Hannegan Pass and Peak, Copper Ridge — Wednesday, Jul. 28, 2021

Enjoyed a three day two night backpacking trip with three adults and four youth, youngest was age 12. We made Hannegan Camp as our base camp, with excursions to Hannegan Peak, and also Egg Lake on the Copper Ridge Trail.

There are a number of great trail reports just before mine, so I’ll give a few of my tid-bits.

-BUGS!  Come prepared! Bug spray didn’t seem to help. The black flies bite and so do the horse flys. And they are plentiful and annoying. Some of us came prepared with long sleeves and pants, as well as a mosquito head net. I would recommend all three. We passed a number of groups hiking out earlier than they had planned due to the bugs.

-Smoke. We didn’t really have to deal with smoke while we were there, except for the last night, Thursday 7/29. The winds changed and blew smoke our way over night. But by the morning the smoke was gone and the skies were clear, (at Hannegan Camp.)

-Water. There are some good sources of water on the trail as you hike, but a few things to note. On the Hannegan Pass trail, the first good water source is two miles in. There is a beautiful creek at Hannegan Camp. No water on Hannegan Peak. Just before Boundary camp there is a great water source. After Boundary Camp, going up Copper Ridge, there are only a couple good sources of water. Once you’ve reached the ridge, no water until Egg lake.

-Trails. The trails are super dry and dusty. Hannegan camp was the same.  These trails are rocky as well. Combined with the dust, means they’re a slick in steep places  The Copper Ridge trail is pretty narrow in sections.

-Wildflowers and berries. There are still plenty of beautiful flowers to be seen. Some are past their prime, but there are still a wonderful variety to enjoy. There are salmon berries near the beginning of the trail. While hiking through the forest on the Copper Ridge trail the blue huckleberries were still green.

-Wildlife. Other than the bugs, we didn’t see much. No bears. No deer. Heard a few birds. A mouse/small rodent visited camp while we were away since one of our campers did a poor job securing his food.

-Snow. No snow on the trails we were on. There is a snow patch just before Egg Lake, but it’s not covering the trail.

-Sun Exposure. Bring your sunscreen and handkerchief. A lot of the trail to Hannegan Camp, Peak, and Copper Ridge is exposed.

-Elevation. We ascended and then descended a lot.  Bring your hiking poles! Plan on elevation.

-Hannegan Peak did not disappoint. We arrived just before sunset. Spectacular! And the views!!!

-Egg Lake. This alpine snow fed lake was a fun and cold retreat on a hot summer day. It’ll take your breath away just jumping in, but you wont regret it!  Watch out for the swimming little black beetles, they bite!  Also note, to get to Egg Lake from the Copper Ridge trail on must descend 300 feet in 1/3 of a mile. (And then ascend that to get out.)

-Parking & trail traffic. We parked about 1/3 mile away from the trailhead. Wednesday there was a LOT of trail traffic. Thursday was not too bad. And Friday was surprisingly the least for trail traffic. There was lots close parking spots available at the trailhead Friday mid-day.

Overall it was an awesome trip. The mountain views are fantastic and plentiful! Enjoy!