We turned around at State Creek, and hiked a different trail in the area. Submitting a report here only to show the creek. The water is deep and rushing. To continue on to Stiletto or Copper Pass, you need to cross this creek. Looks very bushy on the other side.

I think of this trip as a Bridge Creek Loop. The route uses sections of the listed hikes and the entire Stiletto Spur trail. I did the trip from the Bridge Cr TH on SR 20. The route is:

PCT (southbound) -> Stiletto Spur Trail -> Twisp Pass Trail (westbound) -> PCT (northbound)

The PCT has been logged out and is snow-free, with a few flowers blooming & lots of water on the trail.

The Stiletto Spur trail has a number of challenges, in addition to brush and lots of water on the trail.

State Cr: The bridge is out and the ford unadvisable, since the first step is a plunge into 3ft deep rushing water. About 30 yds upstream through the brush is a 18" diameter log to cross the creek.

Copper Cr: A "high-wire" log about 12" in diameter & slightly slick is available for those with excellent balance. The ford is about 2ft deep. About 50 yds upstream is a 30" diameter log to cross the creek.

The trail has been logged out for the first 0.7 mile. After that it is somewhat difficult for hikers and impossible for stock to get over/around the 23 logs over the trail.

The short section of the Twisp Pass Trail between the Stiletto Spur Trail and PCT is snow-free with some blooming fireweed. The 5 logs over the trail are not a significant impediment to users. Bridge Creek is roaring under the pedestrian single log crossing.

I started at the Bridge Creek parking area, which is right off of Route 20. You have to cross the roadway and continue on the PCT South for a brief stretch. The previous trip report from 6 days ago is very accurate. I hiked this trail on a gorgeous fall day in the Cascades. There is good signage at the intersections. The last sign, which points you to the left-turning Stiletto Peak trail, is low and not immediately visible since it is attached to the away-facing side of the pole, if you are coming from the Bridge Creek parking area. Up to this junction you actually lose about 500 feet in elevation. Once you turn onto the Stiletto Peak trail, it is indeed a challenging climb, via countless switchbacks, about 3300 feet in elevation change up to the remains of an abandoned fire lookout at over 7200 feet. It is also well worth it. Once you get to the meadow and to views, it will leave you amazed. I did not see a single other person on the entire hike, which took me about 8 hours altogether. To pass the time on the way back down, I counted the downed trees impeding progress along this trail. I had to step over, climb over, hike around, or crawl under 82 trees on the way down, for a total of 164 trees for the day! The short PCT section was the only part of the hike without trees stopping you in your tracks. I never found the trail at the very top to be hard to find, as some guidebooks state. Once you reach the meadows, there are cairns to help you along. I am very happy I attempted this hike, in spite of the hard work required.

To access this trailhead you park in the bridge creek trailhead parking lot (paved) immediately to the north of highway 20, which is very well signed. once you park, you cross the highway to actually get started on your hike, following the PCT for the first mile and a half.

We originally were going to stay at dagger lake however our plans changed after we talked to a ranger who informed us that dagger lake is technically in the national park, not the national forest, and requires specific reservation permits for any overnight stay. Instead we stayed in a disbursed campsites about 1.5 miles from the trailhead in the national forest.

We departed for stiletto peak on Sunday morning amid some light rain, which eventually cleared up. The first mile from our campsite (second mile from the trailhead) has quite a few downed trees, some of which are pretty large, and make that flat stretch kind of cumbersome to traverse. once you turn onto the stiletto peak trail it steepens immediately and stays steep until you reach the top.

The actual trail up the mountain is in slightly better condition, however there are still more downed trees and difficult obstacles than one would like. Once you reach a high enough point and the trees thin out, the trail remains clear and the high altitude meadows are breathtaking. The views improve throughout your climb and culminate in a panoramic view that will take your breath away.

We met another two hikers at the top who had come from the copper river trail, camped at stiletto lake, and hiked cross country to the lookout. These were the only people we saw for our entire hike, after turning off the PCT.

The hike down is almost as punishing as the way up given the steep grade, but flies by much quicker. Overall this is a pretty brutal trek and I would not suggest this for first timers, however anyone with some experience and who enjoys a challenge will certainly find the work is worth the reward.

Happy Trails!