This was an overnight hike to the new suspension bridge at Canyon Creek. I can't say enough about how great the trail is. Thanks to all of you who worked so hard on the trail and beautiful new bridge! The 12 creeks (I counted) were easy to rock-hop over or wade through. I was alone most the the way except for my 2 little dogs. The camp at Canyon Creek was in great shape with a nice trail down to the river.

Suiattle River to Holden Village via the PCT and Cloudy Pass

The trail was good, and there's still lots of water up there, but I suspect that will change rather quickly in the coming 2 weeks or so. The major creeks still are running strong, but the smaller streams look like they're on their last legs for the season.

Road: As reported elsewhere, not too bad, but watch out for potholes. Any normal SUV will navigate it just fine. No need for 4-wheelers. But don't take your sports car up.

Difficulty: Not too bad, but it's a very constant slog and hike upwards, and you need a lot of stamina. You start below 2000 feet, and Cloudy Pass tops out over 6200 feet. The whole route is about 28 miles. We did it in 5 days. Planned for 4. Would have been better in 6.

Also, there were a number of blowdowns along our route. Nothing too, big, but it was annoying. About one per quarter-mile. I think a crew with a single chainsaw would make short work of them. More importantly, right at the top of the trail, just after the new suspension bridge, the trail is completely covered with a large group of blowdowns that took the 4 of us over an hour to reconnoiter. Would have been next to impossible, had I been soloing. That one needs some work for sure.

The view from the top of Cloudy Pass was amazing, but AVOID the "hiker trail". Major scary, and you actually lose it for about 100 meters of bouldering with a big steep boulder field below you. Head up the PCT and take the right turn to go down and back up the switchbacks. Much longer, but you'll be glad you did. (I remember that trail from the last time I went up and over, about 30 years ago, and the new trail is a big improvement.)

Also, the trail between Lyman and Hart lakes is very overgrown. Still a very obvious trail, but in many cases the foliage is over neck-high and thick enough you can't see more than 6 feet in front of you. Great for trip hazards over hidden rocks and roots.

Bugs: Not too bad at all along the river, but at higher elevations the black flies were a definite nuisance. Glad we sprayed everything with Permethrin before we went up, and we brought a lot of Picaridin. That kept them off in general.

Another warning: We were told of hundreds of blowdowns along the MIlk Creek trail by other hikers, and there were multiple helicopters along there extracting hikers. I'd attack that trail with extreme caution if it were me....

Oh, and it's berry season (thimble and blue). Need I say more?

This hike was fantastic. The trail was a bit longer according to Gaia than what is listed here but I expected that due to previous reports of the same. The scenery was better than expected. We practically had the campground to ourselves, which is a rare thing in July in Washington. 

Another weekend warrior trip. I’d hoped to get to the trailhead in the early evening, but as it happened work stuff prevented me hitting the road until almost 5pm. Traffic was thankfully not too bad, but it’s still a long, long way to the trailhead even once you pass through Darrington. I’d climbed Green Mountain on the 4th and was quietly lamenting subjecting myself to this drive for the second time in 7 days.  

I finally arrived at the trailhead about 7:30pm and was quickly on my way. This was my first time on the Suiattle Trail and it reminded me of a lot of the lowland portions of hikes west of the crest: Incredible trees, beautiful waterfalls, and interesting geology all completely lost on me because I just want to get through it and get to my real destination. Portions of the early part of the trail had burned a few years ago, but I’d go so far as to call it a healthy burn with most of the trees I could see still alive and regrowth coming along nicely. The bridge over Canyon Creek is really impressive. There were a bunch of giant bags of gear next to the bridge which gave me the impression that work was actively being done or just completed, but looking at old posts it seems like whatever work was at least last year or before?  

