I intended to do a loop up and over McKay Ridge, down to Boulder Creek Pass, then down Boulder Creek and Chancellor Trails.  The first and last legs went great.  There was a nice flagged boot path up the west side of McKay Ridge to the alpine (many thanks to CP for maintaining this route!).  There were many blowdowns lower down, typically of the matchstick variety, and some brush higher up but flagging is good until well above 5000'.  Once on top of the ridge the route goes up and down over many minor high points (some class 2 scrambling, rock is loose).  The McKay highpoint is a beautiful vantage of many peaks near and far.  I continued along the ridge east to Boulder Creek Pass. 

At the pass I could not for the life of me find the Boulder Creek trail or where it heads west down into the valley.  I searched around back and forth and could see no hints even subtle of a trail.  No matter, I figured I'd just follow the route that the trail takes on my map and I'll run into it sooner or later, right?  I bushwhacked down the steep valley headwall, through dense rhododendron thickets and wet slippery blueberry slopes.  Not fun.  No trail.  At the creek at 5400' I looked around and eventually found what seemed to be a nice and well graded trail that took me several hundred feet downhill to a flat meadow area at 4800'.  I was now 800' below where the route appears on the maps, and I was worried I was on the wrong trail.  I lost the trail in the grassy meadow, and wary of the canyon that appeared downstream, I figured it best to regain all the elevation I lost and try to find the real trail higher up.  800' up steep slopes and I made it to where the trail was supposed to be.  Nothing.  Not even animal paths.  So I continued on, traversing north on the west side of Majestic Mountain trying to follow the trail as it appeared on the map.  Thus began the gully section.  My goodness, there were a lot of gullies.  None were trivial, many were cliffy, most had dense slide alder thickets, and the endless sidehilling between was beginning to get to me.  One of these gullies had a trickle which was thankful since I had just about run out of water.  I began to worry that I wouldn't make it back by dark.  

I kept pushing on, aware of the progressing day and running on adrenaline and cortisol.  As the gullies ended and the route rounded a prominent ridgeline I contemplated heading directly downslope to meet up with the Chancellor Trail, but I was close enough to the North American Mine and I must be able to pick up the trail there, right?  I made it to the mine, found the deteriorating and moss-covered remnants and I could still find no trail.  So I headed downhill from there, cutting through mapped switchbacks several times and each time there was no hint of a trail.  Finally, as the sun was setting I made it, at last, to the Chancellor Trail.  I looked around and not 20 feet from where I landed was a sign for the Boulder Creek Trail, and a very pleasant-looking path leading up through the forest.  Did I really just parallel a perfectly nice trail for 5 miles over some of the worst cross country travel imaginable?  Seemingly so!  

Lessons: 1) The Boulder Creek Trail DOES NOT follow the line that it appears on all available maps. 2) It is much easier to find the trail from Chancellor than from Boulder Creek Pass.  Try to find an accurate track before attempting from the top.  

I made my way down the 5 miles on the delightfully trail-like Chancellor Trail and arrived at the trailhead after dark.  

16 miles, 6700', 12 hours

Our goal was Boulder Creek Pass about 9 miles and 4000 feet elevation gain from the East Creek Trailhead.   The trail (East Creek FS#756) starts by dropping down to old Granite Creek bridge.   Survey stakes suggest that the long-awaited replacement bridge is in works?  We headed upstream to cross Granite Creek on the temporary bridge.  After crossing the bridge, I counted 21 switchbacks to climb the hill.  Then the trail traverses the slope above East Creek.   The trail reaches a crossing of East Creek in 2.5 miles.  The trail to the East Creek crossing is in excellent shape with all the monster logs removed.  After the East Creek crossing most the logs that fell in the winter of 2021 have been removed but what remains can be easily stepped over.  The trail gets gradually less brushy until the junction with the Boulder Creek trail (FS# 729) is reached (4miles).  The trail climbs steeply passing the Gold Mine building and continuing to Boulder Creek Pass (elev 6400 ft 6miles).  The trail is snow free to the pass and the continuing trail appears to be free of snow into the Boulder Creek valley.  Excellent view of the surrounding mountains once the trail leaves the forest.  Expect the Boulder Creek trail to be brushy, with many logs to cross and tread lacking in places. The Boulder Creek trail is not located correctly on FS and USGS maps.  There is water at East Creek crossing, and at several creeks before the Boulder Creek junction.  A camp but no water at Boulder Creek Pass.  Excellent trip on one of the outstanding adventure trails along the Highway 20 corridor.

One foot in front of the other. It had been a while since I’d focused so intently on the generally simple task of walking. The unofficial crossing of Granite Creek works as intended and keeps you dry with the help of a thin cord. A fall into the swollen river, violently thrashing and thrusting itself toward the Pacific, should be avoided as if your life depends on it.

Note: to cross once implies a second crossing on the return journey. Ask yourself if you’re comfortable crossing the river twice—or wait until fall.

After the crossing the trail climbs efficiently via a series of switchbacks through mostly open matchstick pines. The trail turns up valley high above roaring East Creek before making an undulating descent to an unbridged crossing. Up until this point the trail is clear of obstacles. After a short watery crossing (unless you use one of the many logs or the water is low) the trail creeps along the east side of the creek before pulling away and climbing uphill. Brush encroaches in places and down trees must be navigated, but nothing terrible or unusual for a trail that sees little official maintenance.

