Great fall colors and views at the top, but mentally prepare to slog through steep viewless terrain for the majority of the hike. The grandest of scenery doesn’t start until the last 20%, or 40ish minutes before top of the pass. WTA report is pretty accurate, but GPS helpful with some less obvious paths.

Shout out to the Wenatchee River Ranger District trail crew for doing recent trail maintenance, as some earlier reports talked about the number of blowdowns making the trail then impassable.

Forest road was ok. Some minor potholes, but very doable in a low clearance sedan. No toilet at the trailhead but there was one or two I saw along the forest road.

The Chiwawa River you ford, and is what blocks this hike from being doable until a small window late summer/early fall, is like 20 steps from the trailhead. Just start off wearing water shoes / flip flops to cross it and change into hiking shoes after. Pretty easy, current wasn’t strong, and rocks were ok to walk on. Got up to mid calf at worst. The chilliness of the river isn’t great in the morning, but felt amazing to tired feet when recross to end on the way back.

Terrain starts off innocently with a gentle enough grade. Then it just gets rude. Steep as anything, but at least it wasn’t rocky scree or anything, where you take 2 steps forward and 1 back. Further insult to injury you descend steeply to the Little Giant Creek (fast flowing water source) losing elevation gain you just worked for, and then start again going back up. All in viewless forest.

In the middle of the hike on a rock face, it does open up a bit with some decent views and is a good place for a snack stop. Little cairns are around to try and guide the way up, but I relied mostly on GPS. Plunge right back into viewless high brush afterwards going steeply up.

Finally you’ll break out of the brush to the scenic views previous reports all rave about. Starts right about where a nice campsite is situated. The fall colors on the hills are vibrant with fiery flames of red, orange, and yellow. Took time ascending these final switchbacks, sniping the plentiful but squishy blueberries right off the trail path. Only one minor crumbly section right before the pass that needs some caution with footing. The top of the pass was extremely windy at the time I had made it, so much so that it got hard to breathe. Views into the valley with the winding river is a nice cherry on top with the previous sundae of fall foliage.

Start: 850 AM

Little Giant Creek: 1020 AM (reliable water source)

Little Giant Pass: 1220 PM

End: 300 PM

Did a loop backpack, using a couple of cars. Started at Buck Creek th and ended at Little Giant pass th. Buck Creek was uneventful and only gets interesting towards the top, when it comes up of the trees and views of Glacier dominate. We camped at about 10 miles in. There is a camp at this point with a view and a toilet. Lots of blueberries, a little fermented. The trail continues up from the camp and in a mile or so becomes more faint. It is still a trail and there are cairns here and there towards High pass and then further to Napeequa Valley. Getting to the valley you have to descend about 500ft of very steep terrain. It was ok, but it would be hard once wet. Mudville. The views are stunning with gorgeous fall colors. Our second night was at Lewis falls and this spot only had two established tent spots. We were 5 and had to improvise. 
The third day we hiked out of the valley. Steep climb to Little Giant Pass. It has been cleared by somebody, so we felt lucky. It looked like fresh cut backs in vegetation. From the pass down to th has also been maintained and the colors were brilliant. Beautiful loop!

Steep with some loose terrain but incredible hike! Don't forget sandals or foot wear and something to dry with for the ford right at the beginning. More water sources along the trail than expected which was a nice surprise. Felt hot even on a relatively cool day. Amazing views, berries, glaciers, and colors! Lots of cars but the trail didn't feel that busy. 

Road/Parking: I felt like the road might have gotten a touch worse than last year but not horrible. Usually reasonably wide with room to maneuver. TH only has room for a few cars but there is room room there to turn around and there area spaces along the road. Around 9:30 we found a nook on the road not too far. No toilet but there is one at the TH right before (less than a mile) and also earlier right on the roadside at Basalt Ridge, which also has drinking water. Link below shows last year's conditions with Little Giant TH at 2:20. 

Trail: Despite all the cars it seems like many were backpackers going further. We only encountered 3 medium groups and a few couples/solo hikers on the trail. It felt far from busy. Great photos of the water crossing by McBabe and TinaB that I found to match today's conditions. The water is right at the start so I wouldn't bother putting on hiking shoes until after. The bottom is big rocks that weren't very slick or mobile and the water was moving but not enough to be any concern. About low calf ht on a 5'6" person at the deepest. I just used flip flops. There are a bunch of logs on the farside and shoes/towels were stashed all over. 

After the water crossing the trail is a touch unclear as it meanders around but soon turns into a well defined set of switchbacks. I would bring a GPS map for this first bit to avoid frustration right at the start. The switchbacks climb through the trees for a while and are nice warmup before the really steep stuff starts. The trail gets really steep and the terrain alternates between rock and is loose where it is hard to get a good grip and was very reliant on my hiking poles. After the steep bit it levels out and then drops to a stream. Pretty sure this was the first water since the beginning. Careful there, the crossing is easy but if you are getting water the rocks are slick and got a couple people in our group (almost got me too). 

The steep climbing on mixed terrain resumes but you start to get some nice views. It felt like they both were a nice treat and teased/tormented with how far we had left to go. About halfway up the steep bit there was a rocky area around halfway through the steep section that made for a nice break with some views. There path through it was marked with rock stacks here and there but there often seemed to be multiple trails. Then back into the brush for the final steep crumbly bit. The brush was enough to obscure the views but not enough to fully shade us so it got hot! 