I'd originally planned on camping at the campsite halfway up Miners Ridge, but when my start got delayed I revised the plan to one of the mapped campsites just before you reach the trail to Miners Ridge, but hadn’t really accounted for the fact that it was a busy summer weekend and also right on the PCT when SOBO hikers and section hikers are really ramping up. The campsites I pass all had tents with people obviously already checked out for the night (it was well after dark at this point). Some of the sites had room for another tent, but it felt weird to set up right next to someone else who was already bedded down, so I continued in hopes of finding something suitable for my tiny 1P trekking pole tent. I finally reached the trail the begins the ascent to Miners and realized that if I pushed on up the ridge it’d be well after midnight before I even started setting up my tent. There was a tiny bit of clearing right where the trail branches off. It wasn’t optimal and certainly wasn’t flat, but it seemed like the only option available, so I made do.  

One day I will have learned the lesson that my tent should be set up so that my head is at the top of the slope and the sides of my tent are relatively even. But since that has not happened yet I spent the night feeling like I was trying to sleep on top of a floating log that was constantly trying to roll over and dump me off. Finally morning came and I packed up quickly and began my ascent. The climb to Miners Ridge was in fairly good shape. There were a decent number of blowdowns, but nothing too problematic. There’s a burn that happened in 2024 that goes from a few switchbacks from the top all the way to the edge of the clearing where the lookout is. Thankfully this also looks like a relatively healthy burn and is already recovering. On this morning it was home to a healthy mix of birds with highlights being a pair of Townsend’s Solitaires, a couple Mountain Chickadees (scarce in Snohomish County), and a couple Hairy Woodpeckers. Alas, the American Three-Toed Woodpecker I’d encountered here last October was nowhere to be seen nor were there any burn-loving Black-backed Woodpeckers.  

The lookout was still closed (or maybe will not be manned at all this year?), so I at my second breakfast on the stairs and enjoyed the views of a partially shrouded Glacier Peak. I poked around Image Lake a bit and and then headed over towards Canyon Lake.  

Canyon Lake has been on my bucket list for many years. I’d intended on doing it on my first trip to Miners Ridge last October, but I’d been caught in a blizzard going over Spider Gap that trip and decided adding an extra 10-12mi on an unmaintained trail with diminished daylight was probably a poor idea and having now done it I’m certainly glad I made the decision I did. I had thankfully been able to pull a GPX file from someone who’d done the trail a year or two ago from a trip report on WTA which helped immensely in staying on route. The trickiest part of the trail actually was fairly early on below Miners Ridge before you get below Plummer Mountain. Here you have to cross several 6ft+ deep chutes in steep mountainsides that are essentially made of dirt with almost vertical sides and no stable rocks for footing. I’m actually a bit puzzled as to how and when these were created. Water run-off would have presumably eroded the loose dirt and left mainly rocks behind. Was it a landslide or large rock that came down from the ridge? Either way they were very tricky to get in and out of with nothing to grab or use as a footing, but thankfully I managed without issue.  

From here to Canyon Lake the issue mostly route finding and blowdowns. I’m convinced you could write a field guide to blowdowns using only content from this 4 miles of trail. Little blowdowns, big blowdowns, high blowdowns, low blowdowns, blowdowns going down the trail and blowdowns going across the trail. Big blowdowns on a steep slope where the only options available we a long detour up and around or crawling underneath with your face in the dirt? Check. Blowdowns where the shattered stump is right on the trail with enough poky portions my make you feel like your crawling past a giant sea urchin? Check. And when there weren’t blowdowns there trees themselves were trying their hardest to reclaim the trail. On multiple occasions I lost the trail completely only to double back, consult my GPS, and find I was within 10ft, but it just wasn’t visible. About halfway through I encountered another hiker headed back towards Miners Ridge and we were both equally shocked to see another person out here. He said I was the first person he’d seen in two days.  

At long last I made it to Canyon Lake which was as beautiful as I’d believed if not more so. I set up camp and dumped my heaviest items so I could try to bag Bannock Peak. I’d heard various things over the years about the route between Canyon Lake and Totem Pass. Everything from “there’s a clear route” to “it’s a complete bushwack.” Both somehow felt true simultaneously. It was a mix of straightforward open areas (but with no obvious trail) to complete bushwack through dense stands of small trees. Thankfully your reach the draw up to the pass in a short period and from there it’s just a steep climb up rock with no bushes to fight.  

