First of all, I have to say this takes the cake for my favorite Washington hike so far. Our hike was not the full loop, rather just to Copper Mountain Lookout. 

The hike up to Hannegan pass was extremely easy and snow/mudfree. The foliage at the start of the trail collected a good amount of condensation and so got my pants completely soaked.

Once over the pass we headed towards the lookout, while doing the climb to the ridge we had to climb over two small downed trees. Nothing too bad, but worth mentioning. About halfway up we hit a couple small snow bridges, no big deal to cross since they were melted, I broke them up with my ice axe and hopped over. 

Once on the ridge, the snow really started, the snowdrifts were a couple feet to several feet in some places, however, it was melting quite fast. We had to use GPS to route find since we were the first ones besides the earlier poster and the park rangers to make it out there. The wild flowers were just starting to pop out and man did they put on a show for us.

Once we got up to the lookout we did not want to come back down, such a phenomenal view. It honestly feels like you are in the heart of north cascades national park. Glaciers all around, glimpses of Baker, Shuksan, Challenger, Redface, etc; and the Chilliwak river raging below. 

Once we finally convinced ourselves that we really needed to go, we headed back and followed our now melted boot path. Along the way we saw goats, a marmot, and some bear scat. It appears the bears are very active in the area this year as other hikers told us they saw a couple bears earlier.

All in all awesome day hike, lots of miles, first entry into the lookout register of the year and got to meet Carmella who was the awesome ranger up there that weekend.

Incredible trail--if you can get permits then definitely worth hiking! We left on July 1st and were the first hikers on the ridge of the season, even before the rangers had gone out. 

Trail to Hannegan pass was very nice and snow free to Hannegan Camp. After Hannegan Camp, some snow on trail but very low incline to the pass. On the other side of the pass, very snowy until Boundary Camp. After Boundary Camp, easy finding trail and very little snow until you got on top of the ridge. After you were on the ridge, it was snow all the way until you descend off the ridge!

We camped at Egg lake, which was still frozen but had campsites that were dry. Silesia was still completely snow covered. A couple sketchy parts on the ridge: descending down to Copper Lake and another steep descent towards the end of the snowy section. 

River crossings were high--about up to my waist (I'm 5' 10). Trail to Watcomb pass junction was very overgrown--pants necessary because plants were sharp. No trees on trail that were much of a bother. Bridges and cable car are all in great shape. Snow was melting fast! 

Mind blown. This is my new favorite hike in the great state of Washington. We opted for 52 miles and 11,000ft of North Cascades heaven on earth. Starting out at the Hannegan pass trailhead, we made our way to Whatcom pass and then back to the trailhead via Copper ridge. The two side trips towards Ruth mtn and Whatcom peak were absolutely worth the extra effort, but require much better time management if this loop is to be down in 3 days. To do this loop justice, you really need 4 days at the least to really enjoy everything this unique landscape has to offer. Between the alpine lakes, jagged peaks, abundant wildlife, rainforest floors, old growth forest, spawning salmon, cable car river crossing, 360 degree views and the solitude, this hike is an absolute must for any pacific northwest hiker. A must. Best time to go is in September, when the blueberries are plentiful and the bears are feasting in the meadows. See more photos at https://tothetreeline.com/2016/09/13/copper-ridge-whatcom-pass/

