Indian Creek, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section K - Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass — Wednesday, Sep. 4, 2024

TL;DR: Don’t be scared of Indian Creek – it isn’t as bad as everyone says and is definitely worth the detour!

The Wenatchee River Ranger District trail crew just finished a five-day hitch working on Indian Creek. Our crew of five logged out the trail fully to Indian Pass (save for a handful of minor stepovers that should pose no trouble to humans or stock), and did as much brushing as we could in the time remaining. We can confidently say that Indian Creek is passable for stock to Papoose Creek (about halfway to the PCT). Beyond Papoose Creek there’s more intensive tread work to be done on top of the brushing for it to be fully passable for stock. The brush is not cut back all the way to spec, but the tread is now at least visible and it no longer feels as much like you’re swimming through vegetation, and several slightly confusing sections are now easier to navigate. We also put in some time improving the stock ford of Indian Creek.

Indian Creek is now part of the official PCT reroute from the Miners Ridge fire, so we’re excited to have given it some much-needed love in anticipation of more traffic through the tail end of the thru-hiking season.  The increased foot traffic should help run in the tread as well as continue to knock down the brush.

Other things to note: Water is very limited on Indian Creek this late in the season. Beyond about mile 5 (approx. ½ mile past the camp below Airplane Lake), there is no water on-trail for the next 4-5 miles. We recommend users fill up at every opportunity.

Bees, wasps, and hornets are still very active, as are (surprisingly) mosquitoes. Huckleberries are still ripe in the upper reaches of Indian Creek! Plenty of bear sign but no sightings. Mushrooms are popping.

For context, we last logged out the trail fully in 2021. The same year, a WTA pro crew spent two full weeks brushing the middle section of the trail. That brush has almost entirely grown back, and we removed 100+ logs from the full length of the trail this year, including several complex jackstraws and many large-diameter trees. With the amount of both sun AND moisture we get in this part of the Cascades, brush grows prolifically, and blowdowns, of course, accumulate every winter. Without either a dramatic change in Congressional funding that might allow us to hire 20-person crews dedicated entirely to brush removal, and/or updates to the Wilderness Act permitting the occasional use of power brushers in designated Wilderness, trails like Indian Creek will simply always be brushy. We’ll do what we can to keep the brush at bay, given that Indian Creek is 12 miles out of the 600+ on our ranger district.

That said, if you tweak your expectations accordingly and pack your rain pants and your sense of adventure, Indian Creek is a more-than-worthwhile trip! Yes, it’s rugged, but it’s also wild, remote, and dramatic—a quintessential wilderness trail that offers access to some stunning country. We look forward to continuing to improve Indian Creek in future seasons!