Forum Index > Trip Reports > Chilliwack Trail to Whatcom Pass (8/16 - 8/19)
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HostelWitness
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PostWed Aug 21, 2019 4:54 pm 
Looking for a 3-4 day backpacking trail in the North Cascades National Park led me to the Copper Ridge Loop. I knew we may have a rough go at permits this late in the season, but decided to arrive to the Glacier Wilderness Center early and put our hands in the fate of the rangers. We arrived to the wilderness center about 20 minutes prior to 8am and found that there were already 3 groups ahead of us. By the time the station opened, there was quite the line. Unfortunately, we found out quickly that all of the sites along Copper Ridge were booked. Instead, we would do the Chilliwack Trail with the goal of getting to Whatcom Pass. Day 1 – Hannegan Camp All of the northern loop national park sites were booked, so instead we decided to grab breakfast burritos at Wake’n Bake Bakery in Glacier and then head to Hannegan for a short hike. Our plan was to hike into Hannegan camp, drop off our packs, and then we’d do a hike up Hannegan Peak and scramble up Granite. Parking turned out to be tight, as the main lot was washed out, so instead we found a spot along side the road. Though day one would just be a 4.1 mile hike, the day would be a good warm up to what was shaping up to be a 4 day, 38 mile trip. After dropping off our packs, we headed up the peak. Unfortunately, a thick cloud layer descended and did not let up. Rain would soon follow. We left Granite for another day and went back to camp to try and stay dry. Day 2 – Hannegan to Graybeal It rained most of the night on Friday, but had thankfully stopped by Saturday morning. We had quite the journey to Graybeal ahead of us. The weather improved, with high clouds still obscuring the ridge. I felt sorry for those that did get Ridge sites, as they were not going to be seeing anything today. Chilliwack proved to be mostly downhill, from the point of Hannegan Pass all the way down to Copper Creek. Here we started to witness the glory of an August backpacking trip in the PNW: Rasberries, Boison Berries and Blue Berries for miles. Previous reports on the loop had indicated that the cable cars were out for repairs, which I can confirm. Thick layers of red tape bar the trail and it looks like some recent work was put in on the trail to the ford. The ford itself was fine – at this point in the year, the water reached mid-calves. After a quick break, we continued downward until we reached the junction south to Graybeal and Whatcom. The aptly named Brush Creel turned quite brushy and in an ironic turn, we ran into more people on this section of the trail than at any other point in the weekend. It made passing a little challenging, especially when you couldn’t see anyone until they were almost upon you. I was glad for my long pants and gaitors, as there were plenty of pokey vines sticking out along the trail. There is a section about a half mile from Graybeal where the river at some point obliterated the trail – many trees were down and the trail was lined with stones to guide our way. There were also many, too many, cairns, left no doubt by some budding instagrammer. Which worked out great, because I went to Cairn Kicker U. Plenty of firewood at Graybeal, which was welcome at the end of a long day. Bugs came out, mostly flies.
Day 3: Graybeal to Whatcom to Copper Creek We decided to wake up early on the third morning and left camp to head up to Whatcom Pass. It was a strenuous 3 mile hike, made easier by leaving most of our gear behind. It was going up to Whatcom that we had our first bear sighting. A juvenile black bear poked its head up at me as I turned a corner and leapt away. My friend had never seen a live bear, so I turned around to signal to him that one was ahead. That’s when the bear did something alarming. It stopped, looked at us, and started walking towards us. Not typical bear behavior, especially for a young black bear. We moved backwards and I started thinking of a backup plan. We backed around a bend and a few seconds later the head of a hiker popped into view. She was a little skeptical when I told her there was a bear in that exact spot not five seconds earlier – the best we can figure, the bear was spooked by the group and turned our way, ran into us coming from the other direction, and didn’t know what else to do. It must have jumped into the brush. The weather on Sunday was perfect – clear, blue skies and about 70 degrees out. Whatcom was perfect - Mt. Challenger was out in all its glory and bees were flying all around Whatcom camp. We hung out on top, had lunch, and headed down to continue our journey. This was going to be a 16 mile day, all up hill, so I’ll spare you the details other than to say that it was getting dark by the time we got to Copper Creek. Mosquitos were out in full, so after dinner and a small fire, we retired for the night.
Day 4: Copper Creek to Hannegan This was a pretty easy hike back to Hannegan and the trail head, so we took our time. We stopped at Boundary camp for a quick break. Looking down the valley, we had our second bear sighting. This bear was much, much larger – an adult, full grown. We spotted him far down the valley, crossing a dried river bed. I was pretty thankful to be far away. One bear was enough. We continued on down. Just before reaching Hannegan Camp, we had our third bear sighting. This bear was sitting right on the trail going down-hill. Looking at me, it jumped up into a tree and scooted on up. The bear was pretty big, but not as large as the second bear we saw. It hung out in the tree for a while, long enough for me to get my camera out and wait for my hiking partner to catch up with me. We had a dilemma – the trail was going downhill and pretty steep. We couldn’t go around the bear and we couldn’t out-wait the bear, but the trail went right next to the tree the bear had climbed. After fifteen minutes, we decided to proceed. It’s a very weird feeling walking underneath a bear. It looked at me, I looked at it.
All in all, we had put down 38 miles, forded a river, seen 3 bears, and gotten good enough weather to make the trip to Whatcom Pass worth it. Some notes: Buggy. Thanks to someone on this site who recommended permethrin-treated clothing. I found spray at REI and treated my clothes according to the directions a couple days before. Bears cannisters. Probably just because it is berry season, but that many bear sightings were new for me. Bear cannisters were NOT required on the Chilliwack, but I’m happy my friend brought his anyway. Fires. Fires are OK on the Chilliwack and there is plenty of wood and water. Miles. I don't have the exact mileage on-hand. May update if requested, but the NPS site has a good overview.

