Park Creek Pass
   7/03-06/06
   
   
     
Gary and I had discussed this hike several years ago. 
      We finally found the time to make it happen. Gary had been through Park
    Creek  Pass 28 years ago and I had never been up the Thunder Creek Trail
   beyond the turn off to Fourth Of July Pass. We headed out of Seattle a
little   after 3:00 pm on Thursday to battle traffic. The North Cascades National
 Park ranger  station in Marblemount closes at 6:00 on Thursday so we had
to hope for no  big traffic problems. In fact, the drive went fine and we
were there by 5:30.  We planned on getting up the valley as quickly as possible.
 There were available  sites at Skagit Queen camp at 13 miles and also Thunder
 Basin hiker camp at 17 miles. We chose Thunder Basin for 2 nights. We also
 grabbed a spot at Thunder Camp 1.8 miles up the trail for Thursday night.
   
             After dinner in Marblemount we were off to Colonial Creek Campgrounds
     and  the trailhead. At 7:15 we were packed up and on the trail. Since
 the    flood  of 2003 the trail has been rerouted and a new bridge is in
place  farther  up Thunder Creek. Within 30 minutes we were at the bridge.
The old  suspension   bridge was washed away by the flood. The new bridge
is wood over several  long steel I-beams. Thunder Camp is right across the
bridge. We immediately  found that the 1.8 miles to camp was really about
1.2 miles.  We had a few  other surprises in store on our hike up. A closer
look at the  map would have  been very helpful.
   
             We saw two other hikers at the camp. We would see only 4 others
   until    near the end of our trip. I had a chance to try out my new Tarptent
   Rainbow.    It was easy to set up and worked very well the whole trip.
Gary   has a Tarptent    Squall and the higher headroom of the Rainbow led
to much   less condensation    inside on several windless nights. We were
soon in bed  and ready for a very   strenuous day coming up.
   
   Day 1
   
            We were up and on the trail by 8:50 am. In hindsight we should
 have   started   earlier. Oh well... The trailhead is at 1200'. The elevation 
 of   Thunder Basin  hiker camp was not listed. We guestimated it to be about 
 5000'.  Park Creek  Pass is at 6040'. We knew there was a descent from Junction 
 Camp  before the  final climb up the valley. We did not count on all the 
ups and  downs along  the way. We expected about 4500' of gain. It turned 
out to be  5800'. That  and 16 miles to camp. And the brush. And the ford. 
It was a long day.
   
            The day was mostly sunny but with some clouds all day. The trail
  is  almost   entirely in forest for the first 14 miles. Thankfully, it
was   warm  but not   hot. We powered along the trail at a good clip as the
tread   is good and it  is fairly level except for the fore mentioned ups
and downs.   We quickly reached  the turn off for Fourth Of July Pass and
Neve camp was   not much farther.  The forest is carpeted in green. We found
much of the  way to be completely  moss covered. The creek is sometimes close
by and sometimes   not.
   
            The section up to McAllister Creek camp has no great views or 
other    features.   It is just a nice forest walk. Just before McAllister 
the trail    comes close   to the creek and we found a nice big rock jutting 
out into   the creek. This   makes a great rest stop. The creek is narrow 
and wild through   here. You can  see McAllister Creek joining Thunder Creek 
just upstream.  Back under way we came to a bridge over the creek. This is 
the way to McAllister   hiker camp.  McAllister is at about 5.7 miles 
from the trailhead.
   
            Beyond McAllister is about 1 1/2 more miles of forest walk to 
Fisher    Creek.   This bridge was also washed away by the flood. The new 
bridge is   another  steel I-beam monster. The aftermath of the flood is impressive
 as  rocks and  trees are strewn around a much wider cut than the current
creek  bed. Shortly  after the bridge is Tricouni camp. After that the fun
begins.  The trail climbs  steeply along Fisher Creek from 2000' to 3100'
at Junction  camp.
   