A Totem Pass I briefly enjoyed a look down at the Sulpher Creek drainage and Spire Point before turning east and beginning the ascent of Bannock. I was somewhat surprised to find a partial antler and skull from a deer up here. Why a deer came up here and how he met his demise a both interesting questions.  The ascent was a bit more challenging than it looked from afar. The big issues were mostly choosing lines without to traverse the side hills around some of the minor peaks along the way. Things got challenging enough going around the most significant of the minor peaks that I strongly debated turning around. Thankfully that was, to me, the crux of the climb and it got more straightforward from there. I dropped my pack just below the peak and made the climb up the boulders to the peak. The register only had 6 parties since it was placed on 9/16/16. I was a bit confused that the person I’d met on his way out earlier in the day had not signed it, but I see now from my photo that he likely just mistakenly wrote 2024. So 6 parties in 9 years and two of us managed to do it in back-to-back days.  

Rather than retrace my route and all the side-hilling and bush-wacking it entailed, I made the decision just to take a direct line down the heather fields to the lake. This was long and annoying, but absolutely the easier choice for the descent. I’m not sure if the same would’ve been true for an ascent, however. Once I got back to camp, I ate dinner and went right to sleep. The bugs at Canyon Lake were horrific, but thankfully my permethrin treated clothes did their job and they mostly just hovered in a ball above my head rather than biting me. 

I’ve been told not to camp near water or in low areas, but that’s pretty much all you get at Canyon Lake and predictably I woke up to a single-walled tent covered in dew on the outside and covered in condensation on the inside. I tried my best to shake everything dry, but I’m quite sure I carried at least a pound of water on that tent until I was able to dry it in the sun later in the day. On the way back from Canyon Lake I decided to try to take a line mostly above the trees in hopes of avoiding some of the elevation changes and blowdowns of the no-longer-maintained trail. I was able to make a fairly efficient line above the trees for probably close to a mile, but then it became clear that the route might be doable, but was unlikely to save me any time or effort, so I reluctantly made an annoying, steep drop through the trees and refound the trail.  

I got back to Miners Ridge and decided to ascend Peak 6758 (Miners Mountain?) and found the views well worth the short climb. After a brief break to dry my tent at Image Lake I started meandering my way back towards the trailhead. At some point in planning I’d considered going as far as Cloudy Pass on this day, but the Canyon Lake trail had taken about twice as long as expected so I just went across the east portion of the ridge and then linked up with the Miners Cabin Trail west towards the trailhead. The Miners Cabin Trail was in bad shape with lots of blowdowns, brush, and mud and I regret not just turning around at the east end of the meadows, sucking up the extra elevation, and retracing my steps towards the lookout on a more pleasant trail.  

The last 12 miles the trailhead were unremarkable. I ran into a couple SOBO through-hikers and a couple NOBO section hikers. This whole section of trail is beautiful, but it’s like 3mi worth of beautiful stretched out for 9 miles. When I did Miners Ridge last October I came in from the Phelps Creek Trailhead, Over Spider Gap, and through Lyman Lakes, and across Cloudy Pass. That’s roughly 5mi further than coming in from the west side (plus a longer drive to the trailhead), but you see so much more stuff on the way that I think it might be the preferential route.  

I made it back to the trailhead about 6:45pm and was back to civilization in time to get a pizza.  

Finally got up to one of my most-hoped-for destinations and boy did it deliver. I had bugs, a mid-hike bonk, fantastic views, a great campsite, and excellent weather. 

The Suiattle Trail is in surprisingly good shape. Maybe because the road is notorious for washing out and for being difficult (impossible?) for horse trailers to get down, I always assumed the trail at the end of it would be in bad shape. But it's not! 

[the road, incidentally, is decent enough. I took a Lincoln sedan down it - albeit very slowly. As a friend said, "Don't bring your lowrider!" but just about anything else should be fine]

Anyway, the Suiattle Trail is very nice but interminably long. Thankfully the nice new Canyon Creek bridge broke up the 10 miles. It's so freshly-installed it still smells good as you get close to it. 