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kitya
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kitya
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PostThu Aug 22, 2019 9:52 am 
The bear is so freaking cute!

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Tom
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PostThu Aug 22, 2019 2:03 pm 
That bear encounter is amazing. It would have freaked me out too trying to pass underneath.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostThu Aug 22, 2019 2:27 pm 
The bear was probably freaked out too. I've seen quite a few in recent years, every time they wanted nothing more than to avoid conflict. Most of the time they run away, the few exceptions they just ignored me and kept doing their thing. Looks like a cool trip. up.gif

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coldrain108
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PostThu Aug 22, 2019 3:41 pm 
olderthanIusedtobe wrote:
every time they wanted nothing more than to avoid conflict.
I was just out in the ONP and the bears were thicker than the muskie toes. I had to chase 3 away as they wandered just a bit too close for comfort. All three ran like I was a 30' tall monster with giant fangs and huge roar...when in reality they could snap me like a twig...all in teh National Park where they are NEVER hunted. After seeing them panic like that I tried my best to stay out of their sight lines, but once they get w/in 50 yards I start waving and they start running. This guy went to an extreme to get away from me:
Moved like he was on a conveyor belt, a true mountaineer.

Since I have no expectations of forgiveness, I don't do it in the first place. That loop hole needs to be closed to everyone.
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostThu Aug 22, 2019 4:35 pm 
That's cool coldrain. My closest encounters with bears have been in ONP. Probably about 15' away on 2 different occasions. I was struck by the fact that there is intellect behind those eyes as they are regarding you. Both were surprises, it's not like I tried to approach them that close, just suddenly there they were.

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wanderwild
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PostThu Aug 22, 2019 10:30 pm 
I had to wait out a bear in the last 1/2 mile before catching the Stehekin bus at high bridge a few weeks ago. He was a big guy, standing in the trail, and my presence wasn't making him move away. Thankfully he moved after a couple minutes, I almost missed that shuttle!

"Whatever your mountain, climb on."
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Brushbuffalo
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PostFri Aug 23, 2019 12:05 pm 
Interesting trip, and a fine report. Welcome to the forum, HW! One of my better bear stories happened when I did a quick trek from Hannegan to the NC highway. At Whatcom Pass a bear was standing right in the trail grazing on berries. It knew I was there but wouldn't yield passage ( good berries, wimpy human), so I detoured around it off trail. On the descent into Little Beaver Valley, there were several piles of purple bear-doo of increasing age down the hill. Evidently that bear, or friends and family, was leisurely devouring much of the crop up there that September.

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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canadug
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PostSat Aug 24, 2019 8:44 pm 
Awesome Bear pic! That Dude almost looks like a human wearing a bear suit....The way it is standing upright in between those trees.

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Brushwork
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Brushwork
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PostSat Aug 24, 2019 9:11 pm 
Those are quite the bear encounters! Sounds like a great experience - thank you for sharing!

When I grow up I wanna play.
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