            Junction camp is 9 miles from the trailhead and 9 miles from
Park   Creek    Pass. We found a nice spot along the creek to eat lunch and
to pump  more   water. We now had 8 miles down with 8 miles to go. Shortly
beyond  camp is   the intersection with the Fisher Creek Trail. We stayed
right on  the Thunder   Creek Trail. We soon passed an unmarked trail down
1000' to  Thunder Creek.   Our trail also began to descend. Over about 2
miles the route drops from  near 3200' to 2300'. Eleven miles in and we were
only 1100' above the trailhead.   We still had 4000' to climb to camp, plus
more ups and downs, in the last   5 miles.
   
            From the bottom we began to climb again. In two more miles we 
reached     Skagit  Queen camp at 3200'. Just before it is a terrific two 
plunge waterfall.     We  crossed a bridge above the falls to the right side 
of the creek. A  little    past the camp we came to mining remnants from the
Skagit Queen mine. I can't   imagine how they lugged that heavy machinery 
up there. The trail then begins   a series of gently graded switchbacks as 
the route climbs up to the upper   basin. We crossed an old metal pipe several 
times. There were many small  trees down across the trail, most from Skagit 
Queen camp to Park Creek Pass.  Most were easy to get over. 4 or 5 were larger. 
One on the switchbacks above  Skagit Queen would stop all horses.
   
            Gary had been vacationing in Europe most of the previous month
 and   had   only  been able to get in one strenuous hike before the trip.
 On those   switchbacks    it finally took a toll. We kept moving but our
progress was   definitely labored.   At the top of the switchbacks we again
neared the creek  and found a great   rest spot. The next 1 1/2+ miles to
Thunder Basin horse  camp was tough. The  route went from forest to open
meadows and back. The  meadows are very overgrown.  Often we could not see
our feet. In places it  was more than 6 feet high. Following the route in
these spots is part skill  and part patience. Gary managed to keep us on
route. I was in bare legs and  Gary had on long pants. I had the fun of discovering
that these meadows are  full of nettles.
   
            We kept expecting to cross back over the creek but instead we 
had   more   thick  meadows to fight through. Finally the trail turned to 
the creek  and   there  was no bridge. A nice wide ford was all we had. A 
quick look  up and   downstream  did not help so we took off our boots and 
waded the ice cold  water. On the  other side is Thunder Basin horse camp. 
I crossed  first and  headed downstream.  I shortly found a log bridge sitting 
25' from  the creek.  The flood even devastated  the creek near it's source.
   
            We now knew we had only 1.2 miles to camp. More high brush awaited
    us  though not as bad as lower down. We were running on fumes at this
point     and  it was now 6:20. We marched higher and at long last reached
camp at   7:00 pm. With our stops it took just over 10 hours. Although we
were "only"   3900' above the trailhead we gained 5800'. Tents went up, food
was hung,  we had dinner, and it was off to bed.
   
   Day 2
   
            With all the hard work out of the way we planned to have an easy
  day   exploring  around Park Creek Pass. Our campsite was near Thunder
Creek   which   we could  now jump across it was so small. We took our time
in the   morning   not getting  on the trail until after 9:30 am. It is one
mile to  the pass   with about 900'  of gain. The trail climbs gently in
meadows to  the end of  the basin then climbs in many switchbacks to the
pass. The first  section  is rapidly being lost to encroaching brush. We
again encountered   head high  brush and small slide alder trees growing
in the trail. It would   be a shame  to see the upper trail lost to brush.
   
           Once across that the trail is in excellent shape as it climbs
to  the   pass.   At one switchback we found the remains of an old cabin.
Above  that   we were   startled to see a buck walking down the trail right
towards  us.   He came within  20' before heading down the slope. That was
a pleasant  surprise.   I few minutes  later we met 2 hikers coming over
the pass. Nearing  the pass    we found a rock  basin with the start of the
climbers trail to  Mt. Logan.    We considered that as  a side scramble on
the way back. Although  we were   still  on the west side of  the crest we
encountered larch trees  just before   the  pass. The trail does  not go
down to the pass itself. The pass is still   snow covered. Instead it traverses
through the pass at a higher level. Views   to the south added to great views
to the north. Mt.  Buckner sat above our   camp and seemed very close now.
   