Eventually you meet a small side trail to climbers left marked with a cairn. This appears to be an unofficial trail. Whoever built the cairn knows where the trail goes, but the cairn is confusing to those who don’t. Consulting our map, we continued another 10 minutes crossing a couple small streams to the actual signed junction with the Boulder Creek (Pass) Trail.

After a short climb the shiny sheet metal roof of the Gold Hill mine building (Private Property) appears through the trees. After the building, the trail resumes its earnest climb eventually breaking out of the trees and making a rising traverse on faint tread to the pass with minimal difficulty and wonderful scenery. Water from a stream in the final gully before the pass provides refreshment.

We camped near the pass, however with the current snow cover, spots are limited. Even when the snow is gone it does not appear many suitable spots exist. The sound of snow brushing gently on the rainfly lulled us to sleep. In the morning, we awoke to the whomping of a resident grouse. We wandered the frozen ground, drank hot cider, and awaited the arrival of the sun. From a high perch we watched the battle of clouds and mountains—clouds would rise and envelope the summits, the mountains would fight back by shedding the gray invaders by tossing them high in the air or over their shoulders.

After warming up, we repeated our steps returning the same way, safely crossing Granite Creek, and ending in a still empty parking lot.

Disclaimers

Quick-and-dirty version

Access: Canyon Creek Trailhead
Round Trip: 16.4 miles
Elevation Range: 1880′-7520′
Essential Gear: helmet
Dog-Friendly: with guidance

Our goals atop Boulder Creek Basin had us start from Canyon Creek Trail, just off North Cascades Highway (Highway 20). Traversing through Majestic Mountain and McKay Ridge in early fall came with one big caveat: not a drop of water once leaving Boulder Creek Trail.

THE TRAIL: Half a dozen downed trees, plus a small landslide, during the 4 miles we hiked to Boulder Creek. Then we turned onto Majestic Mountain's northwest ridge at 2400', immediately after crossing the creek. 

THE WATER:

• Two streams at mile 1.5
• Four more water gullies before Boulder Creek, including:
  • Pete Miller Creek, which went underground by the trail, can fetch water up or downstream
• Boulder Creek was our last water source, as there wouldn't be en route or over the long ridgeline. Between the dog and I, we filled up eight liters before going cross-country.

THE CAMP: Majestic Mountain's Middle Peak at 7400'.

Our Route

1. Hike the Canyon/Chancellor Creek Trail for 4 miles to Boulder Creek.
2. Leave the path shortly beyond the creek from the northwest ridge through the high points of Majestic Mountain.
3. From the south peak, drop west to Boulder Pass at 6200' via the crest.
4. Rise west toward McKay Ridge and reach the high point in under two miles.
5. Continue on the northwest crest for 4 miles down to Canyon Creek Trail.
6. An at-times defined climber's trail with flagging appears somewhere around 6200' before dropping 4200' of elevation to the trail, half a mile before the trailhead.

Highlights

• A mild incline from start to the point we left the trail
• The possible rain on day two never arrived
• Ruby Mountain and Crater Mountain were the focal points during the approach until Mount Ballard and Azurite Peak appeared from behind the ridgeline
• Stunning views of many of Washington State's highest points
• Traversing the crest from start to finish was entire possible despite outcrops in some places
• Sunshine and solitude

Lowlights

• Slow going while ascending Majestic Mountain's northwest ridge with the extra water and windfalls lower down
• Hard-to-follow climber's trail on McKay Ridge's northwest ridgeline, with downed logs strewing the lower forest. The flagging wasn't always visible due to my color-deficient vision.

From East Creek TH (Hwy 20 MP 144), I hiked the East Creek Trail to Boulder Pass and back, est. 14 miles r/t, 4500' +/-.

I car camped in the parking lot so I wouldn't oversleep at home, poured most of the night.  I heard the first logging truck coming down from Rainy Pass about 4:30 AM, heading for the mill in Darrington.  Some of them are quieter this year but there are more, I heard one of the old loud ones this afternoon.  Wouldn't be a bad gig, driving the North Cascades Highway for a living.

Really only slept well after the sun hit the car at 8, up at 9:30 and walking by 10:15.  I could see from the parking lot that where I hoped to go (Mebee High Route) was very snowy, so I walked East Creek Trail 4 miles to the signed junction with the trail to Gold Hill Mine.

Took the unmarked fork up to the Mine building, and about 50 feet above trail L, and up to Boulder Pass.  USGS map  A little indistinct in places but rarely changes direction, so easy to follow.  Just before the top the snow started, many feet deep on the more shaded Boulder Creek side.

I also tried again in vain to connect another trail below the mine building, top is next to outhouse.  Bottom is at rock pile at about mile 3, middle is still undetermined.

Log bridge upstream from the gone one is high and dry.  I raked and clipped the whole thing today, someone has recently cut out most of the logs.  Lots of drinking water so you don't have to carry much, biggest gap is after the log to the next East Creek crossing, could take an hour up.

No other hikers, this is one of the best not many people know about.  Will be a real flower show in the next few weeks.  If you have time (after the snow is gone) you can continue over Boulder Pass to the Chancellor Trail, to the highway 3 miles from your car.  Speaking of car, I paid $3.44 at Lyman Mercantile, and they have lots of other goodies too!