Finally you break out into the open and a are greeted by stunning views, a burst of color, and a plethora of berries. There was a small stream here and at least one nice campsite nearby. The last 500 feet or so are a joy taking in the  views while walking long lazy switchbacks. The last switchback has a narrow crumbly section with one totally manageable but semi sketchy step down where poles were helpful. 

At the pass the new view of the glaciated peaks and the sweeping river valley edges by mountains is breathtaking. The fall colors haven't reached this side yet so you have the fun contrast of a fiery slop on one side and icy on the other. We explored a little further along the ridge but the views don't change much. Soon the refreshing breeze felt cold and I was glad for the extra layers I brought. 

Stats: Including exploring a bit further on the ridge I clocked 9.7 miles, 4180 ft gain/loss, with a total moving time of 5 hours and total time of 7 hours including lots of berries, photos, and hanging out at the top. I hike weekly and am a moderate paced hiker. 

All those beautiful reports of Little Giant Pass popped up on WTA, luring me into a long drive to this remote area yet not explored by me.

Summary

Little: water in the river, potholes in the road, crowds.

Giant: views, number of blueberries, fall colors, elevation gain.

Pass: you shall not (next day after this hike).

Getting There & Trailhead

Drive from US-2 feels like forever. The further you go, the worse the road - but it’s never bad enough to trigger an inner dialogue about poor life choices (which I often have when I take my sedan on forest roads). Majority of the road is pretty neat, with a couple atrociously rocky spots that can still be safely crossed in any vehicle.

Trailhead is a small turnaround that fits five-six cars; the rest have to park along a narrow road. There were about 10-12 cars in/around TH today at noon. No amenities; the nearest outhouse is at campground half a mile away.

Hike

I didn’t have anything qualifying as water shoes, so I just forded the river barefoot. Current is not strong, and river bed is just an ideal balance between slick and sharp, so it was doable. Bring a towel - water is cold, and even dry rocks are not much warmer in the morning.

The trail starts innocent. Here and there, evidences of the recent blowdown cleanup are still fresh, making me wonder how anyone would cross all these obstacles before they were cleared. Then a tough climb comes, followed by equally steep descent to the creek. Unfortunately, due to how the space works, this descent will be your steep climb on the way back when it’s the least welcome.

After the creek crossing, which was easy, climb just gets atrocious. I routinely hike 1000 ft/mi, but this climb, apparently exceeding this number, continuing for two miles, complicated by overall difficult terrain, hit me real hard.

On the boulder, cairns are mostly sufficient to see where to go; if unsure - you will want to approach the top left corner of the outcrop to find the trail.

About 1.5 mi from the pass, views, fall colors, and blueberries kick in. Fall colors are just insane right now - super vibrant, covering entire slopes. Blueberries also went bonkers - never seen so many on my fall hikes. All these beautiful things somewhat lighten the burden, and sooner or later, with purple fingers, full stomach, and elevated mood, you arrive at the pass, where suddenly valley views open.

From the pass, I explored both social trails. The one to the left just disappears in thick trees - it’s good for the views of your climb but not so helpful with valley views. The one to the right is well-treaded and opens amazing views of the valley. Quite a few people ventured as far as the nearby peak, but I didn’t feel like it.

Coming back is uneventful, but the trail is so steep that sliding is a real risk in many places.

Timing & Crowds

3 hr to get to the top, including lots of huffing, puffing, and blueberry picking

1 hr at the pass

1.5 hr to get back

Met about 20 people, including a couple groups - very lightly trafficked trail

While the drive is long (from the Seattle area) and the trail is steep, the rewards are well worth it! 

Getting there: WTA directions are spot on. With 9 miles to the trailhead, the paved road ends. The forest service road is overall in good shape, with just a few rocky spots. All but very low-clearance vehicles will do fine.

The approach: The Chiwawa River crossing is basically the first thing after walking a very short trail down to the river. Put your water shoes on at the car so you don't have to change out of them. Wasted time. Everyone stashed their water shoes on the other side of the river behind a log. This time of the year an easy crossing. Only calf deep. It was cold in the morning, but felt amazing on the hike out. 

The trail: Huge kudos to the Wenatchee River Ranger District trail crew (see their trip report from 9/17/2024). The trail is in amazing shape and would have been much more difficult before they cleared over 80 blowdowns. Admire their handiwork as you hike. 

After gradually and then more steeply hiking up the valley wall, you have to drop down (so sad) to the  Little Giant Creek drainage. I thought "this won't be fun on the hike out"...and it wasn't. Soon after you'll see a rock face and once up to the top of this (follow the cairns and faint boot path) the fall colors really come into view. Our hiking pace was slow due to many photos of the views and stopping to pick blueberries which were profuse. 

The trail goes straight up for a bit but then levels out into a set of sweeping switchbacks across the meadow. Stunning! 

The reward: At the top of the pass you will be treated to an amazing view of one of the most iconic glacial valleys in the Cascades. A perfect u-shaped valley with a beautiful river snaking through the bottom. It looks like something one would see in Glacier National Park or Alaska.

We talked to a hiker who had just popped up the trail from the Napeequa valley and had done the loop. He said it was amazing. Something to consider for a future backpacking trip.