           The ridge on both side of the pass climbs steeply. On the east 
side   is  Storm  King Mountain To the west is Point 6980. Looking up, that 
appeared     to be  a fun scramble. The main trail crosses to the west side 
of the pass    below  the snow. A side trail heads off west through meadows 
to a number   of tarns.  We followed the side trail a short way and then headed
straight   up the slope.  This did prove to be a fun scramble. We had open
slopes, some   rock scrambling,  and some small dense trees to avoid when
possible and climb  through when necessary. In relatively short order we
topped out on the summit.
   
           It is a spectacular place to enjoy an afternoon. We would see
18  miles    down  the valley to where we began. Ruby Mountain and Sourdough 
Mountain   sat near  the trailhead. It was only two weeks earlier I sat on 
top of         Sourdough
            and looked over here. We sat at about 7000' and were surrounded 
 by  8000'   to 9000'+ peaks. Buckner was now just down the ridge from us. 
 The  huge north   wall of Booker loomed across the valley. We could see the
 South  and Middle   peaks of Logan but not the real summit. It was hazy to
 the south  although   we could see Bonanza. We had some bugs in camp and
they were also  all the way  up on this summit. Not horrible but annoying.
   
           We spent well over 2 hours on the summit. Park Creek Pass is beautiful.
     The meadow and tarns would be a worthwhile destination. Neither of them
   compare  to the view from our little scramble perch. There is another
point    next on  the ridge which is about the same elevation. Another one
is 200'    higher. Both look to be easy scrambles. After them comes Buckner.
We were    happy to stay put and relax rather than heading off to bag more
peaks.
   
           Gary went over to a viewpoint of the saddle between us and the 
next   point.   In the gap was a weird sight. The snow had largely melted 
leaving   about a  20' long snow arch. Beyond the arch was a 1000' drop down 
to the   basin below.  The center of the arch could not have been more than 
10 inches   thick. Unlike  the day before this day had not a cloud in the 
sky. In fact   I laid down in  the shade of a short scruffy tree to get some 
shade. After   our long summit  stay we headed on down.
   
           Rather than retrace our steps we decided to go down a grassy gully 
  to  the  west. It had the bonus of a snow slope for a standing glissade. 
 Farther   down we could not tell if it dropped all the way to the tarns below
 or if   it turned cliffy. Instead of continuing to drop we turned left and
 contoured   around Point 6980. This proved to be some more fun scrambling.
 It was mostly   rocky. We crossed one ridge then another and another still.
 We dropped into   a grassy gully that did go down but we opted to cross
one  more ridge and  managed to get back on our ascent route.
   
           We dropped down earlier and onto the snow at the real Park Creek 
 Pass.    Across  the snow we climbed back up to the trail and headed down. 
 The hike    back to  camp was pleasant and uneventful. The pass and points 
 south were    full of small flies. To the north it was mosquitos. I found 
 long pants,  a  jacket, and a head net made being in camp tolerable. After 
 dinner we went    to hang our food. As Gary tied on the line our new friend 
 the stag walked    right up behind him. He was within 20' when I pointed 
him out to Gary. This   guy did not seem to care much about us.
   
           We hung our food and went for cameras. He proceeded to spend a 
long   time   grazing all around our site. It was getting dark but we each 
took  a few dozen  close up photos. I see many female deer on the trail but 
very  few bucks. This guy was up close and personal. After all that excitement
 it was time for bed and the long hike out the next day.
   