In short, the bears are gorging, the salmon are dying, and the berries are divine. We arrived at the Glacier ranger station a half hour before opening to be sure we would be at the head of the line for overnight camp permits. And we were. Great start. The weather forecast being what it was, we decided to play it safe and hike the loop clockwise so as to have the best weather for the ridge views. So off we went. Day one was all uphill. I like uphill, so no problem. Copper Lake was our destination. It was a gorgeous day for a hike. We had heard the blueberries were exploding. I was getting a bit worried about the berry intel until we started climbing up the Copper Ridge trail. At first there was a clump here and there of good, not great berries. By the time we got to the top of the ridge however, we were in the midst of blueberry heaven. They were everywhere, including all around our camp. Delicious. We got the last camp at Copper Lake. It was small for our two tents, but we made due. (The ranger said they are working on a plan to add tent space to that site) A perfect sunset dinner was made even better when the eastern peaks became alive with that wonderful thing we call alpenglow. Simply amazing. What goes uphill must come back down. And that's what we did all day on day two. We caught site of a bear gorging on berries on the ridge and saw sign of others. Bear poo that is. Huge piles of bear poo. As others have reported, there are many trees still blocking that steep, switch-backy section of trail heading down into the valley. Most are step overs, with a couple climb-overs, and a few that are great fun doing monkey swings underneath. A ranger told me crews had cleared 90 trees so far this season. They've been busy. I knew it was the end of spawning season, but I had hoped to see some salmon still. At first we saw only decaying bodies, but after searching a bit we were rewarded with a few remaining salmon looking for love. It always blows my mind to think about how they fight so hard to return to their birth grounds after years at sea. The eagles and bears rejoice in their return as well. If you look, you can find logs over both river crossings. No wet feet required. Whereas Copper Ridge is filled with majestic ridge views, the Chilliwack trail brings you back to a lush, verdant forest. The trail is brushy at times and there is plenty of bear sign (poo) near Indian Camp, so make a little noise now and then so there are no surprises. US Cabin camp was our destination. You get to cross a great suspension bridge and everyone's favorite, cable car. We hadn't seen anyone for hours until, ironically, we arrived at the cable car crossing. As we were all from Seattle, it was kind of funny (at least to me) that way up here in the wilderness we still couldn't escape a Seattle traffic jam. Our camp at US Cabin was perfect. Big enough to spread out a bit, and quiet as we were the only people there. Showers came through overnight, but by the time I got up they were gone and the skies were clearing. It would be a beautiful day hiking back out to the trailhead. A perfect 3-day getaway. And a few notes for those wondering: -there are few bugs left. Unless you are the type that bugs love, you probably won't even notice them -water is available in all the places you'd expect this time of year, with some added springs flowing down in the valley due to recent rains -the road leading to the trailhead is somewhat pothole-y with a few of the holes being deep enough to be problematic for a low clearance vehicle. Take er easy. The end.

This hike doesn't disappoint! As noted earlier, plan ahead. The requires a backcountry camping permit and reservations at camping sites. Be sure to check mileage and water sources when planning. Day one: Hannegan Trail Head to Egg Lake approximately 9 miles and 3000 feet elevation gain. There is a gentle climb for almost 4 miles. There were plenty of blooming wild flowers stunning views the Nooksak Ridge and Mount Ruth to distract from the climb in elevation. There is a side hike up to Hannegan Peak at mile 4, but we continued on to Egg Lake. We heard water sources were scarce from this point on and decided to get water from the stream in the basin just before Boundary Camp. There is another water source accessible at Boundary Camp but quite a steep and difficult access point. Egg Lake and Silesia Camps were both equally beautiful. Benefit of Egg Lake is bear containers, water, and toilets. Day two: Egg Lake to Indian Creek Camp approximately 12 miles and 4000 feet of descent. There were so many aspects of this day that were brutal and amazing. We had 360 degree views from the lookout and quite a nice park ranger to test our peak knowledge. From the lookout we descended into the beautiful Copper Lake and took a quick break and filtered water. There is another source just past the lake at the small falls. At about 5 miles from Egg Lake or 4700 feet in elevation we were scrambling and climbing over about a dozen downed trees. From there we finally made it to the Chiliwack river and located Indian Creek. The ford area and trail is marked by pink ribbon. Trekking poles and Keens were helpful. One of the highlights of this day was the 50 plus beautiful red spawning salmon near the log crossing. It was quite an amazing site. We talked to a fellow hiker the next day who videoed a bear in this area 2 hours prior to our crossing. By this point we were ready to relax at Indian Camp. Day 3: Indian Creek Camp to Hannegan Trail Head approximately 15 miles. Once leaving Indian Creek we were scrambling and climbing several downed trees and crossed a wonderful suspension bridge. At mile 3.5 you can choose to ford the river or take the upper trail and use the hand pulled cable car. This was another highlight for this hike. Once out of the trees, it was nice to see the mountain views again. This was an amazing hike with so many wonderful and original facets with spectacular views. My favorites were the fire lookout, spawning salmon, hand pulled cable car.