34+ miles

Campsites we stayed at: US Cabin Camp and Copper Lake

Permits: I submitted for the North Cascades Lottery System in spring and was given these permit slots ahead of time so I did not have to wait at the ranger station 24 hours prior. I just picked up and went. ($20 lottery submission)

Parking: the road to the trailhead washed out a few hundred feet. So the main area parking is not accessible, it is blocked off; you just have to park a little further down the road. The toilet and shelter are still there though.

Day 1: Hannegan Trailhead to US Cabin Camp

10.1 miles, 1900 ft gain, 2400 ft loss

We left trailhead around 9:30 AM, took an hour lunch at Hannegan Pass, and got into US Cabin Camp around 4:10 PM. This was our easiest of the 3 days. We were all feeling good this day, nothing really memorable to this day. You start noticing a lot of ripe blueberries and huckleberries pretty early on, on trail though! There are 4 camps at US Cabin. We chose the one on the left, furthest away from trail and thought it was the best site. It was closest to the river and secluded. You hang your food at this campsite, we used an Ursack.

Day 2: US Cabin Camp to Copper Lake

12.8 miles, 3000+ ft gain, 700 ft loss

Day 2 was our hardest day. We left camp around 8:00 AM and got to Copper Lake around 7:30 PM with an hour lunch break taken at the river ford. The trail is easy going from US Cabin until a little bit past Indian Creek. Then it is a straight uphill death march, we hiked for 6 hours going straight up.

The cable car crossing is only 20 minutes past US Cabin Camp and it was really fun. The suspension bridge was also fun to cross. We had lunch on the rock bank in the middle of the river ford. We followed the pink flags and did not have any trouble finding the trail on the other side. Parts of this section of the trail is very overgrown.

We got to Copper Lake later than expected, ate dinner, and went to bed. There is a bear vault here that you can store your food in. I also liked the compost toilet here too, it’s not just a wooden box and was considerably clean. You are only supposed to poop in it, they don’t want liquid waste in it.

Day 3: Copper Lake to Hannegan Trailhead

11.4 miles, 1000+ ft gain

We left Copper lake around 7:00 AM this day, took a 40 minute break at the Lookout, and got back to our car around 4:15 PM. This day just had a lot of uphill and downhill. Lots of ripe berries on trail. The last few miles out just drag. All our feet hurt by then, and we were all very happy to see the parking lot.

Overall, I loved this trail and the beautiful scenery that comes with it. If we had more time, I would have rather done this trip in 3 nights/4 days and taken our time. 2 nights/3 days is doable, but there were times when it felt like a death march lol.