   Day 3
   
          We were up at 6:00 am but it was still 7:40 before we were packed 
 up  and  on the trail. Gary was dreading the ice cold ford and I was not 
looking  forward  to all the brush. Neither proved to be much of a problem. 
We had  17 miles  to travel with 5800' of descent and some 2000' of gain. 
The going  started  slowly. The creek forms a waterfall just below our campsite. 
We stopped to  take more photos. In fact we stopped a lot to take photos. 
The brush was wet with dew and we had on rain pants. They were soaked in no
time. The steep  trail and brush proved to be time consuming. We reached the
ford, 1.2 miles,  in nearly 40 minutes.
   
        This time we scouted downstream a little more thoroughly. We found
 one   high  log and a low one. Gary scampered across the low one using branches
   to pull  himself up on the other side. I followed suit. So much for another
   ford. We put a small log across the trail to alert hikers coming up. It
 is  not at all obvious that this is a crossing. The next section was more
 waist  to head high wet brush interspersed with nice forest trail. It was
 rocky and we could often not see our feet. This made for slow progress.
At  long last we reached the top of the switchbacks. Now we took off rain
pants  and convertible pant legs to get down to short sleeves and shorts.
   
        The switchbacks are gently graded and easy walking. Gary noticed
an  old   steeper trail. We crossed it many times. At some point the route
was  completely   redone through here. When we reached the old mining relics 
we  stopped for   a more thorough look. Remains of the building are still 
jumbled  with some   of the machinery. At Skagit Queen camp we looked at some
campsites.  It is   in deep forest. At 13 miles in it would be a more sensible
first day destination   for many hikers. We stopped again at the waterfall
just below the bridge  over the creek. You must scramble down the slope a
little to get a clear view of it through the trees.
   
        Next was the rest of the drop back to 2300'. Then came the 2 mile 
uphill    climb. It was getting much hotter this day. We stopped at a number 
of creeks    to soak our shirts to keep cool. In fact, we kept this up all 
the way back.    Back at Skagit Queen I was dismayed to find we had taken 
2:45 to descend   the first 4.1 miles. Brush and photos had slowed us down. 
From there we had  made an effort to pick up the pace. At the top of the climb
we stopped at  Junction camp again. Eight miles down and nine to go. The
drop to Fisher  Creek bridge was much faster. At McAllister hiker camp we
crossed the bridge  to check out the campsites. They are far apart and quite
nice.
   
        We stopped again at the rock jutting out into the creek located below 
  the  camp. From there it was a death march out. The next 4 miles to Neve 
 camp we covered at nearly 3 1/2 mph. We soon crossed the bridge and flew 
down the last 1.2 miles to the trailhead arriving just after 5:00 pm.
   
        This really proved to be a spectacular backpacking trip. We covered 
 a  mile  the first night then 37 more totalling 10,000' gained over the next
  three  days. Having only a 21 lb. pack plus 4 lbs more of water, camera, 
 and snacks  in a fanny pack made the distance reasonable. The basin is very 
 pretty. The  pass is better and the view from Point 6980 was spectacular. 
 We had one easy  day and two long hard ones. It's a grind to get to the pass
 but well worth  it. This was a sunny August weekend and we were the only
people in the basin  other than the one couple passing through. Solditude 
and scenery pretty well  sums up our trip. I hope the Park Service can find 
the time to get up there  and log and brush out the trail. It would be a shame
if the brush hides such  a beautiful place.
   
   
      
   
     
       
         |   First Bridge
 
 |   Thunder Creek
 
 |   View Out
 
 |   Carpet Of Green
 
 |   Narrow And Deep
 
 | 
       
         |   Break Time
 
 |   Jim By The Creek
 
 |   McAllister Ck Joins
 
 |   Flood Damage
 
 |   Above The Creek
 
 | 
       
         |   Fisher Ck Bridge
 
 |   Mossy Ground
 
 |   Glacier View
 
 |   Ice Cave
 
 |   Mining Relics
 
 | 
           
     
   Click on thumbnails to get larger pictures.
   
   Photo Page 2
   
   
   Trips - 2006
   
   
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