Indian Creek — Tuesday, Sep. 13, 2022

I hiked the full length of Indian Creek downhill from the PCT to White River Trailhead on Sept 13 and 14, 2022, as part of a circumnavigation of Glacier Peak.  It was passable throughout and I never got off track.  I wouldn't choose to do this trail except as a necessary passage from point A to point B, but it got me where I needed to go, which was all I was really looking for.

The uppermost mile or so, below the PCT/Indian Pass junction, passes mostly through forest and open meadow and is in generally good shape and easily followed.  About a half-mile down, there is an old campsite on trail left (going down) without immediate access to water, where I camped.  It is reasonably sheltered with a decent but small flat spot delineated by logs--I couldn't quite get all four corners of my small two-person tent to sit flat inside.

About another half-mile down, two small clear creeks cross the trail.  Supposedly there is another good campsite just before these on trail right, but I did not see it.  I also did not see what should be a well-worn boot path up to Airplane Lake much later on.  I expect I missed these features because I was focused on the trail, but maybe they are disappearing into the brush.  These two small creeks were the last good water directly on the trail.  For most of its length, Indian Creek itself is out of sight and inaccessible.  There are 2-3 spots where the creek comes into sight and could be easily accessed for water.  

After the fairly quick descent of the top mile, the trail transitions into the broad, gentle Indian Creek valley.  This is where the severe brush begins.  Most of the problem comes from annual plants which I assume never get any bigger than they are now.  But some of the encroachment is from huckleberries and similar shrubs, which presumably get a bit bigger ever year, and from evergreen saplings, which will also become an increasing obstacle.  At one point about two miles in, the trail passes through an extended thicket of shoulder-high small trees.  It's possible to push through these now, but in probably two years this will be impassable if not addressed.

The biggest problem with the brush is that you cannot see your feet or the trail surface.  Although the tread is mostly smooth, there are of course roots and rocky sections, occasional vertical burrows in the middle of the trail that would be ankle-breakers if you hit one wrong, and spots where the trail abruptly drops down a couple of feet into some small waterway.  Proceed with caution.  There is also a very slippery section of old boardwalk over a marshy bit.  My feet went out from under me in what would have been a painful fall on my backside if I had not ben cushioned by my pack.  

All is not bad, however.  The view down the valley is beautiful, and none of the brushy sections go on forever.  Overgrown meadows alternate with forested sections where the trail is in good condition.  There are a couple of good campsites in the forested parts at intervals down the trail.  Blowdown is present but fairly minimal, especially for a trail with so little maintenance.  About two-thirds of the way down, there are more signs of recent trail work and the conditions improve somewhat.  

Above the White River, the gentle valley ends and the river drops fairly quickly from 3000 ft down to 2400.  The trail descends nearby through a series of switchbacks.  This section, and the two miles along the White River to the White River trailhead, are in great shape and give no sign of the challenges of the upper valley trail.  The bridges over Indian Creek and White River are great.  I was continuing on to Boulder Pass, so I looked for opportunities to cross the White River without going all the way down to the bridge.  The water was low and a crossing would probably be possible somewhere, but I didn't see anything obvious.  Even if you found a place to cross, you would have a difficult fight through the thick brush along the banks.  

Bugs were minimal.  Birds and small mammals abound.  There is a lot of bear scat on the trail, generally deposited right in the middle of the tread, but I didn't see anything larger than a squirrel.  However, you could pass very close to any number of animals and never see them here.  I would never have known that the Wenatchee fire was only a couple of ridges and a valley away, aside from a little bit of haze.  There was a slight smell of smoke once I rounded the corner into the White River valley.  

Overall, the trail was not as bad as some descriptions had caused me to expect.  Nonetheless, I would expect that the upper section will become unusable to casual hikers within about two years if it doesn't get some attention.  Kudos to the WTA teams who have worked on the lower trail in recent years.