There is plenty of water along the way, though do note that if you skip refilling at Canyon Creek there are only about three more streams before you hit Miners Ridge trail, and they're kind of far from the bridge.

I took a break at one of these three streams, sitting for a while to enjoy the silence and the leaves overhead with sunlight filtering down. Once I'd fueled up, I headed off for what I assumed was the Miners Ridge trail just around the corner. 

It was not just around the corner. This would be a theme of the rest of the day. (Yes, I had a map, I just didn't want to constantly be looking at it). 

Finally I arrived at the junction and began climbing. The switchbacks start off pretty innocuously. In fact, I began to think I would burn up to the top of this ridge in short order. 

GPW had other plans. There are 50 individual trees down, as well as a nasty mess of trees at one of the first switchbacks that other hikers have avoided by simply cutting the switchback. Nothing is bigger than 25 inches, though some have some complicated binds or other considerations. A certified sawyer crew could do a lot of good work out there for a couple of days.

I counted switchbacks, hoping that would help me get a sense of forward motion. All it did was make me feel like the next one was just around the corner (they're oddly structured, and not evenly spaced, so they were not "just around the corner")

The ascent is divided sort of in half by a junction with the Miners Car trail where there is also a pit toilet and a campsite. It would be a dry site, though there is a water source several hundred feet before you arrive at it. When I got there, I took a break, and was excited to have "just a bit more to go."

But at this point I was getting really tired. I wanted to make it to the summit to have another bigger snack at the lookout. A big mistake. 

I could barely make it two switchbacks without a break. I kept having to stop to catch my breath, drink water and have electrolytes and I just could not get my energy. Finally, just three switchbacks from the top, I had to sit down in the middle of the trail and rest. I had a snack (PB&J tortilla) which I normally love but could barely stomach. After a while (maybe 30 minutes?) I felt better and continued on. That snack made a huge difference; I think I had overestimated my calorie intake in the morning and was just running a big deficit. 

Still, those last few switchbacks are rough. There are two that are twice as long as the ones you've been hiking, and the last one is three times as long, so you're just walking and walking...you've done a switchbacked trail before. You get it. 

I finally did make it to the lookout, though! And those last switchbacks do feature a very cool view of Glacier Peak and the Suiattle Valley. I had a friend once tell me the Suiattle is such a powerful river because it comes careening around the side of Glacier in a spiral and I never quite knew what she meant until I saw it on Monday. It is a wild cut that really does swoop down and around from the east side of the mountain. It's very obvious from the lookout. 

Also obvious from the lookout is the Pomas Fire. There were giant billows of smoke puffing up from a layer of clouds (or maybe other smoke). I had initially thought of camping the next day at Cloudy Pass but I didn't want to camp closer to that fire (especially considering Holden Campground was already closed from on the day I had hiked in) so I decided to just day hike Cloudy the next day. 

It's a mile to Image Lake from the lookout, and mercifully fairly flat, though there is some rock clambering to be done. I have no idea how a horse ever did that section, let alone how one could do it now, but there's a sign guiding stock to use the high trail to get around the lake and camp at Lady Camp. 

For backpackers, the sites at Image Lake are gorgeous, if quite dusty. My tent stakes set in no problem (no rocks!!) and I had a lovely view of the lake basin though not the lake. There's no camping in the lake basin. There appear to be quite a few sites. There was room for another tent near me, plus another site, then a trail led down to the group campsite and some lower sites. If you're coming in and the area looks full, be sure to check those lower sites for other options. 

The next day, I hiked to Cloudy Pass, and then did a short detour to the overlook towards Canyon Lake. More on that in another report. 

(Not a lot to report on my return hike. It was cloudy, and misted just a bit in the morning. I could smell smoke when I woke up, but I think it was the cloud cover spreading the Pomas fire smoke our way.)  

FOUND: one microspike at the Image Lake campground. It was set on a trail leading towards "my" campsite the day I got back from Image Lake. 
A pair of gloves found alongside the Suiattle River Trail. 

If either or both are yours , let me know and we can arrange pickup/dropoff/mailing.